The US House of Representatives passed the $690 billion National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 Thursday, approving the basic funding plan with a 322-96 vote . The bill contains many controversial provisions such as prohibitions on the use of funds to transfer Guantanamo detainees to the US or other foreign countries, making it [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Wednesday restricted the use of the “inequitable conduct” defense for invalidating patents. Inequitable conduct previously allowed the judge to use his or her discretion in invalidating an otherwise valid patent if he or she believed the patent-holder had engaged in unfair practices when applying to [...]
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton vetoed a pair of bills Wednesday that restricted state funding for abortions and banned them altogether after 20 weeks. Dayton vetoed Chapter 59 of Minnesota House File 936, which would have banned all abortions after 20 weeks based on “substantial medical evidence that an unborn child is capable of experiencing pain [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a class action lawsuit on Wednesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana challenging a controversial Indiana immigration law . The law, inspired by an Arizona law , requires individuals to provide proof of their legal status at all times, calls for all public [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Alabama ruled Monday that environmental groups’ lawsuit, challenging the government approval of oil drilling leases granted to the British Petroleum (BP) Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico, may continue. The Southern Environmental Law Center and the Defenders of Wildlife claim that [...]
The US Supreme Court Thursday ruled in Fowler v. United States that under a federal witness tampering statute the government must show there was a reasonable likelihood the witness would communicate relevant information to federal officers. Charles Fowler was convicted of killing a local police officer who had caught him and a group of accomplices [...]
The US Supreme Court on Thursday ruled 5-3 in Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting that a controversial Arizona employment law is not preempted by the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) . The law imposes penalties on businesses that hire illegal immigrants. Chief Justice Roberts delivered the first part of the opinion, joined by Justices [...]
The US Supreme Court on Thursday ruled 7-2 to dismiss Camreta v. Greene for mootness. The initial issue surrounded the circumstances for a warrant allowing officials to interview a minor, without parental notification, about abuse allegations. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that state child protective services workers Bob Camreta and [...]
The US Supreme Court Thursday ruled in United States v. Tinklenberg that time for pretrial motions, regardless of whether they actually delay or are expected to delay the beginning of a trial, is excluded from the time in which the accused must be brought to trial. Jason Louis Tinklenberg was convicted of making methamphetamine. His [...]
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that accused Arizona shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, is not competent to stand trial due to mental illness. Judge Larry Burns for the US District Court for the District of Arizona made the ruling based on separate reports by psychologist Dr. Christina Pietz and psychiatrist Dr. Matthew Carroll who both evaluated [...]
