October 18, 2008
Bad law journalism
So the Supreme Court addressed the recent Ohio voter registration issue this week. This article has the headline "High court rejects GOP bid in Ohio voting dispute".
I suppose that's technically correct, but that's misleading. The verdict, unsigned, had nothing to do with the merits of the case. The GOP didn't have standing to sue, because the law does not allow private parties to bring an enforcement suit. So Ohio may well be in violation of the law, but from my understanding, it would have to be the Department of Justice--or maybe the FEC, should they ever get their act together--which would bring suit, not any citizen or group of citizens.
This kind of thing happens all the time: journalists lead with a sensational headline about what the Supreme Court "did" or who they're "supporting" today. Most of the time cases turn on incredibly technical issues like standing or statutory interpretation. But that doesn't make for very interesting non-legal reading, so we get headlines like this one. Yes, the GOP's case was dismissed, but not because the Supreme Court supports what appears to be a pretty clear case of voter registration fraud.
