National Briefing

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/18/us/national-briefing.html

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A Chicago police officer whose fatal shooting of an unarmed woman was one in a series of killings of young black people that shattered the public’s trust has quit rather than fight to keep his job. The city’s police board announced Tuesday that the officer, Dante Servin, who was off duty when he shot Rekia Boyd in 2012, resigned two days before a hearing at which the board was to decide if he should be fired. Ms. Boyd, 22, was walking with friends on a street when Mr. Servin told them to be quiet. He said he had fired because he had seen a person moving toward him with a gun, but the police found only a cellphone at the scene. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but a judge acquitted him, saying Mr. Servin had been improperly charged, and suggested that if the act was intentional, then the crime, “if any there be, is first-degree murder.” The city settled a lawsuit in 2013 with the Boyd family for $4.5 million. (AP)

A federal judge says Kansas cannot require people to show proof of United States citizenship when registering at motor vehicle offices to vote in federal elections. Judge Julie Robinson of United States District Court issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday in a lawsuit over the requirements, but delayed it until May 31 so the state can appeal. Judge Robinson said more than 18,000 eligible voters would be disenfranchised in November under the law. She said Kansas’ rules violated a provision in the National Voter Registration Act requiring only minimal information for eligibility. Kansas’ secretary of state, Kris Kobach, said he planned to appeal. The American Civil Liberties Union said the ruling sent a signal to other states that may be considering similar rules. (AP)