The US Supreme Court on Monday let stand without comment a lower court ruling that overturned new FCC regulations that would have allowed greater media consolidation. Several major media conglomerates, including News Corp. , Clear Channel , and Viacom , originally sought the rules in order to allow a single company to own more media [...]

Wilkinson, et al. v. Austin et al., Supreme Court of the United States, June 13, 2005 . Excerpt from the Opinion by Justice Kennedy: We now hold that the New Policy as described in this opinion strikes a constitutionally permissible balance between the factors of the Mathews framework. If an inmate were to demonstrate that [...]

Merck KGaA v. Integra Lifesciences I, Ltd, et al., Supreme Court of the United States, June 13, 2005 . Excerpt from the Opinion by Justice Scalia: he evidence presented at trial has yet to be reviewed under the standards set forth in the jury instruction, which we believe to be consistent with, if less detailed [...]

Miller-El v. Dretke, Supreme Court of the United States, June 13, 2005 . Excerpt from the Opinion by Justice Souter: We granted certiorari to consider whether Miller-El was entitled to review on the Batson claim, Miller-El v. Cockrell, 534 U. S. 1122 (2002), and reversed the Court of Appeals. After examining the record of Miller-El's [...]

Johnson v. California, Supreme Court of the United States, June 13, 2005 . Excerpt from the Opinion by Justice Stevens: The facts of this case well illustrate that California's "more likely than not" standard is at odds with the prima facie inquiry mandated by Batson. The judgment of the California Supreme Court is therefore reversed, [...]

In a unanimous decision Monday, the US Supreme Court declined to impose stricter procedural limits on decisions by state officials to place certain inmates in "super-maximum security" prisons. Read the Court's opinion in Wilkinson v. Austin . Also Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the removal of cases from state court to federal court when disputes [...]

A referendum to liberalize Italy's assisted-fertility laws has failed due to low voter turnout. The two-day referendum needed over 50 percent turnout for its results to count, but only 18.7 percent voted Sunday and early figures reported by the Italian Interior Ministry after the polls closed at 3 PM Rome time Monday suggested a final [...]

In a 6-3 decision Monday the US Supreme Court overturned the conviction of a black inmate on death row who claimed that Texas prosecutors purposely eliminated black jurors to fill the jury with whites. Justice Souter, writing for the majority, rejected the state's claim that the strikes were not intended to discriminate against the jurors. [...]

The US Supreme Court in a unanimous decision has ruled that drug companies can do "pre-clinical studies" under FDA rules on an existing patented drug in the process of developing a generic alternative to market in the future. Read a summary of Merck KGaA v. Integra Lifesciences . AP has more. 11:35 PM ET – [...]

Some 8,000 refugees from Rwanda face deportation Tuesday after neighboring Burundi declared them illegal immigrants over the weekend. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has urged Burundi to reconsider and warned it might be violating international law if the refugees are involuntarily returned . Burundi has been fighting since late April to return the [...]