All posts tagged: Law

Why pushback is growing against New Jersey’s crazy e-bike law

Why pushback is growing against New Jersey’s crazy e-bike law

Published by skeptic

New Jersey’s controversial new e-bike law was pitched as a way to improve safety, but with its July 19 implementation date rapidly approaching, a growing number of riders, advocates, and even lawmakers are arguing that the state may have gone too far. A rally at the New Jersey Statehouse last week drew a large crowd of supporters calling for the law to be amended or replaced. At the center of the controversy is the fact that the legislation treats nearly every type of e-bike the same, from a 20 mph (32 km/h) pedal-assist commuter bike to the much faster electric motorcycles and e-motos that have become increasingly common on streets. The law requires all e-bikers to be licensed in the state and sets out insurance and registration requirements. The distinction between electric bicycles and e-motos is one that many of us in the e-bike industry have been making for years. While media headlines often lump everything with two wheels and a battery into the “e-bike” category, there’s a world of difference between a Class 1 …

US surveillance law to expire for first time after lawmakers reject Trump’s controversial pick to lead spy agencies

US surveillance law to expire for first time after lawmakers reject Trump’s controversial pick to lead spy agencies

Published by skeptic

The House of Representatives has failed to renew the U.S. government’s warrant-less surveillance law before it is due to expire on Friday, all but guaranteeing that it will lapse for the first time, as lawmakers protest the appointment of a controversial Trump ally to oversee U.S. intelligence agencies. The House voted 218-198 on the bill, which needed a two-thirds majority to pass; 19 Republican lawmakers voted against it. According to Politico, the next vote is scheduled for June 23. The spy law, officially dubbed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), broadly allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect vast amounts of information, including on Americans, to identify foreign hackers, spies and potential terrorists. Also known as Section 702 for its place in the law books, the regulation has been considered critical to national security by both Democrats and Republicans for years. Bipartisan efforts to renew the decades-old spy law stalled over recent weeks, and lawmakers were only able to pass short-term extensions to continue negotiations. Critics have been calling for overwhelming reform of FISA, citing abuses …

Lyhanna case triggers calls for law change in France

Lyhanna case triggers calls for law change in France

Published by Sam Flores

The death of 11-year-old Lyhanna, whose body was found in an abandoned silo, has shocked France and galvanized a population who say that her death was entirely preventible. They blame the slow justice system which failed to bring the main suspect into custody even though he was the subject of several reports of sexual violence. Activist groups in France are calling for stricter and more comprehensive laws on the protection of women and children. Our colleages at France 2 and Simon Moritz take a look. Source link

House Rejects Short-Term Spy Law Extension As GOP Races To Preserve FISA Surveillance Tool Before Friday Deadline

House Rejects Short-Term Spy Law Extension As GOP Races To Preserve FISA Surveillance Tool Before Friday Deadline

Published by Jenni Sidey

Update (1100ET): A key spy law could expire after the House blocked its short-term reauthorization. The June 11 vote set back an effort to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). President Trump’s selection of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence drove Democratic opposition to reauthorizing Section 702. Some Republicans have voiced concerns about how the authority, though targeted at foreigners abroad, enables the incidental warrantless surveillance of Americans. The White House could attempt to bridge the gap with an executive order. In a June 6 letter to the White House, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) recommended such a course of action in anticipation of a possible lapse. As American Greatness detailed earlier, The House is preparing to vote on a short-term extension of a key federal surveillance program after Senate negotiations stalled, setting up a battle over national security authorities that are set to expire this week. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, announced Wednesday that the chamber will vote Thursday morning on a temporary …

The New Law of Political Prosecutions

The New Law of Political Prosecutions

Published by Daniella Wilson

Never before in American history has a president abused his authority so blatantly to prosecute his enemies. For defendants pursued by Donald Trump’s Justice Department, this paucity of historical precedents initially presented a problem: Not much law on the books can help someone fight back against a malicious prosecution, and what law does exist tends to be favorable to the government. That is changing now. Defense lawyers for people targeted are finding that motions that might have once been dismissed out of hand are being seriously considered—and even granted—by judges newly skeptical of DOJ’s integrity and fidelity to the law. As the shoddy criminal cases against Trump’s enemies stretch on, and as their numbers mount, defense lawyers are starting to sketch out the earliest drafts of a road map for how to respond to politically abusive prosecutions. And judges, skeptical of what they are seeing from DOJ, have begun building upon one another’s work to adapt criminal law to an era when the federal government cannot be trusted. In particular, two defense tactics that have …

Politics Home Article | PM Says Belfast Rioters “Will Face The Full Force Of The Law”

Politics Home Article | PM Says Belfast Rioters “Will Face The Full Force Of The Law”

Published by Sam Flores

The Prime Minister said those responsible for the violence and disorder would “feel the full force of the law”. (Alamy) 2 min read4 hr Keir Starmer has said that rioters who set fire to homes and cars in Belfast on Tuesday night targeted people because of their background, warning that he will not “tolerate it”. He added that there is “no justification” for people “who encouraged it, online or elsewhere”. The violent unrest in Northern Ireland on Tuesday night came after a man was charged with attempted murder in Belfast following a knife attack in the city, with footage of the attack shared widely on social media.  The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said yesterday that the alleged attacker was of Sudanese descent and in his 30s. On Wednesday, he was named as Hadi Alodid. He is appearing in court this morning, accused of attempted murder. The court has heard that the victim, who remains in hospital, has lost his left eye as a result of the attack. Footage showed rioters setting fire to vehicles and houses in …

Democratic Law in the State of Nature: A Kantian Reconstruction

Democratic Law in the State of Nature: A Kantian Reconstruction

Published by Jenni Sidey

A familiar puzzle sits at the heart of contemporary legal and political philosophy. On the one hand, rights are taken to exist prior to political institutions, originating in a primordial state of nature: Individuals possess claims over their bodies, property, and choices independently of any collective will. On the other hand, we are equally committed to the idea that legitimate law must be democratic—that it must, in some sense, be authored by those subject to it. The result is a persistent tension: How can rights be both prior to and yet dependent upon democratic law? This tension acquires particular urgency in the current climate of strain on constitutional democracies. A familiar liberal diagnosis casts it as a dilemma: Either rights constrain democratic will, or democracy reshapes rights in its own image. Yet this dilemma arises only by clinging to a sharp divide between rights and democratic law—a divide that haunts mainstream liberal thought and fuels its recurring distrust of democracy as a potential gateway to populism. But what if this picture is mistaken? What if …

Driver kills girlfriend in fatal crash – escapes jail under 1836 law | UK | News

Driver kills girlfriend in fatal crash – escapes jail under 1836 law | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Sophie Brimble died when the Volkswagen Polo she was a passenger in crashed into a lamppost at speeds of up to 80mph. (Image: Tom Wren / SWNS) The family of a young woman killed by a speeding motorist are outraged that he has escaped any form of punishment — due to an obscure law dating back 200 years. Sophie Brimble, 20, died when her boyfriend Jay Bayliss, now 32, crashed into a lamppost while driving at almost three times the speed limit. The fatal collision followed a high-speed race between Bayliss and his friend Neil Brooks, 49, after Brooks overtook Bayliss in July 2017. Sophie’s family has now broken their silence to demand a change in the law after he was handed an ‘absolute discharge’ under a piece of legislation from 1836 relating to his fitness to stand trial. Brooks was jailed for eight years and handed a lengthy driving ban, but Bayliss was initially considered too seriously injured to stand trial. However, an investigation was reopened in 2024 after police discovered he had regained …