Reminder: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was a lawyer for a 9/11 terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui

Justice Department Reaches Agreement with City of Eastpointe, Michigan, Under the Voting Rights Act

The Department’s complaint alleges the current method of election for the Eastpointe City Council results in black citizens in Eastpointe having less opportunity than white citizens to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of their choice to the city council, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Subject to court approval, the agreement will alter the method of electing the Eastpointe City Council, from a traditional at-large method of election to one that utilizes ranked choice voting beginning with the November 2019 election.

Under the agreement, the city councilmembers will continue to be elected on a citywide basis, but under the new ranked choice voting system, Eastpointe voters will rank city council candidates in their order of preference. The agreement provides that the city will conduct a robust voter education program for the new method of election.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-reaches-agreement-city-eastpointe-michigan-under-voting-rights-act

Department of Justice Opens Review of ASCAP and BMI Consent Decrees

As part of The Department of Justice’s ongoing review of legacy antitrust judgments, the Antitrust Division today announced that it has opened a review of its consent decrees with The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI). For more than seventy-five years, these decrees have governed the process by which these two organizations license rights to publicly perform musical works. The purpose of the Division’s review is to determine whether the decrees should be maintained in their current form, modified, or terminated.

ASCAP and BMI are the two largest performing rights organizations in the United States. Their primary function is to pool the copyrights held by their composer, songwriter, and publisher members or affiliates and collectively license public performance rights to music users such as radio and television stations, streaming services, concert venues, bars, restaurants, and retail establishments.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-opens-review-ascap-and-bmi-consent-decrees