The Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in a highly technical decision on Feb. 24 that the often-reversed 9th Circuit Court of Appeals was wrong to invalidate a copyright infringement verdict that a California clothing design firm won against the gigantic Swedish fashion retailer H&M. H&M was in the news in 2020 after it and other fashion companies announced they would no longer use cotton originating from the Xinjiang region in mainland China, after reports surfaced that the communist country uses forced Uyghur labor for cotton production. The regime denies the practice, and the Chinese Communist Party launched a propaganda campaign targeting … Continue reading Supreme Court overturns 9th Circuit decision, upholds copyright ruling against H&M

A Native American tribe urged the Supreme Court to allow it to continue to offer bingo games on its land even though Texas maintains state law prohibits tribes from running gaming operations. If the Texas tribe were to win, there could be a ripple effect, spurring more tribe-controlled casinos and gaming operations. Gaming is an industry euphemism for gambling. The Biden administration argued it is unfair that the tribe does not enjoy the same gaming rights that many other tribes around the nation already have. Oral arguments were heard Feb. 22 in the case, Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo v. State … Continue reading In Supreme Court case, Indian tribe asks Texas to leave its bingo games alone

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich urged a seemingly sympathetic Supreme Court on Feb. 23 to allow a group of 13 states to defend the so-called public charge rule that screens out potentially government-dependent immigrants, after the Biden administration declined to do so. The public charge rule, which had fallen into disuse, was revived by the Trump administration in 2019, over vehement left-wing opposition. The rule allowed the U.S. government to reject would-be immigrants who were deemed likely to consume public benefits such as food stamps, housing aid, and Medicaid. Although critics say the extensively litigated pro-taxpayer rule is xenophobic and discriminates against poor aliens, … Continue reading 13 states ask Supreme Court to let them defend Trump-era immigrant self-sufficiency rule

The Supreme Court on Feb. 22 put an end to former President Donald Trump’s legal fight to withhold documents from his White House tenure that he claimed were protected by executive privilege from Democrats in Congress investigating the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Executive privilege has been invoked by presidents to block access to internal White House documents on the theory that public disclosure of such documents isn’t in the best interests of the nation. If advisers aren’t free to speak their mind in discussing affairs of state with the president because they know internal deliberations … Continue reading Supreme Court denies Trump request to withhold White House documents from Jan. 6 select committee

The Supreme Court decided to not intervene–for the time being—in the case of a San Diego high school student with natural immunity who claims that the local school district’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate imposed on students aged 16 and older unconstitutionally discriminates against her by not offering a religious exemption. The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) is one of the few in the United States that requires students to receive the vaccine for in-person instruction while not offering a religious exemption for schoolchildren. Separately, the school district fired in January more than 70 employees who failed to get vaccinated. The case took … Continue reading Supreme Court denies injunction against San Diego school vaccination mandate; leaves door open

The bipartisan Indiana Election Commission has unanimously dismissed a Democratic challenger’s bid to force an outspoken pro-Trump Republican congressman off the 2022 ballot for contesting the 2020 presidential election results. Aaron “A.J.” Calkins of Fort Wayne, Indiana, who’s running in a three-way Democratic Party primary for the right to face third-term U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) in the November general election, filed a formal challenge on Feb. 10. Calkins claimed in the filing that Banks was guilty of a “violation of the 14th Amendment supporting an insurrection.” Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “No person shall be … Continue reading Indiana officials unanimously reject Democrat’s effort to disqualify Rep. Jim Banks from 2022 election run

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat who wants communities in her state to continue accepting private funding for election administration, is trying for the third time to have a lawsuit challenging the practice thrown out. The legal controversy arose after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife gave $419.5 million to left-wing activist groups during the 2020 election cycle, purportedly to ease the strain on election systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of these “Zuck bucks,” as some call the money, $350 million went to the Safe Elections Project of the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL), which in turn used … Continue reading Plaintiffs in Michigan lawsuit over Zuckerberg funding of elections fighting state’s 3rd attempt to dismiss case

