A three-judge panel for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied in part a motion to dismiss filed by intervenor defendants in Agre v. Wolf , a Pennsylvania redistricting case. The initial complaint in the lawsuit, filed on October 2, alleges that the current Pennsylvania districting maps favor Republicans and violate [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday in Hamer v. Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago that a court-made time limitation rule was not jurisdictional. The issue was whether the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit erred in dismissing the case for lack of jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure (4)(a)(5)(C) . The [...]
Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the US District Court for the District of Columbia released an order Wednesday preventing all interested parties in the case against Paul Manafort Jr. and Richard Gates III from making certain statements to the media and in public settings. The order prevents both sides of the trial from making any [...]
Spain’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday declared the Catalan independence declaration to be unconstitutional. The court initially nullified the October 27 declaration of independence while it studied its legality. The secession vote passed by 70-10 margin in the 135-seat Catalan parliament. In response to the vote, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy responded by dissolving Catalan’s Parliament [...]
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported Wednesday that attacks against places of worship and religious leaders have seen a “disturbing” increase in Afghanistan since January 1, 2016. The attacks typically target Shi’a Muslim congregations, and almost all attacks are carried out by anti-government elements. Since January 1, 2016, 273 people have been killed, [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in Patchak v. Zinke . The case centers around whether Section 2(b) of the Gun Lake Act is an unconstitutional violation of Article III of the Constitution regarding separation of powers. The statute, which was implemented after the court decided the suit may proceed, directs federal courts [...]
Germany’s highest constitutional court ruled in an order published Wednesday that a third gender designation for intersex people must be made available at birth. This ruling comes from a case brought by an intersex individual who was required to be registered at birth as male or female or leave the gender blank, resulting in a [...]
The Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea (PNG) refused Tuesday to restore power and provide water and medical services to the Manus Island detention center . The detention center was officially closed last week, but approximately 600 refugees have refused to leave. The refugees still in the compound asked the Supreme Court to restore the [...]
In one of my favorite scenes from The Wire, the great HBO television series about crime, cops, and life in Baltimore, detectives Bunk Moreland and Jimmy McNulty sit in an interrogation room across the table from a young African American man they call Cheese. The detectives suspect Cheese in one of several recent murders, and [...]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) held simultaneous hearings Tuesday regarding the UK’s practice of intercepting private communications in large amounts, which was leaked by Edward Snowden . The cases, brought by civil rights groups, were heard by a panel of seven judges, over violations of privacy, expression and right to a fair trial. [...]
