James' World 2

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The Supreme Court struck an extraordinary blow for criminal justice reform on Wednesday, placing real limitations on policing for profit across the country. Its unanimous decision for the first time prohibits all 50 states from imposing excessive fines, including the seizure of property, on people accused or convicted of a crime. Rarely does the court hand down a ruling of such constitutional magnitude—and seldom do all nine justices agree to restrict the power that police and prosecutors exert over individuals. The landmark decision represents a broad agreement on the Supreme Court that law enforcement’s legalized theft has gone too far.

Wednesday’s ruling in Timbs v. Indiana, authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is sharp and concise. It revolves around a single question of extraordinary importance. The Eighth Amendment guarantees that no “excessive fines” may be “imposed,” an ancient right enshrined in the Magna Carta and enthusiastically adopted by the Framers. But the Bill of Rights originally applied only to the federal government, not the states. After the Civil War, the 14^th Amendment was ratified to apply these rights to the states, which had engaged in grotesque civil rights violations to perpetuate slavery. The Supreme Court, however, slowly applied (or “incorporated”) these rights against the states one by one, not all at once. And before Timbs, it had never incorporated the Excessive Fines Clause—allowing states to exploit their residents for huge sums of cash and property.

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Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg poses with fellow justices during their official group photo at the Supreme Court on Nov. 30 in Washington,

Jabin Botsford/the Washington Post via Getty Images

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Click the link below for the article:

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/02/supreme-court-rules-against-civil-forfeitures-rbg-timbs.html

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No one tells a Supreme Court Justice when to retire. But there are currently two retirement dramas under way at the Court—one semi-public and the other semi-private—and they both have the potential to reshape the meaning of the Constitution for decades.

The public story is that of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Court’s senior liberal. Late last year, she fell and broke three ribs and, when she was being treated, doctors discovered that she had lung cancer, her third bout with cancer. She underwent surgery, apparently successfully, and the Court released word that she would need no further treatment. But, in January, she missed oral arguments for the first time in twenty-five years on the Court, and there is no guarantee that she will be there when the Justices next hear cases, on February 19th. Still, the retirement drama regarding Ginsburg is straightforward. She will hang on for as long as she can, in the hopes that a Democratic President will appoint her successor after the 2020 election.

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Photograph by Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty

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Click the link below for the article:

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/ruth-bader-ginsburg-isnt-looking-to-retire-yet-but-is-another-supreme-court-justice-ready-to-go

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A federal judge banned Roger Stone from speaking publicly about his case on Thursday, after hauling him back to court to answer for an Instagram post attacking her.

“Publicity cannot subside if it’s the defendant that’s fanning the flames,” U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Thursday, making it clear that a violation of the strict gag order would mean jail for the former Trump adviser.

“Today, I gave you a second chance. This is not baseball, you don’t get a third chance,” she told Stone.

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Longtime Trump ally Roger Stone gives an interview to Reuters in Washington, U.S., Jan. 31, 2019.Leah Millis / Reuters file

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Click the link below for the article:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/roger-stone-back-court-after-instagram-post-n973986

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The five-member board, which consists of three Democrats and two Republicans, unanimously voted for the new contest. In making the motion for a new election, board Chairman Robert Cordle said the election was “tainted” and pointed to “corruption” and “mess” with absentee ballots.

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NC race

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Click the link below for the article:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mark-harris-new-election-fraud_n_5c6f010be4b0e2f4d8a3f327

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Civilians have been evacuated from the last village in Syria still held by the Islamic State (IS) group.

A convoy on Wednesday carried hundreds of men, women and children from Baghuz, near the Iraqi border.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance have said they are waiting for their removal before launching an offensive against militants “entrenched inside”.

Those removed are being screened then taken to camps, the SDF say.

An estimated 300 IS fighters are thought to be holed up inside a tiny pocket of land.

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Image copyright AFP

Image caption The UN had warned some 200 families were trapped

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Click the link below for the article:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47306633

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