The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday in Georgia v. Public.Resource.org that Georgia is not entitled to copyright protection for the official annotated code of the state. The majority opinion, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, based its reasoning on a prior holding from Banks v. Manchester (1888). In Banks, the court held that “non-binding, [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday requested briefings from attorneys working two separate cases regarding efforts to secure President Donald Trump’s tax records. The court asked for briefings explaining whether the cases raise the political question doctrine, which states that courts should not hear cases that are political problems. Based on temporary stays from the [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled Monday in Maine Community Health Options v. United States that health insurance companies that suffered losses related to Affordable Care Act health benefit exchange policies may receive compensation. Insurance companies recently sued the government to receive reimbursement owed for ACA related losses. In an 8-1 decision, the court held that [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Monday condemned the abuse of emergency powers to commit human rights violations in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19. “ need to be necessary, proportionate, and non-discriminatory,” says the statement. “They also need to be limited in duration and key safeguards against excesses must [...]
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety announcement on Friday warning against the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine to treat COVID-19 outside of the hospital setting or clinic trials. “Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19,” said the FDA in its statement [...]
The heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) called Friday for nations to lift trade restrictions on medical supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The heads of the international agencies said that the trade restrictions on supplies used to fight COVID-19 could be “dangerously counterproductive,” adding, “what makes sense in [...]
The US Supreme Court denied requests Friday from New York, Connecticut, and Vermont to temporarily lift or modify the controversial “public charge” immigration rule during the COVID-19 pandemic. The “public charge” rule allows the Department of Homeland Security to refuse citizenship for immigrants who rely on monetary or nonmonetary government assistance. The US Supreme Court [...]
Kentucky Governor Andrew Beshear on Friday vetoed Senate Bill 9, which would have allowed the state’s Attorney General to restrict abortion access during the COVID-19 outbreak. The bill also would have required doctors to try to preserve the lives of any infants born alive in attempted abortions. For failing to provide “medically appropriate and reasonable [...]
Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court announced on Saturday that it was abolishing flogging as a form of punishment, as part of reforms aimed to advance human rights in Saudi Arabia. These reforms follow “unprecedented international criticism” that Saudi Arabia received in 2019 for its human rights record, which included 184 executions, 84 of which were for [...]
The US Department of the Treasury granted airlines an additional $9.5 billion Saturday for payroll during the COVID-19 crisis. The Treasury has disbursed a total of $12.4 billion in aid to airlines for economic relief associated with COVID-19 loses. The Department of the Treasury announced the disbursements on Saturday: Since announcing the first Payroll Support [...]
