THE VOTEGETTERS 
Southern District Judge Lawrence M. McKenna won’t allow the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and the New York Legal Assistance Group to dictate the speed by which the FBI processes citizenship requests for already legal residents. The New York Law Journal reports that McMenna has refused to issue the preliminary injunction sought by the two groups, who wanted tens of thousands of legal residents to gain citizenship in time to vote in November. “Our clients were told by many of their friends not to bring this action because it would make it less possible for them to become citizens themselves,” said Cesar A. Perales, the president and general counsel of the Legal Defense and Education Fund, vowing an appeal. “We are very, very disappointed with the decision today, but we still believe we have a very good case.”

THE DISPUTED "INDISPUTABLE TRUTH"
Bronx Supreme Court Judge Lucy Billings will soon decide whether to dismiss a suit by an Arizona Christian group, the Alliance Defense Fund, which alleges Governor Paterson “sidestepped the democratic process” by ordering State agencies to recognize out-of-state gay marriages. Yesterday, The New York Post reports, lawyers for the State asked Billings to dismiss the case. “It’s undisputed that marriage is with a man and a woman,” said Brian Raum, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund. But although in 2006 the State Court of Appeals ruled that New York’s Constitution did not recognize same-sex marriages and that it was up to the Legislature to decide the legal status of such unions, the court didn't breach the question of whether the State would recognize out-of-state gay marriages. “The Legislature can speak, and they have not,” said state Assistant Attorney General Monica Connell.

WOE IS HIM 
From Newsday comes word that Eastern District Judge Leonard Wexler has upheld the constitutionality of the State’s sex offender registry. Wexler dismissed a lawsuit brought by a former sex offender, dubbed “Alan Woe” in court papers, who alleged that a 2006 change extending the length of time sex offenders must register deprived them of due process. (The registration time for Level 1 offenders jumped from 10 to 20 years, while Level 2 and 3 offenders must are now register for life.)

NO SMOKING! 
And The Staten Island Advance reports that the Appellate Division has upheld the firing of a Rochester paralegal who broke the firm’s ban on smoking breaks for hourly employees. Karen Kridel said she compensated for the breaks — which were outlawed after employees started spending more and more time smoking — by working over her lunch break or staying a few minutes extra at the end of the day. “You should treat your employees fairly,” said Kridel. “Within an eight-hour day, you are entitled to take a break in the morning and in the afternoon. It's a benefit to everyone, especially co-workers. You can get pretty crabby.” The court disagreed, ordering her to repay $3000 in unemployment benefits. “It’s a manufactured friction because these laws are empowering those who would not otherwise complain,” said Audrey Silk of New York City Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment. “What most employers do is judge their employees’ work performance before they judge their conduct. . . . If there was a smoking room inside, you wouldn’t have these problems to begin with.”