Recent Updates
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NY appeals court upholds death penalty verdict
Court Alerts 06/27/2008A federal appeals court in Manhattan has upheld the death sentence for Donald Fell, who killed a Vermont supermarket worker as she prayed for her life.It's the first time since the 1960s that the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled on whether...
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Supreme Court strikes down 'millionaire's amendment'
Court Alerts 06/26/2008The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the "millionaire's amendment" as an unfair way to help opponents of wealthy political candidates who spend from their personal fortunes.The law allows candidates to receive larger campaign contributions when ...
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High court rejects case on fast track for border fence
Court Alerts 06/23/2008The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a plea by environmental groups to rein in the Bush administration's power to waive laws and regulations to speed construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border.Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertof...
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Supreme Court voids California union law
Court Alerts 06/20/2008In a defeat for the union movement, the Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a first-in-the-nation law adopted in California that would have barred companies from speaking out against unions if they received state funds. The justices in a 7-2 decisi...
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Court puts limits on mentally ill defendants
Court Alerts 06/19/2008The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that criminal defendants with a history of mental illness do not always have the right to represent themselves, even if they have been judged competent to stand trial.The justices, by a 7-2 vote, said states can give ...
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Court grants Routier limited DNA testing
Court Alerts 06/18/2008Darlie Routier, the Rowlett mother sent to death row after the 1996 stabbing deaths of her two young sons, has been granted a chance to prove her innocence through DNA testing.The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday ruled that Routier should...
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Ex-Broadcom chief pleads not guilty
Court Alerts 06/17/2008Billionaire Henry T. Nicholas III pleaded not guilty Monday to federal criminal charges that he distributed drugs and that he led an accounting and securities fraud scheme while he headed Irvine, Calif.-based Broadcom Corp. Nicholas, 48, left the cou...
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Court rejects appeal on Ill. horse slaughter ban
Court Alerts 06/16/2008The Supreme Court has declined an appeal from the owners of a horse slaughtering plant who challenged an Illinois law prohibiting the killing of horses for human consumption.Cavel International Inc. closed its plant in DeKalb, Ill., last year after a...
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Court rules against 2 US citizens in Iraq
Court Alerts 06/12/2008The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against two U.S. citizens held in Baghdad who tried to use American courts to challenge their detention.The unanimous decision came in the cases of Shawqi Omar, taken into custody in Iraq for allegedly assisting a ...
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Justices rule against worker who lost job
Court Alerts 06/09/2008The Supreme Court says the Constitution's equal protection clause does not enable individual public employees to sue for workplace discrimination.In a 6-3 decision, the justices said that Anup Engquist must be a member of a class targeted for discrim...
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Va. court upholds women's college move to coed
Court Alerts 06/06/2008A former all-women's college did not break a contract with female students when it decided to enroll men, a divided Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday.In a 5-2 decision, the court rejected a claim by nine female students at Randolph College — former...
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Court limits Vioxx monitoring payments by Merck
Court Alerts 06/05/2008Drugmaker Merck & Co. doesn't have to cover medical-monitoring expenses for Vioxx users who aren't claiming injury from the recalled painkiller, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled.Phyllis Sinclair and Joseph Murray sued Merck in 2004, seeking to ...