In a significant legal development, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a decision that severely weakens the Voting Rights Act, a cornerstone of civil rights legislation. Elections law expert Richard Hasen of UCLA Law School provided analysis on the ruling, which he described as crippling the landmark law.
The Court's decision narrows the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices that discriminate on the basis of race. The ruling is expected to make it more difficult for plaintiffs to challenge discriminatory voting maps and practices.
Separately, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case involving Bayer AG, the parent company of Monsanto. Mass torts expert Elizabeth Burch of the University of Georgia Law School discussed the proceedings. Bayer is seeking to halt lawsuits claiming that its Roundup herbicide should have carried a cancer warning. Burch, who authored the book "The Pain Brokers," noted that the case could have far-reaching implications for mass tort litigation.
The episodes were hosted by June Grasso on Bloomberg Law.