Washington DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson Monday sent a letter to Vice President Kamala Harris–in her capacity as president of the US Senate–stating that he is withdrawing a bill that would change DC’s criminal laws. Mendelson discussed the letter during a press conference Monday. Mendelson said, “It’s clear that Congress is intending to override that [...]
![Human rights groups urge UN to take action against restrictive US abortion laws](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/Roe_v_Wade_OVERTURNED_Protest_to_defend_US_Abortion_Rights_Melb_52188605950.jpg)
An alliance of several human rights groups Thursday published a letter calling for the UN to take action against abortion restrictions in the US. The letter, signed by over 100 organizations and 49 individuals, argued that abortion bans threaten “women’s lives and health on a massive scale” while the “criminalization of abortions threatens to further [...]
![Immigrant workers reach class action settlement over Tennessee meat packing plant raid](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/02/factory_1677621070.jpg)
A US federal judge Monday approved a settlement for over $1 million in a class action lawsuit that involved a 2018 immigration raid on a Tennessee meat packing plant that led to the detainment of approximately 100 Latino workers. Under the settlement in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, members of [...]
![Former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake sues Arizona officials over midterm election results](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/Kari_Lake_51128085494.jpg)
Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake Friday filed a lawsuit against Arizona election officials challenging the certification of November 8 election results naming Katie Hobbs the Governor-elect. Lake’s lawsuit expressly names Hobbs, Stephen Richer of the Maricopa County Recorder and other officials in Maricopa County as defendants. In the complaint Lake argues that she “eceived [...]
![Texas court dismisses case against doctor who violated state abortion ban](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-12-at-2.55.52-PM.png)
A Texas state court Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed against a physician who violated Texas’s state law that bans abortions after six weeks. A lawsuit was filed against Dr. Alan Braid claiming he violated the Texas state law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The six-week abortion ban took effect in September of last year. [...]
![US appeals court: religious organizations do not have to provide gender-affirming medical care](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/03/healthcare_1553621378.jpg)
The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Friday issued a permanent injunction against the enforcement of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which would require medical providers to provide gender-affirming medical services to transgender individuals. Two groups of Catholic employers and health care providers, the Religious Sisters of Mercy and the [...]
![Former Georgia state deputies arrested and charged for beating inmate](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/09/prison_1662067028.jpg)
Three former Georgia Sheriff’s Deputies who were employed in Camden County, Georgia Tuesday were arrested for their involvement in the September beating of a Black man detained at the Camden County Detention Center. Director for Georgia’s Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Mike Register announced the arrest of the three former Georgia sheriff’s deputies–Mason Garrick, Braxton Massey, [...]
![US Attorney General appoints special counsel to oversee Trump criminal investigation](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/11/640px-President_Trump_signing_Hurricane_Harvey_bill.jpg)
US Attorney General Merrick Garland Friday announced the appointment of a special counsel to oversee two criminal investigations into former President Donald Trump. Former International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Jack Smith will oversee investigations into whether on January 6, 2021, “any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election [...]
![Indiana doctor who provided abortion services to 10-year-old rape victim files complaint against state AG](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/01/doctor_1609624349.jpg)
The Indiana doctor who provided abortion services to a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim in June filed a complaint Thursday against Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita. Dr. Caitlin Bernard initiated a lawsuit against Rokita to stop his investigation of her. According to the complaint, Rokita issued subpoenas to access medical records “of individuals who did not [...]
![US Supreme Court asked to review Mississippi’s felon disenfranchisement provisions](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/10/Voting-Pic.png)
A petition was filed Friday with the US Supreme Court asking the Court to review the constitutionality of the felon disenfranchisement provision of Mississippi’s 1890 Constitution. The plaintiffs, Roy Harness and Kamal Karriem, initiated the lawsuit to challenge the felony disenfranchisement provision under the Mississippi Constitution claiming that “Section 241 from the 1890 Constitution is [...]