Recent Updates
-
Defendant pleads guilty in NJ in $880M fraud case
U.S. Court News 09/16/2010A Florida man known for his sports-related philanthropy pleaded guilty Wednesday to running a multistate Ponzi scheme that prosecutors say left investors with up to $100 million in losses.Nevin Shapiro pleaded guilty in New Jersey federal court to on...
-
Officials rescue 37 immigrants from Calif. house
U.S. Court News 09/09/2010Immigration authorities have rescued more than three dozen immigrants who were locked inside a sweltering boarded-up bedroom in a Southern California house.Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Wednesday some of the 37 immigrants from si...
-
Court won't force Calif officials to defend Prop 8
U.S. Court News 09/02/2010A California court has refused to order Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal a ruling that overturned the state's gay marriage ban.The 3rd District Court of Appeal on Wednesday denied a conservative legal group's requ...
-
Thousands sign on for $10 billion BP suit
U.S. Court News 08/30/2010The revelation that BP's Texas City refinery emitted toxic benzene for more than a month has ignited a furor in the port community that has suffered its share of deadly industrial accidents and toxic spills.Thousands of residents who fear they may ha...
-
Ruling overturning Prop 8 shaped for higher courts?
U.S. Court News 08/23/2010When U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker struck down California's Proposition 8—the 2008 ballot initiative to outlaw gay marriage—he said the motivation for the majority of voters was clear."The evidence shows conclusively that moral and religious view...
-
DUI Life Sentence Stirs Debate About Alcoholism
U.S. Court News 08/17/2010Nobody disputes that driving under the influence of alcohol is dangerous. In fact, it's one of the most deadly crimes. You won't get any serious arguments from anybody that people should be allowed to drive while impaired. Nobody would dispute that y...
-
Nun's death rallies anti-immigration forces
U.S. Court News 08/09/2010In Arizona, the shooting death of a rancher blew the lid off simmering anger over border security and helped solidify support for a tough new immigration law. A similar eruption threatens in Virginia following the death of a Catholic nun in a car acc...
-
Feds oppose merger of immigration law challenges
U.S. Court News 07/29/2010Lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department oppose a request to merge their challenge to the new Arizona immigration law with a lawsuit by a police officer who also is seeking to overturn the law.The federal lawyers oppose Phoenix police Officer David Sa...
-
N.J. gay-marriage case must begin in lower court
U.S. Court News 07/27/2010The push for gay marriage in New Jersey suffered a setback Monday when the state Supreme Court said six gay couples who claim New Jersey has denied them the rights granted to married heterosexual couples must argue their case through the lower courts...
-
Supreme Court to hear Arizona immigration law challenge
U.S. Court News 07/20/2010The nation's highest court agreed to decide whether the 2007 state law infringed on federal immigration powers and should be struck down.The law at issue in the case is different from the strict new Arizona immigration law passed earlier this year an...
-
Judicial Vacancies Slow the Wheels of Justice
U.S. Court News 07/12/2010As the Senate prepares to vote on whether Elena Kagan should fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, there remain a substantial number of other vacancies in the nation’s lower federal courts that urgently need filling. Currently, there are about ...
-
US top court extends gun rights to states, cities
U.S. Court News 06/28/2010The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday extended gun rights to every state and city in the nation in a ruling involving Chicago's 28-year-old handgun ban.By a 5-4 vote and splitting along conservative and liberal lines, the nation's highest court extended i...