A major provision of the law designed to take racism out of the voting process may be struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. The highest court in the land heard oral arguments Wednesday in a challenge to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The provision in the landmark 1965 civil rights law requires 16 states -- including Louisiana -- to receive approval from the U.S. Department of Justice before changing any voting procedures, from district boundaries to a polling place.

The highest court in the land won't be weighing in on the fate of C-Murder. The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear the local rapper appeal his 2009 murder conviction. C-Murder, real name Corey Miller, was convicted of second degree murder for killing 16-year-old fan Steve Thomas at a West Bank nightclub in 2002.

According to the U.S. Supreme Court, the prosecutors who worked for former Orleans Parish District Attorney Harry Connick Sr. didn't show a pattern of skirting obligations that would guarantee a fair trial. But, on at least two occasions, they behaved unconstitutionally, the Court has now ruled.

By a margin of 8-1, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a New Orleans man's murder conviction this morning after finding that Harry Connick's District Attorney's office withheld crucial evidence that would have helped the man's case at trial. Juan Smith was convicted after a single man fingered him from the scene of the  Roman Street Massacre, but later found that prosecutors withheld a police report that showed the witness never saw his face. Current DA Leon Cannizzaro's office is now 1-for-2 defending withheld evidence cases at the Supreme Court in the last two years.

Calling for a recount is nothing new in American politics. As John Adams said, Facts are stubborn things, so the only way to change them is to challenge them in the Supreme Court. Or, something like that. Like the Longs and the many pols with good-old-boy nicknames before him, Buddy Caldwell is challenging Washington's ways. The state Attorney General is taking the bureaucrats back to the playground, and questioning their ability to count. Caldwell filed suit with the U.S. Supreme Court that claims the 2010 U.S. Census count is wrong.

Whether you're talking about Cannizzaro or Connick, the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office is, as ever, at the mercy of judges. Turns out, the guys and gals with the black robes are pretty tough to control. For the second time in two years, former District Attorney Harry Connick's office will face the scrutiny of the highest court in the land for withholding crucial evidence from the defense. Juan Smith, who was convicted of murder, could get a new trial from the U.S. Supreme Court in the high stakes case.

FRENCH QUARTER - Jelly Roll Morton's love letter to a Supreme Court Justice, an anti-Huey P. Long pin commemorating a bathroom bust up and the shovel used for the groundbreaking of the Superdome in 1971 are just a few of the items on display at the Historic New Orleans Collection's bicentennial celebration through Jan. 29, 2012.