All Law & Courts
Concealed weapons: Illinois's last-in-the-nation ban must go, US court rulesAt least some Illinois legislators say the ruling will help calm the violence in Chicago, where the nation's strictest gun controls have failed to quell growing numbers of gang shootings this year.
Alleging US torture, terror convict Padilla appeals to Americas鈥� rights groupJose Padilla's mother is alleging to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that her son, currently in solitary confinement in a Colorado prison, was tortured during his 4 years in a naval brig.
Supreme Court: Both sides in gay marriage debate voice optimismThe Supreme Court's decision to take up appeals over DOMA and California's Prop. 8 ban on gay marriage elicited positive reactions from advocates on both sides of the contentious issue.- Supreme Court takes up gay marriage: what the justices have to decideThe main question before the Supreme Court is not whether the Constitution protects gay marriage, but whether Prop. 8 and DOMA discriminate in violation of the 14th Amendment.
Gay marriage reaches Supreme Court: Justices to review Prop 8., DOMAThe two cases being taken up by the Supreme Court involve a challenge to California鈥檚 Prop. 8 ban on gay marriage and a suit from New York City testing the federal Defense of Marriage Act.- Former sailor arrested after allegedly attempting to pass secrets to RussiaIf convicted, Robert Patrick Hoffman II, who retired from the US Navy last year, faces up to life in prison. According to the indictment, the FBI was conducting an undercover operation.
George Zimmerman's bloody nose in high-def: What does it reveal?The defense team for George Zimmerman is ratcheting up an aggressive pretrial PR campaign, and the new picture of him with a bloody nose is an attempt to sow doubt in prosecutors' claims.- US court upholds $1 million for Latino student harassed in high schoolA jury awarded $1 million to a Latino man for the years of racial threats and harassment he endured at a rural high school in New York. The appeals court called the amount appropriate.
- Illegal immigration, illegal question: how firm ran afoul of E-VerifyWhen the federal E-Verify system, designed to stem illegal immigration, flagged a prospective employee, an Oregon company asked her for more documentation. That was a bad idea.聽
Bullets vs. rocks? Border Patrol under fire for use of deadly force.An Oct. 10 incident, in which a Border Patrol agent fired his gun in response to rock-throwing, leaving a 16-year-old dead, is drawing attention to the Border Patrol's use-of-force policy.
Jordan Davis killed for loud music: mirror image of the Martin case?Details differ between the shooting of 17-year-old Jordan Davis and unarmed teen Trayvon Martin earlier this year. But in both cases, older armed men initiated arguments with black teenagers and fired deadly bullets when the situation became threatening.
'Stand your ground' laws: Do they put teens in greater danger?Three shooting deaths in the past week raise questions about whether prank-prone and reckless teens are particularly vulnerable under states' 'castle doctrine' and 'stand your ground' laws.
Fugitive in eco-terrorism case turns herself in at US-Canada borderAfter a decade on the run, a Canadian citizen surrendered to the FBI at the border in Washington. An alleged former member of two militant environmental groups, she faces federal arson and conspiracy charges.
Concealed weapons: US court upholds New York state requirement for permitNew York requires gun owners to prove they have a special need for protection to obtain a concealed weapons permit. The 100-year-old law does not violate the Second Amendment, the court ruled.- Obamacare: Supreme Court orders new look at university鈥檚 lawsuitThe Supreme Court on Monday ordered an appeals court to consider the underlying merits of Liberty University鈥檚 lawsuit 鈥� including whether Obamacare violates religious freedom.
Can people record police officers? Illinois ban gets no help at Supreme Court.Supreme Court justices refused to hear an appeal on behalf of Illinois' tough eavesdropping law. A federal appeals court had ruled that the law 'likely violates' free speech guarantees.
Supreme Court rejects Idaho case on prohibiting the insanity defenseIdaho is one of four states that do not permit criminal defendants to claim they are innocent by reason of insanity. On Monday, the US Supreme Court declined to take a case testing whether an insanity defense is a constitutional right.
Death threats against Obama: Did Florida cop 'fan flames'?Many offhand death threats against President Obama, including several by US police, are leading to public scrutiny and concern 鈥� even if they are not leading to legal action.- US appeals court strikes down Michigan ban on affirmative actionWhile the 8-7 ruling on affirmative action did not address the constitutionality of race-conscious admissions to college, the majority said Michigan's prohibition on the policy 'places special burdens on racial minorities.'
BP to pay $4.5 billion in fines for Gulf oil spill. Is legal saga over?A deal on federal criminal charges helps bring legal action over the Gulf oil spill nearer a conclusion. But many more claims remain 鈥� totaling perhaps tens of billions of dollars.
