A state judge last week stopped the implementation of a Pennsylvania law requiring voters to produce approved photo identification. So The New York Times reports.

In a first-of-its-kind ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit last week held that the Department of Corrections must provide a sex change operation for a transsexual murder convict suffering from gender identity disorder. So reports the Boston Globe.

A couple late last month won $1.1 million in a lawsuit against the prominent Maine attorney who represented them in their case against the New York-based agricultural conglomerate that caused them to lose their potato seed farm. So reports the Portland Press Herald.

This Wall Street Journal’s “Law Blog” post provides a rundown of some of the more interesting new laws taking effect in 2014, including an Oregon law that establishes a $500 penalty for smoking in a car accompanied by a passenger who is younger than 18.