The US Supreme Court held Thursday in Gonzalez v. Trevino that the existence of probable cause does not necessarily defeat retaliatory arrest claims. The case concerns a Texas councilwoman who argues that she was arrested in retaliation for her speech critical of a city government official. Retaliation-arrest claims generally must prove the absence of probable [...]

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed a bill into law Wednesday making Louisiana the first state to require public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. Schools will also be authorized, but not required, to display the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Northwest Ordinance. In creating the bill, HB 71, the Louisiana House [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) found Tuesday that the state of Alaska violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide accessible voting facilities in the 2020 and 2022 elections. Voters across Alaska reported that the accessible voting machines were inoperable on Election Day during the 2020 and 2022 [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Monday granted an en banc rehearing for a case about procedures for Ohio citizens proposing Ohio constitutional amendments through ballot initiatives. In order for an Ohio citizen: o get a proposed constitutional amendment on the Ohio ballot, petitioners must submit their amendment, a summary of [...]

President Joe Biden announced new measures Tuesday allowing hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrant spouses and children of US citizens to remain in the country while applying for permanent residency, thus enabling these families to stay together. Typically, noncitizen spouses are required to apply for spousal visas from abroad — a lengthy bureaucratic process. Though [...]

Wes Moore, governor of the US eastern seaboard state of Maryland, signed an executive order Monday pardoning 175,000 convictions related to possession of cannabis and drug paraphernalia, becoming one of the first US states to issue a mass pardon on cannabis. The order is set to include more than 150,000 misdemeanor convictions for possession of [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled on Friday that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) adequately evaluated emission impacts when it approved the expansion of a gas pipeline operated by the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. in Pennsylvania and New York, allowing the project to move forward. The environmental group Food & [...]

The US Department of Justice on Thursday found that the Phoenix Police Department and the City of Phoenix have engaged in excessive force, discrimination and general civil rights violations against Black, Latino, Native American and other marginalized communities. The findings were published in a 126-page report, ending an investigation that began in 2021. Attorney General Merrick [...]

A US federal judge ordered a retrial on Friday in a case involving allegations that Virginia-based military contractor CACI Premier Technology, Inc. (CACI) contributed to the abuse and torture of detainees at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison two decades ago. Judge Leonie Brinkema granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a new trial and denied CACI’s motion for [...]

The US Supreme Court struck down a bump stock ban Friday enacted in 2018 following a deadly mass shooting in California. In a 6-3 vote, the court held that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) exceeded its authority in enacting the bump stock ban. The case known as Garland v. Cargill was [...]