Recent Updates

  • High court rules for retired US marshal in W.Va. tax dispute

    High court rules for retired US marshal in W.Va. tax dispute

    Law Journals 02/22/2019

    The Supreme Court said Wednesday that the state of West Virginia unlawfully discriminated against a retired U.S. marshal when it excluded him from a more generous tax break given to onetime state law enforcement officers.The court ruled unanimously f...

  • Court: Constitutional ban on high fines applies to states

    Court: Constitutional ban on high fines applies to states

    Supreme Court News 02/22/2019

    The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that the Constitution's ban on excessive fines applies to the states, an outcome that could help efforts to rein in police seizure of property from criminal suspects.Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the ...

  • Wisconsin court: Judge's Facebook friendship could show bias

    Wisconsin court: Judge's Facebook friendship could show bias

    Law Journals 02/16/2019

    A Wisconsin judge's decision to become Facebook friends with a woman whose child custody case he was hearing created at least the appearance of bias, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday in ordering the case to be re-heard by another judge.The case,...

  • Ex-West Virginia Supreme Court justice set for sentencing

    Ex-West Virginia Supreme Court justice set for sentencing

    Featured Legal News 02/13/2019

    A former West Virginia Supreme Court justice who had a $32,000 blue suede couch in his office and was at the center of an impeachment scandal is due in federal court for sentencing for using his job for his own benefit.Allen Loughry is scheduled to b...

  • Court case to tackle jails' medication-assisted treatment

    Court case to tackle jails' medication-assisted treatment

    Family Law 02/10/2019

    The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine started making its case in federal court on Monday against the ban on medication-assisted treatment in county jail amid the opioid crisis.Democratic Gov. Janet Mills recently lifted the Maine Department of ...

  •  Court upholds order to unseal records in brazen lynching

    Court upholds order to unseal records in brazen lynching

    Class Action 02/09/2019

    A historian who has spent years looking into the unsolved lynching of two black couples in rural Georgia more than 70 years ago hopes some answers may finally be within his grasp.A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a lower court ruling to unseal...

  • State high court to weigh appeal based on impulsivity issue

    State high court to weigh appeal based on impulsivity issue

    Featured Legal News 02/08/2019

    The Arizona Supreme Court will consider if judges can allow evidence on whether defendants have brain damage making it more than likely a crime was committed impulsively rather than with premeditation.The court agreed Tuesday to consider the appeal o...

  • Supreme Court blocks Louisiana abortion clinic law

    Supreme Court blocks Louisiana abortion clinic law

    Featured Legal News 02/08/2019

    A divided Supreme Court stopped Louisiana from enforcing new regulations on abortion clinics in a test of the conservative court's views on abortion rights.The justices said by a 5-4 vote late Thursday that they will not allow the state to put into e...

  • Former Sen. Barringer to run for North Carolina high court

    Former Sen. Barringer to run for North Carolina high court

    Law Journals 02/05/2019

    Candidates for the North Carolina Supreme Court continue to grow with two or three seats on the ballot next year due to Chief Justice Mark Martin's impending resignation.Former state Sen. Tamara Barringer of Cary told supporters Tuesday she would see...

  • Russian court sends Jehovah’s Witness to prison for 6 years

    Russian court sends Jehovah’s Witness to prison for 6 years

    Court Watch 02/02/2019

    A regional court in western Russia on Wednesday sentenced a Danish Jehovah’s Witness to six years in prison, in arguably the most severe crackdown on religious freedom in Russia in recent years.The court in Oryol found Dennis Christensen guilty...

  • High court upholds texting suicide manslaughter conviction

    High court upholds texting suicide manslaughter conviction

    Criminal Law 02/01/2019

    The involuntary manslaughter conviction of a young woman who encouraged her boyfriend through dozens of text messages to kill himself was upheld Wednesday by Massachusetts' highest court.The Supreme Judicial Court agreed with a lower court judge who ...

  • Congo court poised to rule on presidential vote challenge

    Congo court poised to rule on presidential vote challenge

    Law Journals 01/21/2019

    Congo's constitutional court is poised to rule on a challenge to the presidential election, with the government on Friday dismissing an unprecedented request by the African Union continental body to delay releasing the final results because of "serio...