Recent Updates
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Top Europe court bans stem cell technique patents
Recent Cases 10/18/2011The European Union's top court ruled Tuesday that scientists cannot patent stem cell techniques that use human embryos for research purposes, a ruling some scientists said threatens important research since no one could profit from it. The European C...
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Utah man charged with threatening air marshals
Recent Cases 10/17/2011A Utah man has been charged in federal court after authorities say he threatened to shoot air marshals, hijack the flight and urinate in the cabin of a Delta Airlines plane en route from Amsterdam to Detroit. During a Thursday appearance in U.S. Dist...
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Court blocks Ala. from checking student status
Recent Cases 10/17/2011Armando Cardenas says he has thought about leaving Alabama because of the possibility of being arrested as an illegal immigrant and the hostility he feels from residents. But now that a federal appeals court has sided with the Obama administration an...
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High court to decide double jeopardy question
Recent Cases 10/12/2011The Supreme Court will decide whether a jury forewoman's offhand comment that the jury was unable to make a decision on a murder charge means the suspect can't be retried on that charge. The high court on Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal from Alex Bl...
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US court turns down Philly DA in cop-killing case
Recent Cases 10/11/2011The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a request from prosecutors who want to re-impose a death sentence on former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of killing a white Philadelphia police officer 30 years ago. The justices on Tuesday refused to g...
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Defense lawyer will not help Edwards at trial
Recent Cases 10/11/2011A key member of the legal team defending John Edwards against campaign finance charges will not represent the former Democratic presidential candidate at his upcoming trial following questions about a potential conflict of interest. A motion filed by...
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Court won't hear appeal from Alamo followers
Recent Cases 10/09/2011The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from followers of evangelist Tony Alamo (uh-LAHM'-oh) who had their children taken away when they wouldn't agree not to expose them to the controversial ministry. The high court on Tuesday refused to hear an app...
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Court refuses to hear Maryland gun case
Recent Cases 10/03/2011The Supreme Court won't hear a Maryland man's argument that the Second Amendment allows him to carry a gun outside of his home for self-defense. The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Charles F. Williams Jr., who was arrested in 2007...
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High court appears to favor Ala. death row inmate
Recent Cases 10/03/2011The Supreme Court appeared likely Tuesday to order a new court hearing for an Alabama death row inmate who lost the chance to appeal his death sentence because of a mailroom mix-up at a venerable New York law firm. Both conservative and liberal justi...
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Idaho inmates settle lawsuit over prison violence
Recent Cases 09/21/2011A potential class-action lawsuit against the nation's largest private prison company over allegations of violence at the Idaho Correctional Center has been settled in federal court. The agreement between the inmates and Nashville, Tenn.-based Correct...
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Kona coffee dispute prompts class-action lawsuit
Recent Cases 09/17/2011A spat involving Safeway and Hawaii coffee growers is still brewing, even after the supermarket giant agreed to change labeling on its Kona blend coffee. A $5 million class-action lawsuit was filed in federal court in Northern California claiming Saf...
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1 spank isn't domestic violence, Fla. court says
Recent Cases 09/15/2011An appeals court says a single spank doesn't qualify as domestic violence. A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal on Friday quashed an injunction for protection against domestic violence. It cited common law and a 2002 Florida Suprem...