West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has filed an advisory opinion stating that state Republicans, rather than state Democrats, should suggest replacements for a retiring state senator. The senator in question had been elected as a Democrat before switching parties, and some state officials claim West Virginia's laws are ambiguous about the replacement procedures in such an instance. Read more at The Register-Herald.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state may decline to place foster children with parents who use occasional spanking to discipline their own children. The family claimed that such a restriction would violate their religious freedom, but the court held that the state's strict scrutiny test for not granting a religious exemption was satisfied. Read more at The Volokh Conspiracy.
