Recent Updates
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US Supreme Court to review Kansas’ lack of insanity defense
Class Action 10/04/2019The U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to consider how far states can go toward eliminating the insanity defense in criminal trials as it reviews the case of a Kansas man sentenced to die for killing four relatives.The high court planned to hear argumen...
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Supreme Court rebuffs Alabama officer charged with murder
Criminal Law 08/07/2019The Alabama Supreme Court refused Friday to intervene on behalf of a Huntsville police officer charged with murder in a 2018 shooting, sending the case back to circuit court for a potential trial.The justices turned away an appeal by officer William ...
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Puerto Ricans get their 3rd governor in 6 days
Criminal Law 08/06/2019Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez became Puerto Rico’s new governor Wednesday, just the second woman to hold the office, after weeks of political turmoil and hours after the island’s Supreme Court declared Pedro Pierluisi’s swearing-i...
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Cyprus police frees 5 Israelis, 7 held in hotel rape probe
Criminal Law 07/27/2019A Cyprus court on Friday extended the detention of seven of the 12 Israeli teenagers initially arrested as suspects in the rape of a 19-year-old British woman.The court ordered the suspects to remain in police custody for another six days to give inv...
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Supreme Court: Trump can use Pentagon funds for border wall
Bankruptcy Law 07/25/2019The Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to tap billions of dollars in Pentagon funds to build sections of a border wall with Mexico.The court’s five conservative justices gave the administration the green light on Friday ...
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Meek Mill’s conviction thrown out, granted new trial
Corporate Governance 07/22/2019A Pennsylvania appeals court on Wednesday overturned rapper Meek Mill’s conviction in a drug and gun case that has kept the rapper on probation for a decade and made him a celebrity crusader for criminal justice reform.The unanimous three-judge...
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Louisiana judge orders man's mouth taped for interruptions
Criminal Law 07/22/2019Court logs show a Louisiana district court judge ordered a man's mouth be taped shut for repeatedly interrupting proceedings.The Acadiana Advocate reports Michael C. Duhon was being sentenced July 18 for theft and money laundering.Court minutes show ...
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Dutch Supreme Court upholds Srebrenica deaths liability
Class Action 07/17/2019The Dutch Supreme Court upheld Friday a lower court’s ruling that the Netherlands is partially liable in the deaths of some 350 Muslim men who were murdered by Bosnian Serb forces during the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.The Netherlands’ highe...
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Court to Trump: Blocking Twitter critics is unconstitutional
Family Law 07/09/2019President Donald Trump lost a major Twitter fight Tuesday when a federal appeals court said that his daily musings and pronouncements were overwhelmingly official in nature and that he violated the First Amendment whenever he blocked a critic to sile...
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Fines, jail, probation, debt: Court policies punish the poor
Business Law 07/03/2019Johnny Gibbs has been trying to get a valid driver’s license for 20 years, but he just can’t afford it.To punish him for high school truancy in 1999, Tennessee officials told him he would not be able to legally drive until he turned 21. H...
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NC redistricting fight turns to state courts after ruling
Criminal Law 06/25/2019Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled federal courts aren’t the place to settle partisan gerrymandering disputes, opponents of North Carolina’s district maps are putting their hopes in state courts.An election reform group, the state ...
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NC redistricting fight turns to state courts after ruling
Criminal Law 06/25/2019Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled federal courts aren’t the place to settle partisan gerrymandering disputes, opponents of North Carolina’s district maps are putting their hopes in state courts.An election reform group, the state ...