Recent Updates
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Court: Right-to-work law applies to state workers
Recent Cases 08/19/2013Michigan's right-to-work law applies to 35,000 state employees, a divided state appeals court ruled Thursday in the first major legal decision on the much-debated measure eight months after it passed. Judges voted 2-1 to reject a lawsuit filed by uni...
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Court challenge fails to stop Calif. gay marriages
Recent Cases 08/15/2013The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to halt gay marriages in the state, leaving opponents of same-sex weddings few if any legal options to stop the unions. The brief, unanimous ruling tossed out a legal challenge by ban supporters without ...
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Ore. appeals court reverses sex abuse conviction
U.S. Court News 08/12/2013The Oregon Court of Appeals has overturned the conviction of a man found guilty of sodomy and sex abuse after it ruled a lower court erroneously allowed a previous victim of his to testify. Prosecutors said the previous conviction was necessary to sh...
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Federal court officials fear budget cuts
Legal Events 08/06/2013Federal courts officials in Minnesota say they're worried automatic spending cuts will jeopardize the justice system's smooth operation, with layoffs likely in both the U.S. attorney and public defender's offices. The cuts are part of what's known as...
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US court: Pa. school can't ban 'boobies' bracelets
U.S. Court News 08/05/2013A federal appeals court ruled Monday that a Pennsylvania school district cannot ban "I (heart) Boobies!" bracelets, rejecting the district's claim that the slogan _ designed to promote breast cancer awareness among young people _ is lewd. The 3rd U.S...
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Judge denies class action for Wal-Mart bias suit
Recent Cases 08/04/2013A judge rejected on Friday an attempt to file a class action discrimination lawsuit on behalf of 150,000 Wal-Mart women employees in California who claimed their male colleagues were paid more and promoted faster than them. The lawsuit filed in San F...
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Supreme Court OKs early release plan for Calif. inmates
Recent Cases 08/03/2013Despite warnings from California officials, the nation's highest court is refusing to delay the early release of nearly 10,000 California inmates by year's end to ease overcrowding at 33 adult prisons. In its decision Friday, the Supreme Court dismis...
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Court: No workers' comp in drunk dockworker case
Recent Cases 08/02/2013A federal appeals court says an Oregon longshoreman who got drunk on the job, urinated while standing on a dock and then fell 6 feet onto concrete should not get workers' compensation benefits for his injuries. Gary Schwirse drank at least nine beers...
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Pitt schools segregation lawsuit in federal court
Recent Cases 07/26/2013Nearly 60 years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down racial segregation in public schools, lawyers are set to square off in a federal courtroom in eastern North Carolina over whether the effects of that Jim Crow past still persist. A trial was to...
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Arizona high court to hear school funding case
U.S. Court News 07/23/2013The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday hears arguments in an appeal of a lower court's ruling that requires the state Legislature to give schools an annual funding increase even in lean years to account for inflation. The high court is reviewing a Cour...
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Iowa top court: Firing of attractive aide is legal
Legal Events 07/13/2013The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday stood by its ruling that a dentist acted legally when he fired an assistant because he found her too attractive and worried he would try to start an affair. Coming to the same conclusion as it did in December, the all...
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NJ court overturns award for view lost to dune
U.S. Court News 07/09/2013New Jersey's highest court on Monday overturned a $375,000 jury award given to an elderly couple who complained that a protective sand dune behind their house blocked their ocean views. In a ruling seen as a wider victory for towns that want to build...