Alabama Reflector

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The Alabama Reflector is an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to covering state government and politics in the state of Alabama.

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Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, underwent a “brief surgical procedure” Thursday to address internal bleeding after a jet ski accident. A news release said the two-term senator's "prognosis for recovery was good." alabamareflector.com/briefs/alaba... #alpolitics

Alabama Sen. Garlan Gudger injured in jet ski accident • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com Physicians had indicated that recovery for Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, was likely following a holiday accident.

Via @jemmakstephenson.bsky.social : Alabama State Superintendent Eric Mackey said Wednesday that the state Department of Education’s computer systems had been breached last month and that students and employees of the department may have been affected.

Alabama Department of Education targeted in cyberattack • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com State Superintendent Eric Mackey that parents and employees should monitor their credit and assume data was compromised.

Via @alander.bsky.social: Alabama state officials argued in a motion Monday that inmates and civil rights groups accusing DOC of employing slave labor did not pursue all available administrative channels and improperly split their claims across multiple lawsuits.

Alabama state officials defend Alabama prison practices amid labor exploitation claims • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com Alabama officials argued that inmates and civil rights groups didn't exhaust administrative remedies before suing over alleged slave labor.

Via @jemmakstephenson.bsky.social: Attorneys for transgender youth and their families, who are seeking to overturn Alabama's ban, asked for the stay after the U.S. Supreme Court took up a similar case in Tennessee.

Federal judge stays potential trial over Alabama's gender-affirming medical care ban • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke wrote that the state can continue enforcing the ban while the Supreme Court takes up the issue.

A Montgomery circuit court judge Tuesday said he would extend a hold on medical cannabis licensing in Alabama, further extending a delay in the program, approved by the Legislature in 2021.

Alabama judge extends hold on medical cannabis licensing • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com A Montgomery circuit judge continued to block licenses but directed parties in the medical cannabis licensing lawsuit to negotiate investigative hearings.

“The world Defendants attempt to portray—one of rampant on-demand sterilization, nefarious organizations pushing unsafe treatment to serve political ends, and where transgender youth are not actually transgender—does not exist,” the DOJ wrote in opposition to a Alabama attorney general's motion.

DOJ, families of transgender youth oppose summary judgment in lawsuit over care ban • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com The Department of Justice and plaintiffs alleged that the Attorney General's office did not use undisputed facts.

The rule would require employers to monitor workers’ heat exposure, provide cool-down areas and take mandatory cool-down breaks.

Biden administration announces new rule to protect workers from heat-related illnesses • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com The rule would require employers to monitor workers’ heat exposure, provide cool-down areas and take mandatory cool-down breaks.

The Autauga-Prattville Library Board of Trustees, facing controversy and litigation over its policies on book removal, passed a resolution last week declaring the board would have the final say on what books could be displayed.

Autauga-Prattville Library Board approves book removal policy as controversy continues • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com Library Board members passed a resolution allowing patrons to appeal decisions about books. Critics still cite free speech violations.

“This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America,” Biden said. “Each of us is equal before the law. No one — no one — is above the law, not even the president of the United States.”

‘No kings in America’: Biden slams U.S. Supreme Court ruling granting Trump immunity • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com Biden said the 6-3 decision contradicted the spirit of the country’s founding that no one is above the law.

Via @alander.bsky.social: About 370,000 Alabamians were removed from Medicaid in the 10 months after federal restrictions on disenrollment expired earlier this year, according to an estimate from KFF, a health policy research and news organization.

370,000 Alabamians removed from Medicaid after COVID restrictions lifted • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com About 370,000 Alabamians were removed from Medicaid after federal restrictions expired, far exceeding KFF's 2019 estimate of 170,000 for a year.

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My column this week. Some Independence Day-thoughts on who we need to thank for our freedom, after a visit to EJI’s monument to the victims of slavery.

Freedom isn't free • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com Throughout American history, the people denied freedom have been the most active in expanding our ideas of what liberty is.

Via @jemmakstephenson.bsky.social: Whether or not Alabama lawmakers follow Louisiana and mandate Ten Commandments displays in public schools, old rulings on the displays are on "shaky ground," according to experts.

Old cases regulating Ten Commandments displays may be on 'shaky ground' • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com The Alabama Constitution allows the display of the Ten Commandments in public spaces, including schools, but does not mandate it.

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Via @alander.bsky.social: The attorneys Friday acknowledged a concern on how Judge Liles C. Burke would rule in the case, but said other factors weighed more in their decision to withdraw an initial lawsuit.

Lawyers apologize for alleged judge-shopping in gender-affirming care case • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com Two lawyers apologized to Judge Liles C. Burke for withdrawing and refiling a gender-affirming care lawsuit, citing a combination of concerns.

Via @kelciemmorris.bsky.social: The Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling remands a case about emergency abortions in Idaho back to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for now.

U.S. Supreme Court sends Idaho abortion case back down to lower courts • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com The Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling remands a case about emergency abortions in Idaho back to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for now.

The final part of our profile of Diane Derzis. The Dobbs decision ended federal abortion rights protections and closed a clinic in Jackson, Mississippi. It reopened later that year in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Here's how Derzis and Shannon Brewer (seen in the photo) did it.

From Roe to Dobbs and Beyond: A resurrection in New Mexico • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com The Jackson Women's Health Organization closed in Mississippi after Dobbs. It reopened in Las Cruces, New Mexico months later.

