In the news this week

Couple of articles I wanted to reference

First is the passing in the Senate of SB 2617 which is a voter-id bill, for a CL article see here. (It appears this bill is currently held on a motion to reconsider) This bill is traditionally killed in the House but I, personally, am a big proponent of voter-id and think those who speak out against it are just making themselves look foolish by telling stories of slippery slopes that just won't happen in 2006. Perhaps in 1996 (or 1986) these responses would have been more appropriate but not now. Now virtually everyone has ID of some sort, and if they don't they should, this isn't a poll tax or way to hinder the vote, it is in fact a way to insure your right to vote is safer because there should be no way with an ID check that if you are properly on the roll that someone else has voted in your stead.

Second is the passing in the Senate of SB 2795 an abortion bill, this is a quiet similar bill, if not the same, as was killed last year; for a CL article see here. The jist of the bill is that it would eliminate abortion in Mississippi, excepting in cases of rape, incest or life of the mother. I highly suggest you read the actual language of the bill as I do not mean to mischaracterize any portion of it.


As always we welcome questions, feedback, personal takes on these or any other issues dealing with Mississippi Law.

MS Marriage Laws

The Clarion Ledger in Jackson had an intersting editorial today referencing HB 167. Link to the editorial is here. Basically the thought is that the time has passed where a 3 day waiting period and a blood test are now obsolete (and more so, an obsticle for tourism and the drive-thru wedding that casino destinations are known for). Does anyone have any thoughts on changing the law, Is Mississippi in the dark ages or is this just another left-wing progression pushed on Mississippians.

Favorite Proposals

Not much is making news in legislation this week, more talk about Haley Barbour filing his financial report showing before campaigns even get fired up he raised the 3rd largest amount ever, in Mississippi state politics. Due to the slowness of the week I wanted to mention a favorite proposal of mine, House Resolution 1 proposed by Jamie Franks.

It, quiet simply, would place House Roll Call votes on the internet for public viewing I am not really sure why it hasn't been like this in the past, especially since they put in the new boards and voting boxes a couple of years ago.

If you have a proposal you like or would like to discuss let us know.

State of the State

Here is a link to Governor Barbour's State of the State address from last night. While not legal persay it gives a good indication of upcoming veto's and legislative pushes from the governor's office and Mississppi Republicans in general.

Think of it what you will, if someone wants to talk about a specific part of it post a comment and we can run with it.

HB 238 - K-12 Education Full Funding Passes the House

Not necessarily the most exciting topic but in an election year it looks like no one wants to squabble over Education funding. For more details see the Daily Journal article, the Hattiesburg American article or this Clarion Ledger article, all of which led their papers today. The vote was 119-1 in the House and the Governor says at this level of full funding (they moved the number down a couple of week ago) he will sign it.

On the more political side of it I think we saw a backdoor compromise between parties that don't like each other. It appears to me that the Democrats pushed hard and loud for fully funding MAEP even before the session started. Barbour and the Republicans balked and contentiousness seemed in the air. However, Ed Chief, Hank Bounds seemed to recalculate the numbers for MAEP, the number went down and now Barbour has an amount he is willing to spend and the Democrats get a fully funded MAEP (even though it is less than previous thought). It looks like this may actually be a year for bipartisanship (and spending) with elections right around the corner.

Link to the actual text of HB 238.

Katrina victim defeats State Farm yesterday

I feel like we would be remiss from mentioning a first major court victory for a homeowner who lost their house in Hurricane Katrina and was denied coverage by their insurer. Here is a link to the article reflecting on the 200k-plus in compensatory damages and 2.5 million in punitive damages awarded to the plaintiffs.

I am a little too close to this situation to talk about specifics with Katrina lawsuits but some of the other mods on this board may want to talk more about this ruling and what may or may not come of it and the other cases filling the coastal county's dockets.

Judge Leslie Southwick

Judge Southwick after several years as a Mississippi Court of Appeals judge has been nominated by President Bush for appointment to the 5th circuit. For a Clarion Ledger editoral about this see here.

This nomination has my full support, as if it needed it, as I have known Judge Southwick for about 5 years meeting him while in lawschool as he taught an Administrative Law class I took. This is a man of great intellect (teaching atleast 3 different subjects at Mississippi College School of Law in Ethics, Administrative Law and Oil and Gas), a sharp humor, and a very good and thorough writer as evidenced by his Court of Appeals opinions which can be found at the MS Supreme Court website, here. I also personally like how Judge Southwick doesn't mind writing dissents and it helps to further show he isn't lazy and takes the position of appellate judge as serious as it should be viewed (unlike some other appellate judges out there).