US District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Amit Mehta ruled Friday that the Trump administration should resume issuing diversity visas to immigrants from underrepresented countries. The ruling partially lifted a freeze on a wide range of immigrant and temporary visa processes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The freeze was enacted in June, which [...]
![Federal appeals court upholds decision to bar Trump administration from implementing abortion ‘gag rule’](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/03/Keep_Abortion_Safe_Legal__Accessible_6773079251.jpg)
In a 9-6 decision Thursday, the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s permanent injunction against a Health and Human Services (HHS) rule that would prohibit doctors and clinics that participate in the Title X program from referring patients for an abortion, even if that is what the patient wants. The so-called [...]
![Advocates cite election risk in appeal to North Carolina Supreme Court over touchscreen voting machines](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/03/voting_1583359700.jpg)
Voting rights advocates filed a motion Friday asking the North Carolina Supreme Court to review a superior court decision which denied them a preliminary injunction in a critical voting rights case. At issue is the decision by some counties in North Carolina to use ExpressVote voting machines for the November election. The plaintiffs in the [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded Thursday that the California State Board of Education’s 2016 guidelines did not discriminate against Hinduism. The appellate court affirmed a February 2019 decision of Judge Charles Breyer of the US District Court for the Northern District of California. California Parents for the Equalization of Educational [...]
US President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, along with other Republican committees, filed suit Wednesday against Montana Governor Steve Bullock over his universal vote-by-mail directive. There have been endless battles between Republicans and Democrats in the use and validity of mail-in voting for the November election in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Republicans believe that Democrats [...]
![President Trump signs memo threatening to cut federal funding to ‘lawless’ cities](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/04/President_Trump_Signs_the_Paycheck_Protection_Program_and_Health_Care_Enhancement_Act_49814689616.jpg)
US President Donald Trump signed a memo Wednesday threatening to cut federal funding to allegedly “lawless” cities, including Seattle, Portland, New York, and Washington, DC. For the last few months, in cities throughout the country, there have been widespread protests against police brutality sparked initially by the death of George Floyd in May. The protests [...]
![US Ninth Circuit rules mass surveillance program exposed by Snowden was unlawful](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/09/NSA_1599151692.jpg)
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday that the US government’s mass surveillance program exposed by Edward Snowden seven years ago was unlawful. The ruling was handed down as part of the court’s decision in a case involving four members of the Somali diaspora who were convicted for sending or conspiring to [...]
![Federal appeals court overturns ban against immigration arrests at Massachusetts courthouses](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/09/immigration_1599083606.jpg)
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Tuesday overturned a ban prohibiting US immigration authorities from arresting undocumented immigrants at courthouses in Massachusetts. In 2018, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) formalized a policy of attempting to arrest undocumented immigrants when they appeared at state courthouses for judicial proceedings. [...]
![Federal appeals court blocks release of Trump tax returns](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/09/1600px-U.S._President_Donald_Trump_with_a_KAG_hat.jpg)
A federal judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has stayed a district court order to subpoena President Trump’s tax returns. The stay, issued Tuesday, will prevent the district court from accessing Trump’s tax returns until the Second Circuit makes its decision in the case. In his motion to stay, the [...]
![Federal appeals court rules New Jersey ban on large-capacity magazines does not violate Second Amendment](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/11/gun_1541615853.jpg)
The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled Tuesday that New Jersey’s ban on large-capacity magazines (LCMs), defined as magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, is permitted under the Second Amendment. New Jersey passed a law in 2018 that made it illegal to possess LCMs. Upon enactment, the plaintiffs filed [...]