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

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 26 considered whether it should uphold a lower court ruling that invalidated an $8-billion-a-year broadband subsidy for rural and low-income regions. The case is actually two cases. One is Federal Communications Commission v. Consumers’ … Continue reading Supreme Court hears challenge to tax on telephone service

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on March 26 that state and federal law do not allow a bankruptcy trustee to take back a payment made to the IRS that may have been fraudulent. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote the 8–1 … Continue reading Supreme Court sides with IRS in bankruptcy dispute

The Supreme Court voted 7–2 on March 26 to uphold the Biden administration’s rule regulating so-called ghost guns that can be constructed at home. The majority opinion in Bondi v. VanDerStok was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch. Gorsuch was joined by … Continue reading Supreme Court upholds Biden-era ‘ghost gun’ regulation

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 25 heard two regulatory appeals centering on which courts should have authority to try lawsuits that challenge Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions. The court first heard EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining, followed by a … Continue reading Supreme Court weighs states’, refineries’ appeals against EPA

A federal appeals court on March 25 temporarily 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 … Continue reading Fourth Circuit temporarily allows DOGE to continue dismantling USAID

The Supreme Court on March 24 grappled with a much-litigated racial gerrymandering case from Louisiana involving two consolidated cases: Louisiana v. Callais and Robinson v. Callais. Gerrymandering refers to the manipulation of electoral district boundaries to benefit a particular party … Continue reading Supreme Court grapples with Louisiana Voting Rights Act case

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 24 declined to hear businessman Steve Wynn’s lawsuit that sought to roll back protections for journalists in defamation lawsuits. The court denied the petition in Wynn v. The Associated Press (AP) in an unsigned … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear Steve Wynn’s appeal to roll back journalist protections

The U.S. Supreme Court decided on March 24 not to hear a challenge to its controversial 20-year-old ruling upholding eminent domain powers to confiscate private property for private economic development. The court denied the petition in Bowers Development LLC v. … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to 20-year-old eminent domain ruling