Recent Updates
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Judge rejects appeal by Abramoff's former partner
Court Alerts 11/14/2011Ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff's former partner in crime shouldn't expect relief on his appeal to reduce a $20 million restitution order. The chief of the federal appeals court in Washington, Judge David Sentelle, told Michael Scanlon's lawyer at argument...
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Court likely to overturn Calif. law on livestock
Court Alerts 11/10/2011The Supreme Court seemed ready Wednesday to block a California law that would require euthanizing downed livestock at federally inspected slaughterhouses to keep the meat out of the nation's food system. The court heard an appeal from the National Me...
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Supreme Court looks at warrantless GPS tracking
Court Alerts 11/08/2011The Supreme Court has expressed deep reservations about police use of GPS technology to track criminal suspects without a warrant. But the justices appeared unsettled Tuesday about how or whether to regulate GPS tracking and other high-tech surveilla...
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Judge mulling $410M BofA overdraft settlement
Court Alerts 11/07/2011An attorney for Bank of America says 13.2 million customers may be eligible for a settlement in a lawsuit claiming the bank charged excessive overdraft fees. The final tabulation came Monday as a Miami judge considers whether to finalize a $410 milli...
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Court won't hear 'Ghost Hunters' appeal
Court Alerts 11/07/2011The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from some television networks being sued by a paranormal investigator who claims his idea was stolen and turned into the television show "Ghost Hunters." Without comment, the court turned away an appeal from NBC...
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Court tosses $43M award against Ford in crash case
Court Alerts 11/04/2011The Illinois Supreme Court has thrown out an Illlinois jury's $43 million award against Ford Motor Co. in a product-liability lawsuit linked to a fiery 2003 crash that killed a Missouri man and disfigured his wife. The high court, in a Sept. 22 rulin...
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Court takes up case on eyewitness identification
Court Alerts 11/03/2011The Supreme Court appeared resistant Wednesday to increasing constitutional safeguards against the use of some eyewitness testimony at criminal trials, despite mounting evidence that eyewitness identification plays a crucial role in cases in which pe...
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High court considers Ga. suit over false testimony
Court Alerts 11/02/2011The Supreme Court wrestled Tuesday with whether government officials are protected from civil lawsuits, even if they tell lies that lead a grand jury to vote for an indictment. The justices heard arguments in an appeal from Charles Rehberg, an accoun...
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Scandal-plagued former Bell official sues city
Court Alerts 11/01/2011Public outrage — and changed locks — forced Robert Rizzo out of a job last year, but the former city manager says he's still owed his $1.5 million salary and benefits. In a lawsuit against the city of Bell filed Monday, Rizzo claims he's owed his wag...
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Court sidesteps Connecticut student speech case
Court Alerts 10/30/2011The Supreme Court is refusing to disturb a court ruling that Connecticut school officials acted reasonably in disciplining a student for an Internet posting she wrote outside of school. The justices on Monday turned down an appeal from Avery Doninger...
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Man pleads guilty to Picasso theft at SF gallery
Court Alerts 10/28/2011A New Jersey man who walked out of a San Francisco gallery with a pencil sketch by Pablo Picasso worth $275,000 pleaded guilty to grand theft Thursday. Workers at the Weinstein Gallery said Mark Lugo brazenly snatched the drawing, called "Tete de Fem...
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US defends gun sale reporting requirement in court
Court Alerts 10/26/2011Gun store owners in southwestern border states argued in federal court Tuesday that the Obama administration cannot require them to report when customers buy multiple high-powered rifles.The Justice Department responded to a lawsuit seeking to block ...