Law

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court did not add any new cases to its docket Monday morning, declining, among other things, to revisit the murder conviction of the 1960s black militant formerly known as H. Rap Brown. A native of Baton... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a Kansas deputy sheriff did not violate a motorist's constitutional rights when he pulled over a truck owned by a driver with a revoked license. The case stems from events that occurred... Read More

Federal judges in three states blocked efforts to shutter abortion providers during the coronavirus outbreak. In Texas, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel held that the Supreme Court has already "spoken clearly" on a woman's right to abortion and therefore Texas... Read More

WASHINGTON — The coronavirus pandemic has put on indefinite hold a major portion of the U.S. Supreme Court’s docket, including a multibillion-dollar clash between software giants Google and Oracle Corp. and cases that could affect President Donald Trump’s reelection chances.... Read More

A federal judge called on the U.S. government to speed the release of migrant children in detention centers to suitable adult guardians, saying there are serious questions about whether the facilities are safe amid the coronavirus pandemic. In an order... Read More

WASHINGTON - A federal judge put a lawsuit by Congress against President Donald Trump on hold Friday until other legal action against the White House is resolved. The lawsuit filed by congressional Democrats seeks six years of Trump’s federal tax... Read More

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday postponed oral arguments scheduled for the rest of March, "in keeping with public health precautions recommended in response to COVID-19." In a written statement the court said it "will examine the options... Read More

WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court ruled that Justice Department officials must release grand jury testimony, compiled by Special Counsel Robert Mueller during his probe into Russian interference in the 2020 election, to the House of Representatives. A divided U.S.... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court decided Monday that the British rock band Led Zeppelin did not steal portions of its iconic hit “Stairway to Heaven” from a guitarist from another band. The ruling, by an 11-judge panel of... Read More

WASHINGTON — Since 2014, Congress has protected patients and cannabis programs from federal marijuana prosecutions in states that allow it for medical use. Medical marijuana’s unique legal status involves a little-known provision called the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment that Congress renews every... Read More

One flag features Donald Trump standing on a tank. Another has him dressed as Captain America. On the third, the shirtless president is holding a rocket launcher, his biceps ripped. All three flags are hanging on the wood-paneled walls of... Read More

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., expressed doubt about Attorney General William Barr’s credibility and said he’ll conduct an “independent review” of the Mueller report to determine whether the Justice Department properly redacted it. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton in... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — The Trump administration was barred by a court from diverting $89 million to build the Mexico border wall from a construction project at a submarine base in Washington state. Thursday’s ruling by a federal judge in Seattle... Read More

The House, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion, passed legislation that would classify lynching as a federal hate crime. The Emmett Till Antilynching Act, introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., passed on a vote of 410-4. The Act is named for... Read More

When President Trump ticks off his accomplishments since taking office, he frequently mentions his aggressive makeover of a key sector of the federal judiciary — the circuit courts of appeal, where he has appointed 51 judges to lifetime jobs in... Read More

LONDON — Julian Assange’s lawyers told a London court that they will provide evidence that U.S. President Donald Trump was prepared to offer the WikiLeaks founder a pardon if he “played ball” about leaks of Democratic National Committee emails. At... Read More

ATLANTA — The city of Marietta, Ga., has filed a class action lawsuit against a drug company after the price of a decades-old medicine went from $40 a vial to more than $39,000. The city, which covers health care costs... Read More

WASHINGTON - Security guards for Turkey’s president must face civil prosecution in Washington, D.C. after they beat protesters on Embassy Row three years ago, a federal judge ruled last week. Attorneys for the government of Turkey argued the security personnel... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The attorneys general of Virginia, Illinois and Nevada are suing in federal court for an order that would add the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. On January 27 Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the... Read More

WASHINGTON - An appeals court in New Orleans rejected a request to review a December ruling invalidating a key provision of the Affordable Care Act. In December, a three-judge panel in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Justice's chief internal investigator told a House panel on Tuesday that he and his colleagues across federal departments need more subpoena power to help protect whistleblowers alleging fraud and other malfeasance. DOJ Inspector General... Read More

A divided federal appeals court overturned election rules in Arizona Monday on the grounds they discriminate against black, Latino and Native American voters. In a 7-4 ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down an Arizona requirement that... Read More

WASHINGTON - The District of Columbia is suing the Trump inaugural committee and the two companies that control the Trump International Hotel here, accusing them of abusing nonprofit funds to benefit the president's family. The city's attorney general, Karl Racine,... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request that it resolve a dispute over the authority of a judge to order the disclosure of secret grand jury material in rare circumstances. The underlying case stems from a researcher's... Read More

WASHINGTON - The White House violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine, one of the actions that set the stage for President Donald Trump's impending  impeachment trial in the Senate, a nonpartisan federal watchdog said Thursday. In a... Read More

WASHINGTON - Environmentalists won an appeals court ruling in Washington, D.C. last week protecting ocean marine national monuments. Marine national monuments refer to offshore underwater areas intended to protect coral reefs or wildlife. There are five of them in U.S.... Read More

WASHINGTON - The families of 143 U.S. soldiers and government contractors sued a group of multinational corporations last week in Washington, D.C. accusing them of indirectly funding the Taliban insurgents who killed and injured their relatives. In the complaint, filed... Read More

DETROIT — Becoming a lawyer in Michigan after a felony conviction is challenging, but it’s not impossible. Tenisha Yancey did it, before she was elected to the state House, even though law school admissions officials warned that she probably wouldn’t... Read More

Any day now, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans could rule the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. At least it seemed that two of the three appeals court judges were leaning that way during oral arguments in... Read More

ATLANTA — Judges on the federal appeals court in Atlanta on Thursday peppered lawyers with questions in a case that could set an important precedent for bathroom access by transgender high school students. Two judges, both members of the more... Read More