The Supreme Court decided on Oct. 10 to consider whether a Texas man may challenge his sentence for fraud even though he waived his right to appeal in a plea agreement with prosecutors. Munson P. Hunter III was convicted in … Continue reading Supreme Court to hear defendant’s challenge to compulsory medication
The Supreme Court has decided against hearing an investigative journalism organization’s First Amendment-based challenge to a decades-old Oregon law prohibiting most secret recordings of oral conversations. Undercover journalism group Project Veritas had argued that the state’s conversational privacy statute violated the First Amendment. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled 9–2 in January that the law did not violate the group’s free speech rights. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition in Project Veritas v. Vasquez without comment in an unsigned order on Oct. 6. No justices dissented. The respondents were sued in their official capacities. One is Nathan … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear Project Veritas challenge to state law blocking secret recording
A federal appeals court on Oct. 9 seemed sympathetic to President Donald Trump’s bid to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, to deal with violence directed at federal immigration facilities, while hearing arguments in a case brought against the … Continue reading Federal appeals court seems sympathetic to Trump’s bid for National Guard deployment in Oregon
The Supreme Court on Oct. 8 lifted its temporary stay of a federal appeals court ruling requiring that Alabama death row inmate Michael Sockwell be retried for murder. In an unsigned order, the high court lifted an administrative stay of a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit that Justice Clarence Thomas granted on Sept. 26. Thomas, who oversees emergency appeals from Alabama, did not explain at the time why he granted the administrative stay, which gave the justices more time to consider the emergency appeal. The new order specifies that the denial of the state’s … Continue reading Supreme Court reinstates ruling ordering retrial of death row prisoner
The Supreme Court seemed receptive on Oct. 8 to a Republican congressman’s argument that he should be allowed to challenge an Illinois law that allows the counting of ballots for two weeks after Election Day. Arguments in the case focused … Continue reading Supreme Court seems receptive to challenge to post-election ballot counting
The Supreme Court declined to pause a lower court order that forces Google to move ahead with major changes to its Android smartphone app store, Google Play. The high court turned away Google’s emergency application to temporarily suspend a lower … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t halt lower court ruling over Google app store
This is one of the more unpleasant TV spots I’ve done in a while. Oct. 7, Arnab Goswami, a ranting TV talk show host on Republic TV in India was convinced that the United States is a deeply racist country … Continue reading Vadum on Indian TV defends America from racism claims
The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted a federal appeals court ruling requiring that a young girl in Texas, who is the subject of an international parental custody dispute, be sent back to her native country, Venezuela. Justice Samuel Alito issued … Continue reading Supreme Court halts removal of child involved in international custody dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 6 decided not to take up Missouri’s bid to reinstate a stalled state law that prevents police from enforcing certain federal firearms laws. The law, signed in 2021 by Missouri’s then-Gov. Mike Parson, a … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t revive Missouri law blocking federal gun laws
The Supreme Court on Oct. 6 decided to not take up an appeal from convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, who had asked the justices to toss her sex trafficking convictions. Maxwell was an associate of the late Jeffrey Epstein, a … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear Ghislaine Maxwell appeal
The state of Illinois and city of Chicago filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Oct. 6 in a bid to stop the federal government from deploying National Guard troops to Chicago. The state and city are arguing in … Continue reading Illinois, Chicago sue Trump admin to halt National Guard deployment to Chicago
The Supreme Court on Oct. 3 agreed to consider how the compensation a county government owes to someone whose property was foreclosed on for non-payment of taxes should be calculated. In the case, the nation’s highest court is expected to … Continue reading Supreme Court to hear case on compensation county owes from foreclosure
A federal judge sentenced a man to eight years in prison on Oct. 3 for attempting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh three years ago. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had said on Sept. 19 that it would … Continue reading Would-be Justice Kavanaugh assassin gets 8-year prison term
The Supreme Court agreed on Oct. 3 to consider Exxon Mobil’s bid to secure compensation from Cuban state-owned companies for energy-related assets nationalized decades ago by the island nation’s communist government. The court did not explain its decision to grant the petition in Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Corporacion Cimex. No justices dissented. The company, which was previously called Standard Oil Co., sued to seek compensation from Cuban government-owned companies for oil and natural gas assets seized in 1960. Its lawsuit was initiated under the federal Helms-Burton Act, a 1996 law that allows Americans to sue “any person … that traffics” … Continue reading Supreme Court takes up Exxon Mobil’s lawsuit over seized Cuban assets
A federal judge recused himself on Oct. 2 from Oregon’s lawsuit over President Donald Trump’s plan to federalize Oregon National Guard troops to deal with civil unrest outside federal immigration facilities in Portland. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed suit … Continue reading Judge recuses himself in lawsuit over Trump’s deployment of troops in Oregon
The Trump administration filed a second appeal asking the Supreme Court to look at whether President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order is constitutional. The federal government’s new petition in Trump v. Barbara was docketed by the court on Sept. … Continue reading Trump admin appeals ruling blocking birthright citizenship policy
A federal appeals court ruled on Sept. 30 that investigative reporter Catherine Herridge must disclose the name of her sources for a series of Fox News reports regarding a Chinese American scientist the FBI investigated but did not charge. The … Continue reading Federal appeals court orders reporter to divulge her sources in lawsuit
YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to President Donald Trump to settle a lawsuit over suspending his account in 2021, according to documents filed in court on Sept. 29. The social media website, owned by Alphabet, put Trump’s YouTube … Continue reading YouTube to pay $24.5 million to settle lawsuit with Trump
The Supreme Court on Sept. 26 temporarily stayed a federal appeals court ruling requiring that Alabama death row inmate Michael Sockwell be retried for murder. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit had ruled on June 30 that … Continue reading Supreme Court stays ruling that could lead to retrial of death row prisoner
The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to look at whether President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order is constitutional. A petition seeking review by the nation’s highest court was filed late on Sept. 26. The Supreme Court is … Continue reading Trump admin asks Supreme Court to rule on birthright citizenship