Supreme Court Kills Arizona 'Proof of Citizenship' Law

The Supreme Court today struck down an Arizona law requiring people to show proof that they're US citizens in order to register to vote. In a 7-2 decision, the court ruled that the law, which was approved by voters as a ballot proposition, conflicted with a 1993 federal law designed to make voter registration easier, and that the federal law takes precedence, the AP reports.

Conservatives Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito cast the two dissenting votes, but the majority opinion was written by conservative champion Antonin Scalia, Reuters reports. It's the first of a number of huge rulings expected from the high court this week. A couple other minor rulings came down today as well, including:

• In a 5-4 ruling, the court ruled that if suspects refuse to talk to police before they're read their Miranda rights, prosecutors can use that silence against them in court.
• The court said that lawyers can not use information from state driver's license databases to recruit clients, because it violated a federal privacy law protecting motor vehicle records, in another 5-4 decision.

(More US Supreme Court stories.)