An Indiana Democratic challenger is seeking to use an obscure constitutional provision to disqualify Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Banks in this year’s congressional election, arguing that Banks’s vote in Congress against certifying the 2020 presidential election results constituted supporting an insurrection. In a Facebook post before the votes, Banks had said he was simply doing his job as a member of Congress. “Article II, Section 1, clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution clearly states that Presidential Electors must be appointed according to rules established by each state’s legislature,” Banks wrote. “But in the months before the 2020 election, these rules were thwarted … Continue reading Democratic challenger seeks to disqualify Indiana’s Banks for vote against certifying 2020 election

North Carolina officials have no authority to block the reelection bid of U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) on 14th Amendment grounds over his actions in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol building, his attorney told The Epoch Times. Cawthorn’s mere advocacy of a pro-Trump position during the aftermath of the hotly contested 2020 presidential election doesn’t constitute participating in an insurrection, something that can trigger a constitutional bar that prevents the insurrectionist from seeking elective office, Cawthorn attorney James Bopp Jr. told The Epoch Times on Feb. 14. Cawthorn, who had been sworn in as a … Continue reading NC board can’t disqualify Rep. Cawthorn from 2022 election on 14th Amendment: attorney

Five Orthodox Jews, including a rabbi, and one Roman Catholic filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against New York Mayor Eric Adams, claiming the city’s COVID-19 vaccine passport regime is an “unprecedented abuse of power.” The suit claims the internal passport policy created in a series of executive orders runs afoul of the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The legal complaint labels the sweeping restrictions applied to unvaccinated individuals as part of a “reckless, ill-conceived government policy that ignores sound medical science and the principle of informed consent to medical treatment.” The 18 plaintiffs, three of whom … Continue reading Orthodox Jewish families sue NYC over internal vaccine passport rules

The Missouri Supreme Court has indefinitely suspended the law licenses of a Missouri couple convicted of misdemeanors for holding guns outside their St. Louis home in 2020, when a group of protesters, including BLM activists, demonstrated in their gated community. At the same time, the court stayed the suspension, subject to a year of probation during which the two attorneys–who have become folk heroes among conservatives–must “not engage in conduct that violates the Rules of Professional Conduct.” For defending their home, Mark and Patricia McCloskey were honored speakers at the 2020 Republican National Convention. Mark McCloskey is currently running for a U.S. Senate seat … Continue reading Law licenses suspended for McCloskeys, the Missouri couple who held off protesters outside their home

The Supreme Court may end the use of race-based so-called affirmative action in college admissions in cases later this year, legal experts told The Epoch Times. Although left-wing activists such as advocates of Marxist-derived critical race theory say race-conscious government policies are essential to dismantle the systemic racism they say pervades the American experience, critics say using race in the college admissions process is both anachronistic and wrong. Critics quote then-Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who believed the policy was a necessary evil. In Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), she wrote: “We expect that 25 years from now the use … Continue reading Supreme Court may end affirmative action in college admissions, experts say

An electoral integrity group is suing Louisiana in federal court for refusing to allow inspection of voter list maintenance records, including information the state receives from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a controversial data-matching service accused of inaccuracy. Republican Kyle Ardoin, Louisiana’s secretary of state, is violating the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) by not allowing the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) access to the voter documents, including data provided by ERIC, according to PILF. PILF, a nonprofit, describes itself as “the nation’s only public interest law firm dedicated wholly to election integrity.” PILF “exists to assist states and others to aid the cause … Continue reading Group sues Louisiana for denying access to voter files after state rebukes Democrat-dominated data service

Labor unions and related organizations took in $36.7 million in federal taxpayer funds through the Paycheck Protection Program for which they were legally ineligible, according to a new report from the Freedom Foundation. Legislation creating the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was signed by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The PPP authorized $349 billion in guaranteed U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans for eligible individuals, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations to cover payroll, rent, and utility payments. Some loans were forgivable if specific criteria were met. SBA … Continue reading Ineligible unions collected nearly $37 million in federal COVID-19 relief: Report