Here’s the domestic legal news we covered this week: The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday unsealed an indictment against former Volkswagen (VW) CEO and chairman of the management board Martin Winterkorn on charges of fraud and conspiracy arising from the company’s diesel emission-cheating scandal. The charges, which were filed on March 14 in [...]
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds on Friday signed Senate File 359 , a bill containing the nation’s most restrictive abortion ban, into law after the bill’s approval in the state legislature on Wednesday. Known as the “heartbeat” bill, the law prohibits physicians from performing abortions upon the detection of a heartbeat, which can occur as early [...]
The Brazil Supreme Federal Court on Wednesday unanimously ruled to limit the immunity from local prosecution granted to federal lawmakers in the country. Earlier, members of the Brazil National Congress could only be tried in the Supreme Court regardless of whether or not an individual’s alleged crime occurred before he or she became a member [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday unsealed an indictment against former Volkswagen (VW) CEO and chairman of the management board Martin Winterkorn on charges of fraud and conspiracy arising from the company’s diesel emission-cheating scandal. The charges, which were filed on March 14 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of [...]
A UN human rights expert called for “calm and for all sides to exercise restraint” in the Central African Republic (CAR) Thursday, according to a UN statement . Marie-Thérèse Keita Bocoum, the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the CAR, “urged authorities to strengthen the protection of civilians amid an upsurge in [...]
The Department of Defense on Wednesday announced the transfer of Guantanamo detainee Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al Darb to Saudi Arabia. Al Darb pleaded guilty in 2014. Part of the deal included his eventual transfer from Guantanamo. There are reports that Sandi Arabia confirmed his arrival around midnight on Wednesday. He will serve the rest [...]
The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) and Planned Parenthood filed lawsuits against the Trump administration on Wednesday over an alleged shift in policy for family planning services toward a focus on abstinence. The complaints state that the new provisions do not contain “recognized clinical guidelines,” and therefore are giving preference to “applicants [...]
The Iowa legislature on Wednesday approved a measure to ban abortions once a heartbeat is detected, or as early as six weeks of gestation. According to the bill, “‘Fetal heartbeat’ means cardiac activity, the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac.” Except in the case of a medical emergency, [...]
The Connecticut House of Representatives on Tuesday approved HB 5542 , which bans “the sale or transfer, possession, manufacturing, or use of bumps stocks or other accessories to increase the rate of fire of a firearm.” Violators of the bill will be guilty of a class D felony. Those who have a permit or certificate [...]
The Attorneys General from seven states filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas Tuesday challenging the legality of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The seven states in the lawsuit include Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia. The lawsuit claims that DACA [...]
