Recent Updates
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"Parrot Fever" Suit May Not Fly
U.S. Court News 06/27/2008The family of a Texas man who allegedly died of a disease contracted from a sick cockatiel has sued PetSmart for wrongful death, but the fate of similar cases around the country suggests their products liability theory will not fly.The cockatiel that...
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Naked Cowboy Sues M&M's
U.S. Court News 06/24/2008"This is the case of The Naked Cowboy versus The Blue M&M," afederal judge wrote in allowing The Naked Cowboy's lawsuit against Marscandy and Chute Gerdeman ad agency to proceed. "Plaintiff Robert Burckis a 'street entertainer' who performs in Ne...
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Supreme Court weighs whales vs war preparation
U.S. Court News 06/24/2008The Supreme Court will have the final say on whether war preparation trumps whale protection.Acting at the Bush administration's urging, the court agreed Monday to review a federal appeals court ruling that limited the use of sonar in naval training ...
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Fight over White House subpoenas heads to court
U.S. Court News 06/23/2008Congress issued its demands. The White House refused. Now it's up to a federal judge to settle a dispute over documents and testimony regarding fired federal prosecutors.Lawyers for the White House and Congress were headed to court Monday to argue th...
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Federal court issues stay in SC execution
U.S. Court News 06/20/2008A man scheduled to be executed on Friday was issued a stay just minutes before he was to be electrocuted, triggering a flurry of legal moves as the state sought to carry out the sentence before a midnight deadline.James Earl Reed had been scheduled t...
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Supreme court puts limits on mentally ill defendants
U.S. Court News 06/19/2008The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that criminal defendants with a history of mental illness do not always have the right to represent themselves, even if they have been judged competent to stand trial.The justices, by a 7-2 vote, said states can give ...
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City Evicts Boy Scouts For Anti-Gay Bias
U.S. Court News 06/16/2008The City of Philadelphia wants to evict the Boy Scouts of America from the rent-free property that has been its headquarters since 1928, for violating the city's anti-discrimination policy. The city says the Scouts' Cradle of Liberty openly discrimin...
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Supreme Court Re: US Citizens detained abroad by US
U.S. Court News 06/13/2008The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday in the consolidated cases of Munaf v. Geren and Geren v. Omar that federal courts have jurisdiction over habeas corpus petitions filed by American citizens detained abroad by US military personnel, even if the mili...
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Indian trust mismanagement case goes to trial
U.S. Court News 06/11/2008The US District Court for the District of Columbia began hearings Monday in Cobell v. Kempthorne, a class-action suit brought in 1996 alleging US government mismanagement of trust funds for a group of some 500,000 Native Americans and their heirs. Ju...
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Supreme Court Allows RICO Tax Lien Lawsuit
U.S. Court News 06/10/2008A pair of Chicago-area companies have the right to sue their competitors under federal racketeering law for allegedly gaining more than their fair share of tax liens, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled. BCS Services Inc. and Phoenix Bond & Indemnity Co...
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Two Foreclosure Crooks Plead Guilty
U.S. Court News 06/05/2008Two men pleaded guilty Tuesday to defrauding homeowners in a "foreclosure rescue" scam that netted the criminals titles to more than 80 houses, more than $20 million in fraudulently acquired home equity loans and $1.4 million in fees, federal prosecu...
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FTC Shuts Down Pretexters
U.S. Court News 05/29/2008The Federal Trade Commission has obtained court orders shutting down a ring that used "pretexting" to get people's confidential telephone records and sell them to third parties. The FTC also fined the defendants $600,000, their profits from the opera...