The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and partners filed suit against the Trump administration Wednesday to force them to propose Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection for pangolins. Currently, the US offers ESA protection for one of seven pangolin species that exist, which allows for the trafficking and purchasing of pangolin goods in the US. Pangolins [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Tuesday partially overturned former New York Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver’s conviction for corruption. Silver appealed on erroneous jury instructions with regards to three of the counts. The court agreed and reversed on those three counts but affirmed on the other four counts of corruption. In [...]
Rapper Jay-Z filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Mississippi on behalf of inmates in the state penitentiary. The lawsuit comes in response to inmates’ deaths, which have been happening at an alarming rate. Five inmates have died in the past two weeks and the prison administrators have done nothing to prevent it. Alex Spiro, Jay-Z’s lawyer, [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Babb v. Wilkie on Wednesday, a case regarding age discrimination in the workplace. The petitioner Babb alleges that she was discriminated against because of her age, and the Supreme Court must decide if federal employees must prove that age was the “but-for” cause of firing. The attorney [...]
Peru’s Constitutional Court declared Tuesday that President Martín Vizcarra’s September 30 closure of Congress was legal. Congress was closed mainly because of Vizcarra’s rocky relationship with them. They attempted to defy him by removing him but ultimately failed when his replacement quit within 36 hours. This lead to the case being taken to court which [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Wednesday refused to lift an injunction preventing the Trump administration from implementing the new public charge rule, which would make it easier to restrict certain populations from entering the country. The new change is to prevent immigrants from using Medicaid and Food Stamps. A separate [...]
A US Congressional report published on Wednesday is calling for sanctions on China over human rights violations. The report notes violations in many areas, including human trafficking and freedom of expression issues. The report points to a renewed level of religious persecution against Muslims, who are also noted to be one of the groups more [...]
On Tuesday the Republican-controlled Wisconsin legislature asked the Federal District Court in Madison to throw out a challenge to the state’s voter purge. The purge is currently being evaluated in the state system. The suit alleges that the manner in which Wisconsin is clearing its voter rolls is unconstitutional. The plaintiffs claim that letters sent [...]
Abused in Scouting filed a suit against Boy Scouts of America in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday on behalf of 8 men who were sexually abused while they were Boy Scouts. The case was made possible by a change in DC law which allows all sexual abuse victims under [...]
On Thursday Chile’s Environmental Court ruled in favor of indigenous complaints that had been brought against SQM. SQM is the world’s second-largest miner of lithium. They had planned for expansion but the expansion plans caused questions about Chile’s northern desert’s ability to handle the level of production. The court put emphasis on how frail the [...]
