Supreme Court Upholds Voter ID Law, Lethal Injection
The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided that the state of Indiana acted within the Constitution when it required voters to show government-issued photo ID before voting. Supporters of the law argue that it discourages vote-rigging, while opponents are concerned that it will disenfranchise the poor and elderly. Other states may now follow Indiana’s lead. See coverage from Reuters, and the full text of the decision at Justia.com. In another notable decision, the Court effectively lifted the moratorium on the use of lethal injection as a form of execution. Lethal injection is used by 35 states including Kentucky, where death row inmates challenged the practice as cruel and unusual punishment due to the “risk of unnecessary pain.” Read more about it on CNN's website, and get further information (from an anti-capital punishment perspective) at the website of the Death Penalty Information Center. The same day the Court released its opinion on lethal injection, it began considering whether execution is a Constitutionally-protected punishment for child rape. Louisiana is championing the idea that execution should be allowed in cases where the accused is convicted after pleading innocence. Learn more on National Public Radio’s website, and from the Pew Research Center.

State Crime Lab Under Attack
According to the Washington State Forensic Investigations Council, the entire state crime lab system has lost credibility due to reports of mishandling of evidence and employees falsely certifying test results. Read about it in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. In related news, as reported in USA Today, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether prosecutors can use crime lab reports as evidence in a trial if the forensic analyst who prepared them doesn't testify.

Election 2008
Many websites offer tools for keeping track of what’s happening in the Presidential race. We suggest CNN, National Public Radio, The New York Times, and – for a foreign perspective – the BBC. For in-depth information on the candidates' stands on various issues, see the websites of The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and Project Vote Smart.