Motion (legal)

The Justice Department is urging a federal judge to rule quickly on its bid to stop California from counting ballots cast by people on a federal list of more than 20,000 potential noncitizens. The request came after Secretary of State Shirley Weber and L.A. County registrar Dean Logan did not review the list on the DOJ's timeline; California's Attorney General Rob Bonta has moved to dismiss the suit, calling it legally weak. Federal officials separately charged 28 legal permanent residents with voter fraud-related offenses this week. In a related case, a federal judge blocked the Department of Homeland Security from using its own noncitizen-voter list, finding it unreliable. State audits show noncitizen voting is rare.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that privately possessing AI-generated child sexual abuse material inside one's home is protected by the First Amendment, citing prior Supreme Court precedent on obscene materials. The ruling directly applies to Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin but could be cited elsewhere, including Florida, as grounds for a motion to dismiss possession charges.

Pensacola Police Chief Eric Winstrom says the court "got it wrong," arguing that AI-generated CSAM still relies on real abuse imagery for training and can be used as a grooming tool, fueling demand for real child exploitation material. Defense attorney Kim Skievaski notes the Supreme Court precedent underlying the ruling predates modern AI capable of producing near-indistinguishable synthetic abuse content. Both say the Supreme Court needs to issue clearer guidance or that legislators must act, without infringing on constitutional protections for private possession of obscene material. Creating, distributing or possessing AI-generated CSAM remains illegal under Florida law; the 7th Circuit ruling would only apply locally as a legal argument to dismiss possession charges.