<|endoftext|> hunting and scientific reasons.
North Dakota is one of the few states that does not currently classify animal cruelty as a felony.
Jason Zahn, president of the North Dakota Stockmen��s Association, one of the groups that led the campaign against Measure 5, said a major source of contention was the inclusion of horses in the ballot language.
��I think that��s where the red flag was for us—(throwing) horses in with companion animals,�� Zahn said. ��Yes you take care of them, and they can be pets, but in North Dakota we consider them livestock.��
Crackdown on Sex Traffickers
Back in California, voter willingness to re-think the state��s draconian Three Strikes law did not extend to charity towards sex traffickers and sex offenders.
Californian voted overwhelmingly (81 percent) in favor of Proposition 35, which increases prison sentences and fines for human trafficking convictions, and requires convicted human traffickers to register as sex offenders.
According to Chemerinsky, the battle may end up being decided in the courts.
��Who��s going to vote against a law that��s against sex trafficking?�� he said. ��But I think there��s a strong case it��s going to be found unconstitutional.��
In one interesting twist to the new measure—that may have right-to-privacy implications, registered sex offenders will also be required to disclose Internet activities and identities.
In Arizona and Florida, voters rejected measures that would have altered the structures of their judicial systems.
In Arizona, Proposition 115 would have increased the governor��s options in choosing judges for the state Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and the Superior Courts of Pima and Maricopa Counties. Currently, the governor of Arizona chooses from three finalists selected by a screening panel when choosing potential judges.
This Proposition would have allowed for eight finalists.
Florida��s Amendment 5 would have given lawmakers control over changes to the rules governing the court system and contained a provision for Senate confirmation of Supreme Court justices.
Scott Boddery, a Florida lawyer currently studying judicial politics at the State University of New York at Binghamton, said voters are often suspicious of measures that award executives greater power.
��When the public sees legislative ballots like this, people kind of step back and say ��wait a minute here,�� Boddery said.
��Public support of the state��s executive seems to be irrelevant�� when it comes to modifying judicial structures, he added.
Hard Line on Convicted Public Officials
Voters in Louisiana, Maryland and Nebraska gave landslide victories to amendments and questions concerning repercussions for public officials convicted of crimes.
Louisiana��s Amendment 5 allows the state��s legislature to deny retirement benefits to any public servant convicted of a felony related to his or her office. Maryland��s Question 3 specifies conditions in which elected officials convicted of felonies can be removed from office; Nebraska��s Amendment 1 makes any judgment of a misdemeanor committed in pursuit of office grounds for subsequent removal from office.
Doug Berman, professor of law at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, said measures like those in Louisiana, Maryland and Nebraska are easy calls for the public.
��It��s hard to believe that anybody would be against being tough on politicians that break the law. It makes sure that public officials know we��re keeping an eye on them,�� Berman said.
In Oklahoma and Idaho, voters approved measures that changed the administration of parole in their states. In Oklahoma, State Question 762 abolished the state governor��s role in the parole process for certain non-violent crimes.
In Idaho, SJR 102 affirms the State Board of Correction control over the management of felony probation and parole, while eliminating the department��s control over misdemeanor parole.
In both cases, the approved measures are bringing the states in line with parole norms across the country, according to Martin Horn, a former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction and Department of Probation, and current distinguished lecturer at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
��It��s the rare state where the governor actually has a role in parole,�� Horn said. ��The parole board is that quasi-judicial body that should be in the hands of an independent body.��<|endoftext|>The Red Crescent has an incentive to claim neutrality; at stake are hundreds of millions of dollars of international aid that opposition leaders in exile are trying to divert from the organization to their own aid groups or to international agencies they say would be more impartial.
But international aid workers say the group��s evolution also appears to be driven by new volunteers, starved for meaningful civic action, who take