The Michigan Court of Appeals denied a request Wednesday to require the counting of absentee ballots received after the polls close on election day. In November 2018 Michigan voters approved Proposal 3, which allows all Michigan voters the constitutional right to vote by absentee ballot without stating a reason. This was incorporated into 2018 PA [...]
The US Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal investigative agency, has advised that federal employees may express support for Black Lives Matter (BLM) in the workplace without violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activity while on duty or in the federal workplace. The Office of Special Counsel had [...]
The New York Board of Law Examiners announced late Thursday that the bar exam scheduled for September 9-10 is canceled due to COVID-19. The New York Court of Appeals issued an order that the Appellate Division of the Court of Appeals has the discretion to temporarily license certain law graduates for supervised law practice. These [...]
In a 5-4 decision issued on Thursday morning, the US Supreme Court vacated a preliminary injunction that had halted the execution of Wesley Purkey, clearing the way for the second federal execution of the week. Purkey was convicted in federal court and sentenced to death in 2004 for the kidnapping and killing of 16-year-old Jennifer [...]
US President Donald Trump and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday announced several new cases related to the US government’s campaign to dismantle MS-13, an international criminal gang that has been aggressively targeted by the Trump administration. The cases are being conducted by Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV), an initiative launched in August 2019 by [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) cannot withhold federal grant money from California sanctuary cities. The DOJ has provided Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants, which fund state and local criminal justice programs since 2006. This fund is the “primary provider” of federal [...]
The state of New Mexico filed suit Monday against the New Mexico Civil Guard (NMCG), claiming the militia group incited a shooting at a peaceful protest in June. The NMCG is not affiliated with the government, either through the military or the police. NMCG has purportedly threatened public safety numerous times. The complaint alleges that [...]
The US District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction Monday that temporarily stops the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from restricting access to mifepristone, an early abortion medication. The FDA had previously required patients to physically travel to their health care providers to pick up the medication and sign a [...]
In a per curiam opinion issued Tuesday at 2 AM, the US Supreme Court vacated a preliminary injunction that had halted the executions of four federal prisoners sentenced to death for killing children. The ruling cleared the way for the federal government to resume federal executions for the first time in 17 years. US Attorney [...]
The US Supreme Court has granted certiorari in six new cases, consolidating four of them into two cases for a total of four hours of oral argument. The court on Thursday consolidated Collins v. Mnuchin and Mnuchin v. Collins for a total of one hour of oral argument. These cases challenge the structure of the Federal [...]
