All Law & Courts
The ExplainerThe Supreme Court and vaccine mandates: Three questionsThe Supreme Court Thursday blocked the Biden administration鈥檚 vaccine mandate for large employers. What happens now?
First LookSupreme Court: US businesses not required to vaccinate or testThe court has concluded that the Biden administration overstepped its authority with a vaccine-or-test rule for U.S. businesses with at least 100 employees. The court is allowing the administration to proceed with a vaccine mandate for health care workers.
A step toward better justice: Prying open the 鈥榖lack box鈥� of plea dealsEfforts are underway to remove plea bargaining from the shadows, in hopes that more transparency will lead to changes that make the process more just.
Is murder upswing starting to abate? Some US cities see declines.Although U.S. homicides rose again in 2021, the rate of increase slowed, and some cities saw outright declines.聽These two charts show聽the trends.
First LookThe men who killed Ahmaud Arbery receive maximum sentenceOn Friday, a Georgia judge sentenced the three men who chased down and killed Ahmaud Arbery to life in prison for murder, with only one of the men receiving the possibility of parole.聽
First LookSupreme Court to weigh legality of Biden鈥檚 vaccine mandatesOn Friday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over the Biden administration鈥檚 vaccine-or-testing requirement for large employers and vaccine mandate for health care workers. A decision will follow in the coming days or weeks.
First LookFBI informant describes life undercover with the KKK in FloridaFor nearly a decade, a U.S. Army veteran donned a white robe and hood as a hit man for the Ku Klux Klan in North Florida. He found聽 law enforcement officers working with the KKK.聽
First LookHarvard nanoscientist found guilty of hiding money from ChinaIn a rare victory for the U.S. Justice Department's effort to curb China espionage, Harvard professor Charles Lieber was found guilty of filing false tax returns and failing to report a foreign bank account in China.
FocusOriginalism moves from theory to high court. What that means for US.Can looking back help America move forward, judicially? That鈥檚 the question facing originalism, a legal theory now in the majority at the Supreme Court.
First Look'Guilty, your honor': Chauvin admits to violating Floyd's civil rightsDerek Chauvin pleaded guilty on Wednesday to violating George Floyd鈥檚 civil rights when he killed the man by kneeling on his neck during an arrest.聽Three other former officers, indicted alongside Mr. Chauvin, are scheduled for trial early next year.
First LookWhat $380M settlement in sex abuse scandal means for US gymnastsA $380 million settlement between USA Gymnastics and聽the victims of sexual abuse by former national team doctor Larry Nassar was reached Monday.聽The agreement includes provisions intended to protect current and future gymnasts from abuse.
First Look'I had fun lol': How social media is shaping Jan. 6 riot sentencesDoes what goes on Facebook really matter? Almost a year after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, prosecutors are heavily weighing protestors鈥� online posts.聽In at least 28 federal crime sentences so far, prosecutors have requested stricter rulings based on social media posts.
First LookCalifornia governor models Texas abortion law to ban gun salesDrawing on a Texas law to ban abortions, California Gov. Newsom wants to empower private citizens to enforce a ban on the sale of assault weapons.
Smash-and-grabs, California, and the limits of criminal justice reformSmash-and-grabs across the country are raising questions about criminal justice reforms, and how best to combat modern-day organized crime.聽
First LookSupreme Court says clinics can challenge Texas abortion lawThe Supreme Court ruled that abortion clinics can proceed with lawsuits against a Texas law making abortions after six weeks illegal. But it left S.B.8 in effect in the meantime.
First LookEmmett Till's case closes again with calls for justice unansweredThe U.S. Justice Department announced Monday it will close an investigation, reopened in 2017, into the death of Emmett Till, who was tortured and killed after a white woman accused him of sexual advances in 1955. No one has been found guilty of his murder.
First LookThree questions: How often are parents charged in school shootings?Parents are rarely charged for school shootings. Why are prosecutors building a case against Ethan Crumbley's parents after four students were fatally shot in Michigan.
First LookIt鈥檚 likely Mississippi鈥檚 abortion law will stand. What鈥檚 next?After oral arguments Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 conservative majority appeared likely to uphold Mississippi鈥檚 ban on abortions after 15 weeks, and may overturn Roe v. Wade entirely.
First LookCalifornia law says corporate boards need women. Is that legal?A California trial court will hear a case on Wednesday to decide if the state can legally require publicly traded companies to have women on their boards. The law has been in effect for three years, but opponents say a gender-based quota is unconstitutional.
FocusWhy abortion fight isn鈥檛 over if Roe is overturnedFor the first time in decades, the federal right to abortion faces an existential threat. State constitutions could then become the new battlegrounds.
