When Congress boosted bankruptcy fees but exempted filers in Alabama and North Carolina from the higher fees, it violated a uniformity requirement in the U.S. Constitution, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on June 6. The 19-page court opinion (pdf) in Siegel v. … Continue reading Supreme Court overturns 4th Circuit ruling, unanimously strikes down part of bankruptcy law
The Supreme Court decided on June 6 not to hear the appeal of a U.S. Senate candidate whose law license was restricted after he wielded a gun outside his St. Louis home in 2020 to deter a group of trespassing … Continue reading Supreme Court declines to hear Senate candidate’s appeal for law license: Mark McCloskey ‘disappointed’ but ‘not surprised’
Two U.S. citizens have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Census Bureau, claiming the long, detailed American Community Survey the agency requires millions to complete each year is illegal. The lawsuit comes as the U.S. Census Bureau comes under fire for … Continue reading Census Bureau sued over ‘intrusive’ annual survey questions: Citizens argue federal law doesn’t allow government to punish people for refusing to answer 100-question American Community Survey
A Pennsylvania state court ruled in favor of former hedge fund CEO David McCormick, who is locked in a tight Republican primary contest for a U.S. Senate seat against celebrity heart surgeon Mehmet Oz, ordering late on June 2 that contested ballots be … Continue reading Pennsylvania court orders disputed ballots counted in US Senate contest
A Missouri couple who gained folk hero status in the conservative movement for wielding guns outside of their St. Louis home in 2020 to deter a group of trespassing left-wing protesters, including Black Lives Matter activists, are asking the Supreme Court to … Continue reading Lawyer couple who wielded weapons in front of marchers appeal law license curbs to Supreme Court: Defending their home can’t justify the violation of their constitutional rights, they argue
A group of 12 House Republicans introduced a bill in Congress this week that would make knowingly sharing confidential information from the Supreme Court a crime punishable by a fine or as many as five years in prison. The legislation … Continue reading New Republican bill would criminalize Supreme Court leaks
Rejecting an appeal by Dallas police officers, the U.S. Supreme Court decided on May 31 to allow a lawsuit to proceed against them after Tony Timpa, a mentally ill man, died in police custody. The case goes back to August … Continue reading Supreme Court allows lawsuit against Dallas police in death of mentally ill man
Despite a temporary setback at the recent meeting of the World Health Organization in Geneva, the Biden administration wants to give the WHO unilateral authority to declare public health emergencies in the United States regardless of the wishes of the American … Continue reading The WHO’s pandemic power grab
The Supreme Court voted 5-4 late on May 31 to temporarily block a Texas law that prevents social media platforms from censoring users based on their political views. Known as HB 20, the state law makes it unlawful for tech platforms to restrict or … Continue reading Supreme Court temporarily blocks Texas social media anti-censorship law: Justices’ 5-4 vote cuts across ideological lines
The Supreme Court decided on May 31 not to block a federal court’s order compelling three Republican members of the Texas House of Representatives to appear for depositions in a consolidated lawsuit over congressional and state-level redistricting. The redistricting took place after … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t block GOP lawmaker depositions in Texas redistricting challenge
A coalition of 54 agriculture groups is urging the Biden administration to drop its support for allowing states to impose their own warning labels—in addition to federal labels—on consumer products. The request came after U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar asked … Continue reading Farmer groups press Biden to not allow states to use own product safety labels
Voters in Wisconsin’s five largest cities are suing over the use of illegal unmanned absentee ballot drop boxes in elections. Attorneys from the Thomas More Society, a nationwide public interest law firm, filed the legal complaints on May 25 on behalf of … Continue reading Wisconsin voters sue 5 cities over unlawful unmanned ballot drop boxes in elections
The San Diego Unified School District decided on May 24 to postpone for a second time its policy requiring students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as opponents press forward with a federal lawsuit against the district. Paul Jonna, Thomas More … Continue reading Under legal pressure, San Diego schools delay vaccine mandate with no religious exemptions
Virginia is being sued by property owners over its unusual law that allows hunters to invade private property to retrieve their hunting dogs, often resulting in damage to property and livestock. This lawsuit is not aimed at hunting, but at protecting property rights, … Continue reading Virginia sued over law that allows violation of ranchers’ property rights
A federal appeals court greenlighted an effort to disqualify GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn as a candidate for allegedly engaging in insurrectionary activity by attending and speaking at the Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rally that was followed by a security breach of the … Continue reading Appeals court revives ‘insurrection’ challenge to Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s candidacy: 4th Circuit rules 14th Amendment can be used to block Jan. 6 participants from seeking office
The Supreme Court held in a 6–3 ruling on May 23 that federal courts reviewing inmate cases may not conduct evidentiary hearings to fully examine their ineffective-counsel claims that should have been raised in state court proceedings. The Sixth Amendment to … Continue reading Supreme Court limits inmate reviews based on ineffective legal representation
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously against a Taco Bell franchise operator on May 23, finding that a federal appeals court exceeded its authority in fashioning an arbitration-related rule in a fast-food employee’s class-action lawsuit over overtime pay. The lawsuit went forward in federal court, … Continue reading Supreme Court rules in favor of Taco Bell worker in overtime dispute
A longtime metalworks employee is suing his former employer, Pittsburgh-based Arconic, for religious discrimination after he was fired for expressing on an anonymous company survey his religious-based objection to the use of the rainbow to represent sexual identity. Specifically, the former employee, … Continue reading Metal worker sues ex-employer Arconic for religious intolerance: A Christian man was fired for saying the rainbow is a biblical symbol that should not be appropriated by the LGBT movement
Despite pressure from the media to accept transgenderism, almost two-thirds of American voters believe it is not a healthy human condition, and more than 7 out of 10 believe elementary-age children should not be taught about sexual identity and sexual behavior, … Continue reading US voter survey: 64% say transgenderism is unhealthy; 72% don’t want children taught about sexual identity
An election integrity group is suing New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way for allegedly violating the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) by refusing to disclose documentation explaining how election officials resolve duplicate voter registrations. The Indianapolis-based Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) says it … Continue reading New Jersey sued for illegally concealing election records policy