US President Biden on Wednesday pardoned American veterans who were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation or gender identity under a military code for more than 60 years. Biden’s proclamation grants direct clemency to people who had been given court marshal convictions between 1951 and 2013 because of their status in [...]
![Assange pleads guilty to one count of US espionage, walks free](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Assange_1708541658.jpg)
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pleaded guilty in a remote US court on Wednesday to one count of conspiracy for releasing troves of US classified documents via WikiLeaks. The Australian national was released with time served. He had spent the past five years in a UK prison, where he had been battling extradition requests from the US. For [...]
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the creation of a publicly-funded religious charter school, St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School violates the First Amendment and Oklahoma State Constitution. The court said the St. Isidore contract violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which says the government “shall make no [...]
![Hunter Biden files motion to seek new trial on federal gun charges](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/06/Hunter_and_Ashley_Biden_children_of_President_Joe_Biden_attend_the_59th_Presidential_Inauguration_ceremony_in_Washington_Jan._20_2021_-_210120-D-WD757-1362_50861338907.jpg)
Hunter Biden filed documents on Monday seeking a new trial after his conviction on three felonies on June 11, 2024. He argued that the decision should be vacated since the trial began before an appeal for an earlier motion was concluded. Biden also claimed that one of the laws he was prosecuted under, §922(g)(3), is [...]
![Russia blames US for Sevastopol attack that killed four and summons ambassador](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/01/Sevastopol_1643038367.jpg)
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs blamed the US on Monday for a Ukrainian attack on Russian-annexed Crimea that killed four and injured more than 150, saying in a statement they had “no doubt” of the US involvements. Russia also summoned the US ambassador to the country to discuss the issue. According to the Russian [...]
![US Supreme Court grants rehearing of dispute over Hungary property confiscation of Holocaust survivors](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/06/supreme_court_1718994853.jpg)
The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal of a controversy between Hungary and Holocaust survivors over Hungary’s confiscation of their property during World War II. This will be the second time the US Supreme Court is hearing this case. Republic of Hungary v. Simon was initiated by fourteen Holocaust survivors in [...]
![WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange free ahead of anticipated US plea deal](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/03/Assange-supporters.jpg)
Julian Assange is free after 12 years of confinement, having negotiated a plea deal with the US Department of Justice on charges related to his website WikiLeaks’ publication of classified materials. In 2006, Assange founded WikiLeaks, a website reputed for high-profile releases of leaked classified documents, including unredacted US diplomatic cables and sensitive defense information. [...]
![Human Rights Watch calls for US to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for human rights abuses](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/05/1024px-Ministry_of_Interior_Saudi_Arabia.jpg)
Human Rights Watch in a piece for Newsweek called for the US to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for human rights abuses on Monday, as the US reportedly prepares to lift its ban on the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia. The weapons ban, which was imposed by the US in February of 2021 responded to [...]
![US Supreme Court to rule on legality of gender-affirming care bans for transgender youth](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/06/doctors_office_1719249580.jpg)
The US Supreme Court announced Monday it will review the legality of state efforts to ban gender-affirming medical care for minors — a contentious issue in a nation deeply divided over transgender rights and the role of medical intervention in youth gender identity. The case, US v. Skrmetti, centers on a Tennessee law enacted in [...]
![US appeals court blocks challenge to federal firearm silencer law](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/06/Suppressors.jpg)
The US Court of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit blocked an appeal Friday from Texas gun owners and state Attorney General Ken Paxton seeking judicial approval of a Texas gun law that exempts the state from federal firearm silencer regulations. In a short 14-page decision the court affirmed a lower court decision dismissing the case [...]