The Supreme Court of Arkansas struck down a section of its death penalty statute on Thursday, holding that it violated appellant Bruce Ward’s right to due process and equal protection under the US and Arkansas constitutions. Ward was tried and convicted of capital murder in 1990 and sentenced to death. He was scheduled to be [...]
Robert Bowers pleaded not guilty during a preliminary hearing on Thursday to the 44 federal charges he faces for the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The shooting left 11 people dead and six people wounded, including four police officers responding to the scene. Local coverage reported that Bowers’ federal public defenders [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Wyoming on Monday struck down Wyoming’s “ag-gag” laws—laws that criminalize the collection of research data on public and private land—as unconstitutional. The two laws, categorized as trespass laws, were originally passed in 2015. They prohibited an individual from entering onto land “for the purpose of [...]
A federal grand jury on Wednesday charged Robert Bowers in a 44-count indictment for the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that killed 11 people and injured six others including four police officers responding on scene. The indictment alleges that Bowers drove to the Tree of Life Synagogue early on the [...]
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in two cases—one a question of class action payments to charities and the second whether sovereign immunity of foreign governments extends to international organizations. In the first, Frank v. Gaos, petitioners contend that the application of a cy pres award, or the distribution of money from a class [...]
The Spirit Lake Sioux tribe on Tuesday filed suit against the state of North Dakota to ensure that eligible Native American voters residing on reservations in North Dakota will be able to cast a ballot in the 2018 midterm elections and in all future elections. Under current law, North Dakotans cannot vote unless they have [...]
A judge for the US District Court Southern District of Ohio ruled Tuesday that a judge could not be sued for denying name changes for transgender minors. Stephanie and Kylen Whitaker sued Judge Joseph Kirby when he refused to approve a name change for their transgender child. Ohio law requires that name changes be approved by [...]
The Supreme Court of Hawaii on Tuesday cleared the way for astronomers to build one of the largest telescopes in the world on Mauna Kea by dismissing a legal challenge of native Hawaiians aimed at blocking the project. Justice McKenna, writing for the court’s majority in the 4-1 decision, dismissed the appellant’s claims that “Mauna Kea, as [...]
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) extended the comment period on Tuesday for a proposed standard for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act. The comment period was extended from 60 days to 90 days, now ending on December 13, 2018. The extension came after the NLRB received requests from Representative Robert C. Scott [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU-PA) filed a lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) on Tuesday over a new policy that requires that only photocopies of incoming mail be delivered to inmates instead of the original copies. The ACLU-PA is joined by the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project (PILP), Abolitionist Law Center (ALC) [...]
