Recent Updates
-
State court again strikes down Philly gun laws
Legal News Center 06/19/2009A state appeals court ruled Wednesday that the city cannot enforce an assault weapons ban and a law prohibiting guns bought by one person and given to another, measures passed by City Council in an effort to combat persistent gun violence. The 6-1 ru...
-
Appeals court blocks release of detainee pictures
Legal News Center 06/12/2009The U.S. government can keep pictures of detainee abuse secret while it asks the Supreme Court to permanently block release of the photographs on the grounds they could incite violence in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, a federal appeals court said T...
-
Court rejects challenge to 'don't ask, don't tell'
Legal News Center 06/09/2009The Supreme Court refused on Monday to hear a legal challenge to the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, a decision that allows the Obama administration to continue its slow, back-burner response to liberal activists who want gays to serve ope...
-
Court steers clear of Ariz. ski resort dispute
Legal News Center 06/08/2009The Supreme Court on Monday turned down an appeal from Indian tribes that wanted to block expansion of a ski resort on a mountain they consider sacred. The justices said they will not get involved in the dispute between a half-dozen Western tribes an...
-
Laura Bush glad Obama picked woman for high court
Legal News Center 06/08/2009Former first lady Laura Bush says she's pleased that President Barack Obama nominated a woman for the Supreme Court. "I think she sounds like a very interesting and good nominee," Bush said of Sonia Sotomayor, the federal appeals judge Obama picked.M...
-
Appeals court upholds Chicago ban on handguns
Legal News Center 06/03/2009A federal appeals court has upheld ordinances barring the ownership of handguns in most cases in Chicago and suburban Oak Park. The three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday the Second Amendment guaranteeing the right to...
-
Extend or end? Minn. Senate race up to high court
Legal News Center 06/02/2009In an hour of rapid-fire questions over Minnesota's disputed Senate election, the state's highest court focused on whether vote-counting flaws alleged by Republican Norm Coleman were severe enough to deny Democrat Al Franken the win. Barely a minute ...
-
Top court to hear business-method patent case
Legal News Center 06/01/2009The Supreme Court said on Monday it would hear the Bilski patent case, which would tell high tech and software companies how far they could go in patenting software, financial strategies and other abstract processes. An appeals court which specialize...
-
Lawyer to fight extradition of US murder suspect
Legal News Center 05/28/2009The lawyer for a 26-year-old man accused of fatally shooting two young men in Georgia said Wednesday he will fight extradition because he believes his client will not receive a fair trial in the southern U.S. state. Michael Registe is accused of the ...
-
Court nominee urged special rights for Puerto Rico
Legal News Center 05/27/2009Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotomayor wrote as a Yale Law School student that Puerto Rico should maintain its seabed rights if it pursues U.S. statehood. The article, "Statehood and the Equal Footing Doctrine: The Case for Puerto Rican Seabed Rights,...
-
Supreme Court candidates together at conference
Legal News Center 05/21/2009Federal appeals court judge Diane Wood and Solicitor General Elena Kagan, two candidates for the impending vacancy on the Supreme Court, took part in a conference Wednesday on the importance of judicial independence. Kagan gave the keynote address at...
-
High court won't delay trial of ex-Rep. Jefferson
Legal News Center 05/19/2009The Supreme Court refused Monday to delay the upcoming trial of former Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson on bribery and other charges. The former Democratic congressman has argued that prosecutors trampled on his constitutional privileges as a lawmake...