Recent Updates
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High court says gay partners can't get health benefits
Lawyer Blogs 05/08/2008A same-sex marriage ban prevents governments and universities in Michigan from providing health insurance to the partners of gay workers, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.The 5-2 decision affects up to 20 universities, community colleges, scho...
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Court refuses to block execution in Ga.
Lawyer Blogs 05/07/2008The Supreme Court has refused to block the execution of a prisoner in Georgia, clearing the last obstacle to the resumption of capital punishment in the U.S. after a 7-month pause.William Earl Lynd was scheduled to die Tuesday evening. He would be th...
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Executions scheduled to take place in US states
Lawyer Blogs 05/06/2008Georgia is poised to become the first state in the nation to execute an inmate since the U.S. Supreme Court decided in September to review Kentucky inmates' claims that lethal injection is unconstitutional. The court ruled last month that Kentucky's ...
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Fl. court to hear arguments in anthrax death lawsuit
Lawyer Blogs 05/05/2008The Florida Supreme Court is taking up key issues in a lawsuit over the anthrax death of a photo editor for a supermarket tabloid publisher.Robert Stevens died Oct. 5, 2001 after being exposed to the deadly substance. It was in an envelope mailed to ...
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Man asks court to change his name to 'In God We Trust'
Lawyer Blogs 05/05/2008Steve Kreuscher wants a judge to allow him to legally change his name. He wants to be known as "In God We Trust."Kreuscher (CROY'-shir) says the new name would symbolize the help God gave him through tough times.The 57-year-old man also told the (Arl...
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AP sues Supreme Court administrator over FOIA
Lawyer Blogs 05/01/2008The Associated Press has filed a lawsuit over a Freedom of Information Act request against the administrative director of the West Virginia Supreme Court, seeking the phone records and visitor logs of one of the justices. AP filed the suit April 30 i...
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Court tosses out NYC lawsuit against gun industry
Lawyer Blogs 04/30/2008A federal appeals court has thrown out New York City's lawsuit claiming the gun industry sells firearms with the knowledge that they can be diverted into illegal markets.It is one of several suits that cities have filed against gun makers.The 2nd U.S...
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Voter-ID ruling worries Democrats
Lawyer Blogs 04/29/2008The Supreme Court's decision Monday to uphold Indiana's photo-ID law in elections will permit Republican-dominated legislatures in other states to pass legislation that liberal political advocates say will disenfranchise poorer, Democratic-leaning vo...
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Supreme Court upholds photo ID law for voters
Lawyer Blogs 04/28/2008The Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can require voters to produce photo identification without violating their constitutional rights, validating Republican-inspired voter ID laws.In a splintered 6-3 ruling, the court upheld Indiana's strict ph...
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After Court Ruling, States to Proceed With Executions
Lawyer Blogs 04/23/2008States began moving forward with plans for executions this week after the Supreme Court declined last Wednesday to review the appeals of death row inmates who had challenged lethal-injection methods in nearly a dozen states.The court had issued order...
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Court lifts stays of execution for 3 death row inmates
Lawyer Blogs 04/21/2008Prosecutors moved quickly Monday to set new execution dates for three death-row inmates, hours after the Supreme Court lifted a reprieve it granted last fall so it could consider the constitutionality of lethal injection.The court blocked the executi...
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Attorney: Reiser not guilty of murder
Lawyer Blogs 04/21/2008The attorney for Hans Reiser argued Monday the prosecution in his client's murder case has failed to prove Reiser killed his estranged wife — if she is even dead at all.During his third day of closing arguments, William DuBois again told the jury tha...