Recent Updates
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Court rejects death penalty for raping children
Lawyer Blogs 06/25/2008The Supreme Court on Wednesday outlawed executions of people convicted of raping a child.In a 5-4 vote, the court said the Louisiana law allowing the death penalty to be imposed in such cases violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punis...
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Court to rule in Tenn. inmate's appeal
Lawyer Blogs 06/24/2008The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider whether poor death row inmates seeking mercy from state officials have a right to lawyers paid for by federal taxpayers.The justices will likely hear oral arguments around the end of the year in the ca...
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Court will hear appeal by Tenn. death row inmate
Lawyer Blogs 06/23/2008The Supreme Court is stepping into the case of a convicted murderer who claims authorities concealed evidence that might have spared him a death sentence.The justices have twice before reinstated the death sentence for Gary Bradford Cone, who was con...
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SF court protects privacy of work communications
Lawyer Blogs 06/20/2008A federal appeals court has made it more difficult for employers to legally snoop on their workers' e-mails and text messages sent on company accounts.Under a Wednesday ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, employers that contract an outsi...
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Court sides with employee in benefits case
Lawyer Blogs 06/19/2008[##_1L|1235780052.jpg|width="131" height="91" alt=""|_##]The Supreme Court said Thursday that courts should consider an insurance company's potential conflict of interest when reviewing the denial of an employee's health or disability benefits claim....
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Texas court orders execution warrant reinstated
Lawyer Blogs 06/18/2008A former topless-club bouncer condemned for a double slaying almost 20 years ago is waiting in a Texas cell not far from the death chamber as his appeals play out in the courts.Charles Dean Hood initially won a reprieve just over an hour before he co...
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Appeals court refuses to stop gay weddings
Lawyer Blogs 06/18/2008An appeals court has rejected a conservative group's latest effort to stop gay marriages in California before the November election.The Liberty Council had asked a state appeals court to block same-sex weddings until voters could decide the issue on ...
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Woman pleads not guilty in Internet suicide case
Lawyer Blogs 06/17/2008A Missouri woman pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles federal court Monday to charges in an Internet hoax blamed for a 13-year-old girl's suicide. Lori Drew, 49, stood quietly beside her attorney Monday. She pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy a...
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Court to rule in lawsuit vs. FBI head, ex-AG
Lawyer Blogs 06/16/2008The Supreme Court says it will decide whether former Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller (Mul'-er) must face a lawsuit that claims prisoners detained after Sept. 11 were subject to ethnic and religious discrimination.The la...
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Top court eases rules for foreigners to try to stay in US
Lawyer Blogs 06/16/2008The Supreme Court has made it easier for some foreigners who overstay their visas to seek to remain in the United States legally.The court ruled 5-4 Monday that someone who is here illegally may withdraw his voluntarily agreement to depart and contin...
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Supreme Court rejects limits on FOIA lawsuits
Lawyer Blogs 06/13/2008The Supreme Court has rejected limits on Freedom of Information Act lawsuits that seek the same information as earlier legal actions.In a unanimous ruling, the justices said Thursday a lower court was wrong to conclude that a vintage airplane buff co...
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Group asks Calif. court to ban gay marriage
Lawyer Blogs 06/13/2008[##_1L|1369343907.jpg|width="130" height="92" alt=""|_##]A conservative Christian legal group on Thursday made a last-ditch effort to stop gay marriages in California by asking a midlevel appeals court to temporarily prohibit county clerks from issui...