Recent Updates

  • Supreme Court seems inclined to retain cross on public land

    Supreme Court seems inclined to retain cross on public land

    Civil Rights 02/28/2019

    The Supreme Court seemed inclined Wednesday to rule that a 40-foot-tall cross that stands on public land in Maryland is constitutional, but shy away from a sweeping ruling.The case the justices heard arguments in is being closely watched because it i...

  • Court upholds car rental tax imposed in Maricopa County

    Court upholds car rental tax imposed in Maricopa County

    Civil Rights 02/26/2019

    The Arizona Supreme Court on Monday upheld a car rental tax surcharge that’s imposed in Maricopa County to pay for building a professional football stadium and other sports and recreational facilities, marking the second time an appeals court h...

  • Former Sen. Barringer to run for North Carolina high court

    Former Sen. Barringer to run for North Carolina high court

    Civil Rights 02/04/2019

    Candidates for the North Carolina Supreme Court continue to grow with two or three seats on the ballot next year due to Chief Justice Mark Martin's impending resignation.Former state Sen. Tamara Barringer of Cary told supporters Tuesday she would see...

  • No-cost birth control, now the norm, faces court challenges

    No-cost birth control, now the norm, faces court challenges

    Civil Rights 01/16/2019

    Millions of American women are receiving birth control at no cost to them through workplace health plans, the result of the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, which expanded access to contraception.The Trump administration sought to allow more employers ...

  • Chief justice details efforts to combat workplace misconduct

    Chief justice details efforts to combat workplace misconduct

    Civil Rights 01/01/2019

    Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is using his annual report on the federal judiciary to highlight the steps the branch has taken to combat inappropriate conduct in the workplace.In December 2017, Roberts asked that a working group be put toge...

  • Appeals court agrees to hear case involving Trump DC hotel

    Appeals court agrees to hear case involving Trump DC hotel

    Civil Rights 12/20/2018

    A federal appeals court agreed Thursday to take up a case accusing Donald Trump of profiting off the presidency in violation of the U.S. Constitution, giving the president's legal team its first major victory in the case.The order issued by the U.S. ...

  • The Latest: Court likely to apply excess-fine ban to states

    The Latest: Court likely to apply excess-fine ban to states

    Civil Rights 11/27/2018

    The Supreme Court seems very likely to rule that the Constitution's ban on excessive fines applies to the states. The outcome could help an Indiana man recover the $40,000 Land Rover police seized when they arrested him for selling about $400 worth o...

  •  Mixed rulings for Republicans from Kentucky Supreme Court

    Mixed rulings for Republicans from Kentucky Supreme Court

    Civil Rights 11/15/2018

    In a pair of mixed rulings for Kentucky Republicans, the state Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a law requiring a panel of doctors to review medical malpractice cases before they go to court while upholding the state's law banning mandatory unio...

  • Trump visit stirs debate; massacre defendant in court

    Trump visit stirs debate; massacre defendant in court

    Civil Rights 10/31/2018

    The man charged in the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre was brought into court in a wheelchair Monday, as some members of the Jewish community and others objected to President Donald Trump’s plans to visit, accusing him of contributing to a toxic ...

  • Court to hear case over ID of Texas execution drug supplier

    Court to hear case over ID of Texas execution drug supplier

    Civil Rights 10/20/2018

    The Texas Supreme Court has reversed itself and granted the state's request to review a case dealing with the disclosure of an execution drug supplier that officials have fought for years to keep secret.The Texas Supreme Court on Friday approved the ...

  • Stand-ins to decide who sits on West Virginia Supreme Court

    Stand-ins to decide who sits on West Virginia Supreme Court

    Civil Rights 09/25/2018

    A group of judicial stand-ins representing West Virginia's Supreme Court was hearing challenges Monday to GOP Gov. Jim Justice's appointments of two Republican politicians to replace two departed justices.Democrats have called the impeachments that i...

  • Trump picks combat over caution in court fight

    Trump picks combat over caution in court fight

    Civil Rights 09/22/2018

    White House aides and congressional allies worked all week to keep President Donald Trump from unloading on the woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.But as Kavanaugh's nomination hung in the balance, Trump ...