Part 3 of our series on Diane Derzis. What it meant to own and operate Jackson Women's Medical Organization -- the center of the 2022 Dobbs decision striking down federal abortion rights -- and what happened when the legal battles began. alabamareflector.com/2024/06/26/f...

From Roe to Dobbs and Beyond: The last clinic in Mississippi • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com Diane Derzis and her business partners bought a clinic in Mississippi in 2010. It would become the center of a historic case.

Via @alander.bsky.social: A federal judge Monday began a hearing on allegations of judge shopping in Alabama’s gender-affirming care lawsuit by closely questioning two of 11 lawyers facing accusations.

Federal judge starts hearing on allegations in gender-affirming care case • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke questioned two of 11 attorneys accused of seeking a judge who would provide them a favorable outcome.

Part 2 of our series on Diane Derzis' life in abortion care. After suffering burnout from running abortion clinics in the 1980s and 1990s, Diane Derzis took an opportunity to run Birmingham's New Woman All Women Health Clinic. In 1998, a terrorist attacked it. alabamareflector.com/2024/06/25/f...

From Roe to Dobbs and Beyond: The Birmingham bombing, and the aftermath • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com Diane Derzis returned to abortion clinic work after taking a six-month rest. She soon faced a horrifying act of terrorism.

Alabama lawmakers have always found career safety in shifting to the right. Editor @brianlyman.bsky.social writes that political expediency like that could put the future of in vitro fertilization in jeopardy.

Leaving Alabama's IVF programs open to attack • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com Extremists want to attack in vitro fertilization programs. The incentives for appeasing extremists in Alabama could help them win.

Diane Derzis began working in abortion clinics a few years after Roe v. Wade. A clinic she co-owned was at the center of the Dobbs decision, which ended federal abortion rights protections. In Part 1 of this profile, we look at her early work providing abortion care.

From Roe to Dobbs and Beyond: Diane Derzis' lifetime in abortion care • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com Diane Derzis began working in abortion care a few years after Roe. Her clinic was at the center of a devastating U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Via @jemmakstephenson.bsky.social: The judge overseeing a case over Alabama’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors has required plaintiffs’ attorneys to turn over any public statements related to allegations that the attorneys engaged in judge shopping. alabamareflector.com/2024/06/21/f...

Federal judge demands lawyers' public statements in judge-shopping case • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com An attorney representing the lawyers in the case said they planned to file an objection to the order, which sets a Saturday deadline.

In an 8-1 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that “our Nation’s firearm laws have included provisions preventing individuals who threaten physical harm to others from misusing firearms.” Justice Clarence Thomas dissented.

U.S. Supreme Court upholds law that prevents domestic abusers from owning guns • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that a person found by a court to pose a threat to another may be "temporarily disarmed."

Via @alander.bsky.social : U.S. District Judge Corey L. Maze wrote that the plaintiffs, who included six Black inmates, had failed to establish that a “racially discriminatory intent or purpose” motivated a 2019 change to parole standards.

Federal judge denies temporary stay in lawsuit over Alabama prison labor • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com A federal court denied an injunction against Alabama prisons, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to prove racial bias in parole standards changes.

Two groups opposed to new Alabama public library rules that they say unconstitutionally restrict books have asked state legislators to intervene.

Groups opposed to new Alabama library rules want legislators to intervene • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com The groups argue the Alabama Public Library Service did not follow a process to change rules and ignored some public input.

The Equal Justice Initiative Wednesday formally dedicated a memorial in Montgomery to survivors of slavery. Inscribed on it are 122,000 surnames of families that were held in bondage.

Equal Justice Initiative dedicates monument to slavery survivors at Montgomery memorial park • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com The Equal Justice Initiative hosted a private dedication to the National Monument to Freedom to celebrate Juneteenth holiday.

An Alabama commission erecting statues of Rosa Parks and Helen Keller at the State Capitol has a unique challenge: summarize each woman's life on a plaque in 70 words or less.

Commission challenge: Summarize Rosa Parks and Helen Keller in 70 words or less • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com The Alabama Women’s Tribute Statue Commission must summarize Rosa Parks and Helen Keller’s lives in 70 words while ensuring accuracy and accessibility.

Via @jemmakstephenson.bsky.social : In a 31-page filing Monday, attorneys challenging new Alabama restrictions on some absentee ballot assistance argued that voting assistance is protected by the First Amendment.

Voting assistance covered by First Amendment, say plaintiffs in absentee ballot case • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com The plaintiffs wrote that a preliminary injunction against a law restricting absentee ballot assistance is necessary.

Via @jemmakstephenson.bsky.social: A federal judge has asked attorneys for a group of transgender families to turn over a document used to prepare attorneys for questions amid allegations of judge-shopping.

Federal judge wants Q&A document from lawyers in transgender medical case • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com A federal judge asked for a document that may or may not be covered under attorney-client privilege after allegations against the attorneys.

Via @alander.bsky.social: Polls are open for today's special Alabama House election in House District 52 in Birmingham. Here's a guide to the race.

Alabama House District 52 holds special election: Here's what to know • Alabama Reflectoralabamareflector.com Birmingham-area voters will choose state House nominees on Tuesday after a primary campaign focused on education and health care.