Recent Updates
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Court weighs practice of Christian prayers at meetings
Legal Exams 01/31/2016A federal appeals court is grappling with the constitutionality of prayers at local council meetings for the first time since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a similar case in 2014. Oral arguments were held Wednesday before a three-judge panel of the 4...
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Texas renews bid for court-imposed refugee restrictions
Recent Cases 01/25/2016Texas is doubling down on its push for court-imposed restrictions on the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state. In a court filing in Dallas on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge David Godbey, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton cited a recent fe...
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Court overturns tobacco company victory over FDA on menthols
Headline Legal News 01/19/2016A federal appeals court has ruled that tobacco companies had no basis to challenge a Food and Drug Administration report on menthol cigarettes, which the industry alleged was written by experts with conflicts of interest. The decision by a three-judg...
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Ohio's top court declines to change rules on plea deals
Notable Attorneys 01/17/2016Ohio's top court decided Thursday to continue allowing defendants to plead to lesser crimes that don't bear much resemblance to the facts of the original charge. Some trial court judges argued that such pleas undermine public confidence in the courts...
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Rome court acquits ex-Vatican accountant of corruption
National News 01/17/2016A lawyer for an Italian monsignor who was fired from his Vatican accountant's job says a Rome court has acquitted his client of corruption. Prosecutors alleged Monsignor Nunzio Scarano was involved in a purported plot to use a private plane to try to...
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Judge approves tea party group's lawsuit against IRS
Law School News 01/16/2016A federal judge in Ohio has approved class-action status for a tea party group's lawsuit stemming from IRS delays in approving nonprofit status for conservative groups seeking the tax-exemption classification. The NorCal Tea Party Patriots sue...
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Rome court acquits ex-Vatican accountant of corruption
Ethics 01/15/2016A lawyer for an Italian monsignor who was fired from his Vatican accountant's job says a Rome court has acquitted his client of corruption. Prosecutors alleged Monsignor Nunzio Scarano was involved in a purported plot to use a private plane to try to...
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High court seems skeptical of mandatory public union fees
Notable Attorneys 01/14/2016The Supreme Court appears ready to deliver a major setback to American unions as it considers scrapping a four-decade precedent that lets public-sector labor organizations collect fees from workers who decline to join. During more than an hour of ora...
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High court raises doubts over Puerto Rico sovereignty
Recent Cases 01/14/2016The Supreme Court on Wednesday raised doubts about whether Puerto Rico should be treated as a sovereign state with powers that go beyond its status as a territory of the United States. The justices considered the question during arguments in a...
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Florida asks court to deny inmate's execution-delay request
Recent Cases 01/13/2016Florida has asked the state's high court to reject a condemned inmate's request to delay his execution based on the U.S. Supreme Court's finding that Florida's procedure for imposing the death penalty is illegal. In a brief filed Thursday, Florida At...
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Japan court gives go-ahead for restart of 2 nuke reactors
Legal Events 12/24/2015A Japanese court gave the go-ahead for the restart of two nuclear reactors Thursday after its operator said in an appeal they were safe. The Fukui District Court in western Japan lifted an April injunction that was filed by a group of residents who s...
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ACLU to appeal court ruling in Missouri drug testing case
Legal Marketing 12/22/2015The American Civil Liberties Union said it plans to appeal a federal court ruling that upheld a technical college’s plan to force every incoming student to be tested for drugs. Tony Rothert, legal director for the ACLU’s Missouri chapter, told the Je...