The UK Court of Appeals on Monday overturned a decision by the UK Court of Protection that had ordered a mentally disabled woman to have an abortion against her and her mother’s wishes. The woman, who is in her 20s, has been described by doctors as having the mental capacity of a 6-9 year old. [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case challenging President Donald Trump’s tariff requirement for the steel industry. Trump’s justification for the tariff is national security, which is a legitimate rationale under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The Section 232 exception allows any government entity to investigate [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled Monday against a South Dakota newspaper that wanted more information about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The paper was seeking to learn how much money annually goes to stores nationwide that participate in the government’s assistance program, previously known as food stamps. In the case, Food Marketing Institute v. [...]
US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order imposing sanctions on Iran, citing “aggressive behaviors by the Iranian regime in recent weeks.” The sanctions block Iran’s leadership from access to the US financial system or any other assets in the US. The order also allows the Secretary of the Treasury to sanction anyone [...]
The US Supreme Court held Monday in Iancu v. Brunetti that the US government’s ban on trademarks on “immoral” or “scandalous” words and symbols violates the First Amendment. This case arose when a Los Angeles streetwear designer, Erik Brunetti, got turned down by US Patent and Trademark Office when he sought to trademark his brand [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday denied a seaman the right to punitive damages for an unseaworthiness claim. Christopher Batterton was a deckhand for The Dutra Group on various vessels. Batterton’s hand was permanently damaged when a hatch blew open and crushed it due to a buildup of pressurized air below deck. Batterton sued The [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday struck down 18 USC § 924(c)(3)(B), a major federal statute with mandatory sentences for crimes committed with firearms, as unconstitutionally vague. The opinion, authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, finds that the language of the statute is unconstitutionally vague and thus unfair to the defendant. The statute authorizes higher prison sentences [...]
The US Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) withdrew its plans to construct a US Penitentiary and Federal Prison Camp in Letcher County, Kentucky, on Thursday. A group of federal prisoners and advocacy groups, including the Abolitionist Law Center and Green Justice, challenged the construction of the new prison in a federal lawsuit. The complaint outlined [...]
The US Supreme Court unanimously held on Friday that North Carolina cannot tax a trust based only on a trust beneficiary’s residence in the state. The question at issue in NC Dept. of Revenue v. Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust, was whether a trust beneficiary resident in the state of North Carolina established sufficient [...]
The US Supreme Court held in a 7-2 decision on Friday that undocumented immigrants must know both that they are in the country illegally and that they belong to a class that is proscribed from possessing firearms to be prosecuted under federal law. The petitioner, Hamid Mohamed Ahmed Ali Rehaif, whose F-1 student visa had [...]
