Law

ATLANTA — Shortly after U.S. Rep. John Lewis died, grieving Democrats were faced with two difficult choices: tap a replacement for the late civil rights icon on the ballot within days or slow the process and risk a legal challenge.... Read More

WASHINGTON - A federal judge’s recent ruling gave prosecutors nationwide a new tool for pursuing money launderers by redefining bitcoin as a form of currency. The ruling was based on the prosecution of a man who tried to evade criminal... Read More

Oregon state Rep. Janelle Bynum, who is Black, tries to seem nonthreatening when she goes door to door to talk to voters. She chooses her clothes carefully. She stops to take notes on her phone at the end of driveways,... Read More

A federal court has ruled that California’s coordination with the Canadian province of Quebec to reduce greenhouse gas emission does not violate the U.S. Constitution, shooting down the last surviving element of a challenge by the Trump administration. In 2006,... Read More

NEW YORK — A U.S. appeals court extended a temporary hold on subpoenas issued to the Trump Organization and other entities in a lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of illegally profiting from his Washington hotel. The extension by the federal... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a large part of eastern Oklahoma belongs to Native American tribes - a significant victory for a reservation that challenged the state's authority to prosecute crimes on its land. Writing for the... Read More

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally divert Pentagon funds to build a miles-long wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, a federal appeals court ruled Friday afternoon. In a 2-1 ruling, the 9th U.S.... Read More

WASHINGTON — A judge has ruled that Rep. Devin Nunes has no right to sue Twitter over statements made by a fake Internet cow, someone parodying his mother and a Republican strategist. Judge John Marshall said in a decision Friday... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Current and former Justice Department attorneys on Wednesday accused the U.S. Attorney General of allowing Trump administration policies to influence criminal investigations and prosecutions. They also said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing that Justice Department administrators threatened... Read More

WASHINGTON -- With fall around the corner and coronavirus cases surging in some states, U.S. colleges are scrambling to figure out their gameplans for the upcoming school year.  Public health experts have repeatedly warned of a potentially massive second wave... Read More

California can't require a cancer warning label on Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, a federal judge ruled Monday, saying the state hadn't met the legal standard for such a requirement. California requires warning labels on cancer-causing products under the state's Safe Drinking... Read More

WASHINGTON - U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, who represented the Trump administration in a series of high profile Supreme Court cases, is leaving the Justice Department. Francisco, who officially informed President Trump of his decision Wednesday morning, will step down... Read More

A self-described street pastor is suing Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser over her decision to commission a street mural that says “Black Lives Matter” in large letters on a street near the White House. The lawsuit filed by Rich Penkoski... Read More

WASHINGTON - A plea bargain with federal prosecutors is allowing four activists to avoid jail time after they occupied the Venezuelan Embassy in April and May. The four were part of a group that stayed in the embassy in Washington,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — A sweeping overhaul of police oversight and procedures is being proposed by Democrats in response to the deaths of black Americans at the hands of law enforcement, according to a draft outline obtained by The Associated Press. The Justice... Read More

WASHINGTON - District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Friday that the default speed limit on local D.C. roads will be lowered from 25 to 20 mph. The decision to lower the speed limit was prompted by an uptick... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is attempting to get a lawsuit dismissed that seeks to add the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A Justice Department motion to dismiss filed last week says the deadline expired for states to... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Sudan is liable for $4.3 billion in punitive damages for the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania that left 224 people dead and injured thousands. Despite the court's unanimous ruling, however,... Read More

WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court ruled against President Donald Trump on Thursday in a lawsuit alleging he's violated the Constitution's emoluments clause by profiting from foreign and state government patrons at his hotel in downtown Washington. A divided 4th... Read More

Universities nationwide are being sued by parents and students who say the schools are falling short of their duties during the coronavirus shutdown. The universities have switched to online education until the national emergency subsides. The students and their parents... Read More

Republican lawmakers in Michigan’s state legislature are suing Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer over her move to extend stay-at-home orders last week amid the coronavirus crisis. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday by House Speaker Lee Chatfield and Senate Majority Leader Mike... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Education Department unveiled new campus sexual assault rules on Wednesday that significantly reduce the legal liabilities for schools, narrow the scope of cases educators will be required to investigate and bolster the rights of those accused of... Read More

Election officials in New York State must hold a Democratic presidential primary election in June, with all qualifying candidates restored to the ballot, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. The decision by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres, who presides in the... Read More

WASHINGTON - Restaurants are filing a surge of lawsuits against insurance companies as they seek coverage for business interruptions during the coronavirus shutdown. The insurance companies say their business interruption policies grant them exemptions for viruses that cause no physical... Read More

WASHINGTON – Guidelines announced last week for reopening U.S. federal courts are likely to leave the nation’s biggest cities as late-comers.  The guidelines from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts depend heavily on conditions of the epidemic in each... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — On the evening before he was to argue a case before the Supreme Court years ago, Jeffrey Fisher broke his glasses. That left the very nearsighted lawyer with an unappealing choice. He could wear contacts and clearly... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday tossed one of its most closely-watched cases of the term, claiming a subsequent easing of the restrictions being challenged -- a ban on transporting guns -- effectively left them with nothing to decide.... Read More

WASHINGTON - Law firms and their clients who are joining the growing list of plaintiffs against the Chinese government over the coronavirus outbreak are running up against a foreign policy that could rule out any successful lawsuits. About a half-dozen... Read More

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that defendants in criminal trials can only be convicted by a unanimous jury, striking down a practice that has already been abandoned by all but one state. Writing for the majority on... Read More

WASHINGTON - The U.S. attorney general issued a guidance this week that authorizes the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency, Bureau of Prisons and other Justice Department agencies to intercept communications from threatening drones or destroy them without prior consent. The policy... Read More