The Supreme Court unanimously ruled against a former Michigan college student who sued police officers for beating him after mistaking him for a criminal suspect, finding on technical grounds that his claim was barred by the Federal Tort Claims Act. The case is Brownback v. King, court file 19-546. The high court’s opinion, dated Feb. 25, which overturned a decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, was written by Justice Clarence Thomas. Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a separate opinion concurring with the result. Respondent James King, at the time a student at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, was roughed up by police … Continue reading Supreme Court tosses suit brought by Michigan man beaten by police in mistaken identity case

The Supreme Court should make clear the extent to which the doctrine of hot pursuit applies in cases in which an individual is charged with a minor offense, the justices heard in oral arguments. Hot pursuit is a legal doctrine that allows police to enter a premises without a warrant when delay “would endanger their lives or the lives of others and lead to the escape of the alleged perpetrator.”  The case law about hot pursuit is well-developed for serious criminal offenses but is less than clear about misdemeanors. The case known as Lange v. California, court file 20-18, is an appeal … Continue reading Supreme Court asked to clarify if ‘hot pursuit’ allows warrantless entry

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the federal government’s appeal of a lower court decision against a Trump-era public-charge rule that requires prospective immigrants to be able to support themselves financially—while the Biden administration is considering rescinding the rule. The case, known as U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) v. New York, court file 20-449, began when Donald Trump was president. The petition of certiorari was granted on Feb. 22. Apart from the state of New York, the other governmental respondents are Connecticut, Vermont, and New York City. Several advocacy groups, including Make the Road New York and Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. also … Continue reading Supreme Court to consider Trump-era public charge rule that Biden may dump

A school board in Virginia is asking the Supreme Court to review its policy requiring students to use the bathroom that corresponds to their biological sex at birth after lower courts found the policy unconstitutional. The case is Gloucester County School Board v. Grimm. The board filed its petition for certiorari, or review, with the Supreme Court on Feb. 19, arguing that its bathroom policy raises a “pressing federal question of national importance.” The appeal comes after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled that the school board violated … Continue reading Virginia school board asks Supreme Court to review transgender ruling

The leftist NAACP, which never met a conservative it didn’t consider to be a racist hatemonger, is suing former President Donald Trump using an obscure law that was wielded against the Democratic Party-affiliated terrorists of the Ku Klux Klan who murdered blacks and their Republican enemies after the Civil War. The Ku Klux Klan Act is an unusual tool to pull from a cobweb-covered chest of old laws nobody knew were still in existence. President Ulysses S. Grant (he’s the guy on the $50 bill, millennials!) used the statute to declare martial law, penalize terrorist organizations, and use military force … Continue reading The war on Trump: racist Dems buy a ticket in the leftist lawsuit lottery

A Maine church is asking the Supreme Court to put Maine Gov. Janet Mills’s strict pandemic-related restrictions on places of worship on hold while it appeals an unfavorable ruling from a lower court, arguing the high court has already forced some lower courts to comply with its recent rulings loosening such restrictions. The emergency application in the case, known as Calvary Chapel of Bangor v. Mills, asks the high court to stop the Democratic governor’s clampdown on churches, which the church’s lawyers describe as “the most severe restrictions in the nation on places of worship,” and would deal with a Dec. 22, 2020, ruling against the … Continue reading Maine church asks Supreme Court to relax pandemic restrictions

The Supreme Court refused Feb. 13 to halt extradition proceedings against two Americans wanted by Japan for allegedly engineering the escape of former Nissan Motor Co. CEO Carlos Ghosn from that country. Ghosn, who denies any wrongdoing, was on bail awaiting trial for income tax fraud and misappropriation of Nissan funds when he fled Japan in late December 2019 in a hidden box on a private jet, claiming he wouldn’t enjoy a fair trial and that he experienced harsh treatment in detention. Ghosn is now believed to be in Lebanon where he’s a citizen. Lebanon has no extradition treaty with Japan. In the case at hand, … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t halt extradition of US father, son over Ghosn escape

The Supreme Court granted a rare reprieve to a convicted murderer in Alabama after he argued that proceeding with his scheduled execution without his pastor’s presence in the death chamber violated the man’s First Amendment-protected religious freedoms. The full title of the case is Jefferson S. Dunn, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections v. Willie B. Smith III. The stay appeared to have been granted just after 11 p.m. on Feb. 11. The execution is expected to be rescheduled after a new execution warrant replaces the one that expired less than an hour after the Supreme Court ruled. Smith, now 51, was sentenced to … Continue reading Supreme Court rules Alabama inmate entitled to clergy in death chamber, puts execution on hold

Google LLC and Facebook Inc. have asked the Supreme Court in an upcoming case to make it more difficult for prospective class-action plaintiffs to sue them in court. The friend-of-the-court brief, which also includes eBay Inc., the Computer and Communications Industry Association, the Internet Association, and the Technology Network, was filed in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, which is scheduled for oral argument on March 30. These “friends of the court” describe themselves in the brief as “proven innovators that continue to generate valuable technology through significant investments in research and development,” and that are “especially susceptible to abusive, no-injury class action litigation similar to … Continue reading Google, Facebook ask Supreme Court to make suing them more difficult

A state judge in South Dakota struck down a state constitutional amendment approved by voters in November that would lead to the legalization and taxation of the recreational use of marijuana because its supporters supposedly failed to follow proper procedure. The lawsuit on which the judge ruled didn’t deal with Initiated Measure 26, another referendum approved by the voters at the same time. That initiative, which would create by statute a medical marijuana program in the state for individuals with a debilitating medical condition, was approved by voters 69.92 percent to 30.08 percent, according to Ballotpedia. Measure 26 applies to patients suffering from “cachexia … Continue reading South Dakota court ruling sends pot referendum up in smoke