On March 14, 2013, Jeff Wice will moderate a panel on the possible effects of the decision in Shelby County v. Holder. The panel is presented jointly by the New York Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society and LatinoJustice PRLDEF. Mr. Wice will moderate a panel consisting of Leah Aden ,Assistant Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Juan Cartagena, President of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and Myrna Pérez, Senior Counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice.
At issue in Shelby County v. Holder – which has been argued before the Supreme Court, but not yet decided – was the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The panel will discuss how the case made its way to the Supreme Court, as well as the potential ramifications of the Supreme Court striking down the statute.
Sandler Reiff Young & Lamb attorney Liz Howard was quoted today in a Slate.com article regarding political text message spam. The article discusses the proliferation of these unwanted and unsolicited text messages, which cost recipients money in text message charges, in recent elections. Although the Telephone Consumer Protection Act prohibits sending unsolicited political text messages, some spammers believe they have found a loophole in the law.
In a recent Petition submitted to the FCC on behalf of Scott Goodstein’s firm, Revolution Messaging, Inc., Howard and Joe Sandler request the agency to clarify that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act prohibits all political text message spam, even text message spam sent using internet-to-phone SMS. “’You’re not allowed to use an auto-dialing device to call a cell phone without express consent,’ argues Elizabeth Howard, a lawyer with the Washington firm Sandler Reiff Young & Lamb who drafted Revolution’s petition.”
In addition to the article at Slate.com, the issue was also covered by the Los Angeles Times.
Mr. Sandler will participate in a panel on “The Future of Voter Protection,” with Hannah Fried, the Director of the DNC’s voter protection program. To view the conference agenda, click here.