The Supreme Court of California on Friday ruled that Governor Jerry Brown can put his plan to ease prison over-crowding on the ballot this November, reversing a lower court’s previous ruling. A court in Sacramento decided days earlier that Brown improperly amended the initiative and prevented his office from collecting the required number of signatures [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Friday overturned a 2014 verdict against Samsung in its patent infringement conflict with Apple . The appeals court found that Samsung did not infringe on Apple’s quick links patent and that two other patents asserted by Apple were not valid. Accordingly, Samsung will no longer [...]
The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously approved resolution 2268 , voting to endorse a Russian and American plan for a cessation of hostilities in Syria. The plan, which was drafted jointly by Russia and the US, also calls on the government and opposition to resume peace talks. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the adoption [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled Wednesday that a Somali man convicted of piracy cannot withdraw his plea deal . Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse was the sole surviving pirate suspect from the hostage-taking of commercial ship captain Richard Phillips from the Maersk Alabama. Muse was prosecuted as an adult after the lower [...]
Two Turkish journalists were released from Silivri prison early Friday after Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that the detention violated their personal liberty, security, and freedom of expression and press. Can Dundar and Erdem Gul, employees of the Turkish daily newspaper Cumhuriyet , were arrested last November for reporting in 2014 that Turkish trucks were [...]
Former Argentine lawyer and federal prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, was the victim of murder according to a Criminal Appeals Court Prosecutor Ricardo Sáenz. The declaration is the first time a judicial authority has suggested the death as a homicide since the mysterious tragedy. Sáenz recommended that the case be handed to federal authorities and investigated as [...]
Robert Kaluza, a former rig supervisor for BP, was found not guilty in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Thursday of violating the Clean Water Act over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The disaster killed 11 people. Kaluza was initially charged with the pollution misdemeanor [...]
Apple filed a brief in the US District Court for the Central District of California Thursday in opposition of the US government’s request for the company to unlock the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter , Syed Rizwan Farook. Counsel for Apple called the case “unprecedented.” The brief alleges First and Fifth Amendment concerns arising over [...]
The Italian Senate , using a confidence motion in parliament on Thursday, voted 173-71 to approve a bill permitting civil unions for same-sex and heterosexual couples. The approved bill is a watered-down version of the original bill, which would have granted unmarried couples some adoption rights. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had to strip out provisions [...]
Michigan, joined by 19 other states, filed an application in the US Supreme Court this week to enjoin the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) pending a petition for certiorari. MATS, which requires installation of technology in electricity-generating power plants focused upon curbing air pollution caused by mercury and other harmful materials, was enacted pursuant [...]
