Recent Updates
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Fed. appeals court upholds 'under God' in pledge
Lawyer Blogs 03/12/2010An appellate court has upheld references to God on U.S. currency and in the Pledge of Allegiance, rejecting arguments they violate the constitutional separation of church and state. "The Pledge of Allegiance serves to unite our vast nation through th...
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Ginsburg endorses end to local judicial elections
Lawyer Blogs 03/12/2010Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is endorsing an end to the election of judges at the state and local levels.Ginsburg was speaking Thursday at a conference of female judges, many who are elected. She approves of the campaign by her former co...
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Mass. court upholds state gun-lock requirement
Lawyer Blogs 03/11/2010The highest court in Massachusetts on Wednesday upheld the constitutionality of a state law that requires gun owners to lock weapons in their homes in a ruling applauded by gun-control advocates.The case had been closely watched by both gun-control a...
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Supreme Court will hear case about vaccine side effects
Lawyer Blogs 03/08/2010The Supreme Court will decide whether drug makers can be sued by parents who claim their children suffered serious health problems from vaccines.The justices on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from parents in Pittsburgh who want to sue Wyeth over the...
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Federal judge allows Rumsfeld torture suit to proceed
Lawyer Blogs 03/08/2010A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Friday denied a motion to dismiss a torture suit brought against former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld by two American citizens captured while working in Iraq. Judge Wayne ...
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Court Blocks Separate Claims Against UBS on Madoff
Lawyer Blogs 03/04/2010A Luxembourg court ruled on Thursday that investors who lost money to Bernard L. Madoff through a fund set up by UBS cannot seek compensation directly from the Swiss bank, Reuters reported.In November, private and institutional investors who lost mon...
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Angry Mich. judge punishes tardy prospective juror
Lawyer Blogs 03/03/2010A Michigan judge has ordered a stay-at-home mom to attend a murder trial and serve 24 hours in jail because she arrived late for jury selection.Carmela Khury was released Monday after a day and a half as a spectator in Oakland County Circuit court.Th...
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High court looks at reach of Second Amendment
Lawyer Blogs 03/02/2010The Supreme Court appeared willing Tuesday to say that the Constitution's right to possess guns limits state and local regulation of firearms. But the justices also suggested that some gun control measures might not be affected.The court heard argume...
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Former Enron CEO's Case Before High Court
Lawyer Blogs 03/01/2010Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling is asking the Supreme Court to throw out his convictions in connection with the collapse of the energy giant that cost thousands of jobs and billions of dollars.Lawyers for Skilling and the government are appearing b...
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Florida's "mini-Madoff" Nadel admits huge fraud
Lawyer Blogs 02/25/2010Arthur Nadel, a former Florida fund manager dubbed a "mini-Madoff" for running a decade-long investment fraud of nearly $400 million, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to criminal charges.Nadel, 77, disappeared for two weeks before his arrest in January 20...
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Supreme Court weighs free speech against aid to terrorists
Lawyer Blogs 02/25/2010The Supreme Court on Tuesday explored the tension between Americans' right to free speech and a federal law that prohibits aid to terrorist groups, and hardly anyone seemed clear about the lines of demarcation. The case stems from a challenge to an a...
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Supreme Court: Police can question suspect after release
Lawyer Blogs 02/24/2010The justices unanimously ruled for the state of Maryland in overturning a lower-court decision that had thrown out the confession to the police by a suspect in a child sexual abuse case.Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the high court that an initial ...