Equal Protection Clause

A New York Times investigation has intensified scrutiny of Democratic Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola, reporting that former staff say she knew of an effort by her campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to recruit a decoy "Dan Sullivan" candidate to confuse voters facing incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). The report also ties the Elias Law Group, led by veteran Democratic lawyer Marc Elias, to the effort. Peltola and party officials had previously denied involvement. State and federal investigators have issued subpoenas, and tens of thousands of ballots featuring the decoy candidate have already been cast, raising the prospect of a contested outcome if Peltola wins.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) has filed a lawsuit against the state's Minority Teacher Loan (MTL) Program, arguing its race-based eligibility criteria violate the Equal Protection Clause. The program offers up to $30,000 in forgivable loans to students pursuing teaching licenses in shortage areas, such as special education, math, science, and foreign languages, but restricts eligibility to specific racial and ethnic groups, excluding otherwise qualified applicants based solely on race.

The suit, filed on behalf of Citizens Defending Liberty against the Higher Educational Aids Board and its executive secretary, follows a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling earlier this year in Rabiebna v. Higher Educational Aids Board, which struck down a similar race-based minority grant program. WILL contends the MTL Program lacks a compelling government interest to justify racial classifications and worsens the state's teacher shortage by narrowing the pool of eligible applicants. The case adds to a broader wave of legal challenges targeting race-conscious government programs nationwide.

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled that Idaho's "Defense of Life Act" and "Fetal Heartbeat Act" violate the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment by barring doctors from performing abortions to protect a pregnant patient's health or prevent self-harm. The laws had allowed prosecution of physicians, with penalties including loss of license and up to five years in prison, with narrow exceptions for cases where the mother's life is at risk or in some rape and incest cases.

Winmill found the state cannot force a pregnant person to suffer serious, non-lethal harm—including mental health crises—for the sake of a fetus, and highlighted testimony that patients had to be sent out of state for care. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador said he will appeal. The ruling comes as Idaho voters prepare to decide a ballot initiative this fall on rolling back the state's abortion ban, alongside related abortion measures in Virginia, Nevada, and Missouri.