| The Help America Vote Act of 2002 |
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| The Help American Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), labeled as a federal election reform law, provides federal funding so that states and territories can make polling places more accessible. It also seeks to improve the voting process over a three-year period. HAVA authorizes nearly four billion dollars in federal funding so that states can replace outdated voting equipment and implement new voting technologies.
Vote Act of 2002 mandates accessible and improved voting processesMore... |
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| Searches of Bookstore Records |
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| Pursuant to § 215 of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), the Federal Bureau of Investigation can demand that booksellers, as well as librarians, turn over records about their customers and patrons. For example, the owner of a bookstore might be asked to provide a list of the books, magazines, videos, CDs, and computer software that a customer has purchased.
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| Miranda Warnings |
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| Designed to protect a suspect under arrest from the pressures of being in custody, the "Miranda warnings" require police to tell the suspect that he has a right to remain silent, that if he gives up his right to remain silent anything she says may be used against him in court, that he has a right to have an attorney present during interrogation, and that if he cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for him. Any individual who is questioned or interrogated while in police custody must be given the Miranda warnings. This rule of law sounds simpler than it really is, as the question of "when is a suspect in custody" can be difficult to answer.
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| The Freedom of Speech in Airports |
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| The Supreme Court has held that airport terminals operated by public authorities are nonpublic fora. Accordingly, any ban or restriction on certain First Amendment activities, such as charitable or religious solicitation and literature distribution, needs only to satisfy a "reasonableness" standard. Magazine bans and the placement of news racks in airports raise censorship issues, as do the the placement of advertisements in airports and the removal of artwork from airports.
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| Discrimination Against Individuals with HIV and AIDS |
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| Sexual orientation discrimination is unequal treatment based on a person's actual or perceived sexual orientation. Some instances of sexual orientation discrimination have been fueled by a fear--although usually an extremely unlikely possibility--of contracting HIV or AIDS.
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