Four current and former Seattle police officers asked the U.S. Supreme Court to shield their identities as they challenge a public records request for information about their attendance at the Jan. 6, 2021, rally at the U.S. Capitol. The emergency … Continue reading Police at Jan. 6 Capitol rally ask Supreme Court to protect identities in dispute

The Department of Justice on April 16 asked the Supreme Court to formally block lower court rulings that prevented President Donald Trump from firing members of independent labor boards. Acting on behalf of the high court, Chief Justice John Roberts … Continue reading DOJ urges Supreme Court to let Trump fire labor board members

Fifteen state attorneys general urged a group of top corporate leaders on April 15 to drop their companies’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Such programs are “divisive” and “unlawful,” the state officeholders, led by Andrew Bailey of Missouri, said … Continue reading 15 State attorneys general ask CEOs of major corporations to dump DEI policies

President Donald Trump said on April 11 he will honor a Supreme Court order requiring the government to extract a Salvadoran citizen from his home country after the United States mistakenly deported him there. When asked about the court ruling, … Continue reading Trump vows to obey Supreme Court order on deported Salvadoran man

South Carolina performed its second firing squad execution on April 11, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of execution earlier in the day. Inmate Mikal Mahdi was pronounced dead at 6:05 p.m. local time at a correctional facility … Continue reading South Carolina carries out 2nd firing squad execution after Supreme Court declines to intervene

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell asked the U.S. Supreme Court on April 11 to set aside her sex-trafficking convictions. In the petition, Maxwell argues that a non-prosecution agreement that prosecutors made with her partner, the late Jeffrey Epstein, should have prevented … Continue reading Ghislaine Maxwell appeals sex-trafficking conviction to Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 10 issued an order temporarily preventing Ohio voters who support repealing the qualified immunity rule from gathering signatures to place the issue on a future Ohio ballot. Qualified immunity, a rule created by the courts, … Continue reading Supreme Court temporarily halts Ohio’s qualified immunity ballot initiative

The Supreme Court on April 9 temporarily paused two lower court rulings that blocked President Donald Trump from firing members of independent labor boards. The order came mere hours after the Trump administration filed an emergency application in Trump v. … Continue reading Supreme Court pauses orders forcing Trump admin to rehire labor board members

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 7 agreed to consider whether a prisoner’s murder conviction should be set aside because he was prevented from discussing his testimony with his lawyer during an overnight recess. The court’s decision to approve the … Continue reading Supreme Court agrees to hear prisoner’s right to counsel appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 7 agreed to hear the appeal of a former prisoner who claims he was unconstitutionally punished when his restitution payments were extended. The Constitution’s ex post facto clause forbids laws that retroactively enhance punishment … Continue reading Supreme Court agrees to hear challenge to retroactive punishment

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 7 denied a challenge to a restrictive New York state gun law that was passed to counter the court’s landmark gun ruling in 2022. The court’s decision not to hear Antonyuk v. James came … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to New York state gun law

The Maryland General Assembly gave final approval on April 2 to legislation authorizing the state to form a commission to study the possibility of providing reparations for slavery. Except as punishment for a crime, slavery was abolished in the United … Continue reading Maryland legislature approves bill creating commission to study slavery reparations

The U.S. Supreme Court sided 5–4 on April 2 with a truck driver who was fired after failing a drug test following consumption of a pain-relief product marketed as drug-free. The new decision affirms an appeals court ruling that permitted … Continue reading Supreme Court rules CBD remedy maker must face racketeering lawsuit

The Supreme Court on April 2 weighed whether South Carolina can stop abortion provider Planned Parenthood from taking part in the state’s Medicaid program. Medicaid is a joint federal–state program that offers health insurance coverage to low-income Americans. Although the … Continue reading Supreme Court reviews South Carolina’s Medicaid funding block on Planned Parenthood

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 2 unanimously threw out a lower court decision finding that the Food and Drug Administration had broken the law when it denied two companies permission to sell flavored vape products. A vape or e-cigarette … Continue reading Supreme Court rules 9–0 for FDA in lawsuit over flavored vapes

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 1 seemed to lean toward upholding a law that empowers Americans harmed by terrorist attacks abroad to sue in U.S. courts. Mariam Fuld sued in federal district court in New York after her husband … Continue reading Supreme Court poised to reinstate victims’ lawsuits against Palestinian groups

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 31 dismissed a Missouri death row inmate’s petition seeking review of his conviction for the 2005 murder of a highway patrolman. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented from the denial of the petition. Justice Ketanji Brown … Continue reading Supreme Court turns away death row appeal alleging jury bias

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 31 seemed inclined to side with a Wisconsin Catholic charity that argues that it should not have to pay unemployment tax. The nation’s highest court granted the petition in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin … Continue reading Supreme Court seems sympathetic to Catholic charity in religious rights dispute

Anita MonCrief, March 1, 1979 – March 22, 2025 My friend, Anita MonCrief, was a tireless campaigner for what she thought was right. When she was a left-leaning activist earlier in life, she worked for the now-defunct Association of Community … Continue reading Anita MonCrief, 1979 – 2025

A federal appeals court on March 28 put on hold a lower court order that blocked efforts led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to downsize the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The U.S. Court of Appeals for … Continue reading Appeals court allows DOGE to continue to downsize USAID