court ruling
A ruling by Britain's top court last week that said Royal Dutch Shell oil company could be liable in English courts for pollution by its subsidiary in Nigeria, is likely to expand the company’s potential liability abroad. The court’s decision... Read More
ATLANTA — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to stop the Jan. 5 runoff election in Georgia. Attorney L. Lin Wood Jr. filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Atlanta earlier this month, saying Georgia’s processes... Read More
ATLANTA — A federal judge on Wednesday declined to force the state to immediately restore hundreds of thousands of people that were removed from the voting rolls last year. Voting rights organizations, including the Black Voters Matter Fund, sued Georgia... Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge in New York ruled Saturday that Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf assumed his position unlawfully, a determination that invalidated Wolf's suspension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which... Read More
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on Sunday rejected, without comment, a bid by three Republican candidates and a GOP activist to toss out almost 127,000 votes cast from drive-thru lanes in the emerging Democratic stronghold of Harris County. The votes, however, are... Read More
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court decided 2-1 Monday that the Trump administration may deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants who previously received temporary protected status for humanitarian reasons. The 2-1 ruling by a panel of the 9th U.S.... Read More
WASHINGTON - A District of Columbia judge’s ruling this week is the latest court judgment that absolves insurers from obligations to cover the losses of businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. A group of restaurants sued their insurer after the company... 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
ATLANTA — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit that attempted to postpone Georgia’s July 9 primary election because of the coronavirus pandemic. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten leaves the primary date unchanged, with in-person early... Read More
AUSTIN, Texas — A state judge said Wednesday afternoon that all voters in Texas afraid to contract COVID-19 through in-person voting should be allowed to vote by mail during the pandemic. State District Judge Tim Sulak of the 353rd District... Read More
Ocean City, Maryland, can continue to enforce its ban on topless women at its popular beach, a federal judge ruled last week. There’s a fundamental difference between topless women and topless men that is supported by case law and tradition,... Read More
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court confirmed the status quo for ex-felons in Florida, ruling Thursday they must pay all fines, fees and restitution before their right to vote is restored under Amendment 4. In an advisory opinion following... Read More
WASHINGTON — The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled Congress is entitled to review President Donald Trump's banking records as it investigates possible foreign influence in U.S. elections, violations of the emoluments clause and other issues. The... Read More
WASHINGTON — The new congressional maps passed by North Carolina state lawmakers last month can stand for the 2020 election, a three-judge panel ruled Monday. The previous maps gave Republicans a 10-3 advantage in the U.S. House of Representatives. Under... Read More
Intellectual property policies could get a major court test this year as a real estate services company appeals a massive $706 million judgment that it stole trade secrets from a San Francisco-headquartered REtech company. At the dispute’s onset, the jury... Read More
LANSING, Mich. — A state judge has granted a preliminary injunction to vape shop owners who opposed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s flavored vaping ban, temporarily stopping the state from enforcing emergency rules banning the sale of the products. The facts... Read More
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s accounting firm was ordered by a federal court to turn over his tax filings and other financial records to New York state prosecutors, though the president won a last-minute delay pending an emergency appeal.... Read More
ATLANTA — A federal judge handed an early win to abortion rights activists Tuesday by blocking Georgia’s restrictive law from going into effect — but it is only the first step as a lawsuit makes its way through the court... Read More
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge ordered a temporary injunction Thursday against California’s first-in-the-nation law requiring candidates to disclose their tax returns for a spot on the presidential primary ballot, an early victory for President Donald Trump but a decision... Read More
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday upheld an Obama-era update of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule designed to protect downwind states from coal plant air pollution that blows across their borders. Congress enacted... Read More
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge reinstated a nationwide injunction Monday against a Trump administration rule that would deny asylum to most immigrants at the southern border. U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar, citing the need for a uniform immigration... Read More
WASHINGTON - A federal judge reinstated the White House press pass of Playboy magazine reporter Brian Karem Tuesday after it was taken away by the Trump administration’s press secretary. Karem lost his press pass in July after a loud altercation... Read More
COLUMBUS, Ohio — U.S. District Judge James L. Graham on Tuesday chose not to delay Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s purge of 235,000 people on Ohio voter registration rolls planned for Friday. LaRose spokeswoman Maggie Sheehan said, “Obviously we’re happy... Read More
North Carolina's state legislative district maps were so severely manipulated to benefit Republican candidates that they violate the state constitution, a three-judge state superior court panel ruled Tuesday. The 357-page ruling handed down in Wake County, North Carolina, by Superior... Read More
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a Missouri law banning abortions after eight weeks, one of the most restrictive proposals nationwide. The law, which included no exceptions for rape and incest, was signed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson in... Read More
An Oklahoma judge on Monday ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for its role in fueling the state's opioid abuse crisis. Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman's ruling concluded the first state opioid case to make it to... Read More
A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that three presidential electors from Colorado were unconstitutionally forced to cast their Electoral College votes for Hillary Clinton in 2016. The ruling by a divided 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a... Read More
SAN FRANCISCO — In a closely watched case, a federal appeals court Thursday upheld an order requiring immigration authorities to provide children detained at the border with adequate food, water, bedding, toothbrushes and soap. A three-judge panel of the 9th... Read More
A federal judge on Thursday ordered Georgia to stop using its "unsecure ... and grossly outdated" voting machines after this year and to have hand-marked paper ballots at the ready if new, more secure machines aren't in place by the... Read More
WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Friday tossed a Trump administration policy that would only allow migrants who enter the country through legal ports of entry to apply for asylum. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, an Obama... Read More
