The US Supreme Court on Thursday voted 6-3 to affirm the lower court in Sorrell v. IMS Health , finding Vermont’s Prescription Confidentiality Law a violation of freedom of speech under the First Amendment . The law attempted to stifle the common practice of drug manufacturers gathering prescription records from pharmacies and using them to [...]
The US Supreme Court on Thursday voted 5-4 to reverse the lower court in PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing , holding that since generic drugs and their warnings are managed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , their federal regulations on warning labels preempt state law on warning labels. Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion [...]
The US Supreme Court on Thursday ruled 5-4 in Bullcoming v. New Mexico that the Confrontation Clause does not allow laboratory reports containing testimonial certification to be entered into evidence against a defendant without the testimony of the analyst who personally observed the test and certified the report. Donald Bullcoming was arrested for Driving While [...]
The US Supreme Court on Thursday ruled 5-4 in CSX Transportation v. McBride that a Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) railroad negligence claim does not require proof of proximate cause. Respondent Robert McBride worked as a railroad engineer for petitioner CSX Transportation . McBride initiated a FELA claim, alleging that CSX negligently required him to [...]
Three human rights groups released a joint statement Wednesday in support of the sentencing of former Tunisian president Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali but also criticizing his trial as unfair. The International Federation of Human Rights , the Tunisian League of Human Rights and the National Council for Freedoms in Tunisia expressed approval of the [...]
The US Supreme Court on Thursday voted 5-4 to affirm the lower court in Stern v. Marshall , agreeing that the bankruptcy court did not have jurisdiction in this instance. The opinion, delivered by Chief Justice John Roberts, explained that the bankruptcy court judge has a limited role beyond bankruptcy’s core proceedings, even as defined [...]
The New Hampshire legislature voted Wednesday to override the governor’s veto and approve legislation requiring healthcare providers to notify parents or a judge 48 hours before performing an abortion on a minor. Governor John Lynch vetoed the bill last week , but it was passed by a vote of 266-102 in the House of Representatives [...]
A special court in Afghanistan on Thursday overturned the election results of nearly 25 percent of the assembly seats due to poll fraud in last September’s parliamentary elections . Head of the special court Sediqullah Haqiq announced the ruling that 62 out of the 249 legislators in the Wolesi Jirga elected last year have to [...]
A judge for the Court of Appeal for Ontario stayed an April 11 ruling that the country’s marijuana laws are unconstitutional. Justice David Taliano of Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice invalidated the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) in April, finding that the program’s mechanisms for licensing patients to access medical marijuana are insufficient. These inadequate [...]
Dutch politician Geert Wilders was acquitted of all charges on Thursday, the court finding his anti-Islam statements were not hate speech or discriminatory. Wilders has made several “anti-Islam” comments as a political official, including: several comments similar to “I don’t hate Muslims, I hate Islam”; comparing the Koran to Mein Campf and calling for it [...]
