Friday's ruling has been another development in a long series of legal battles that have arisen from the Deepwater Horizon Crisis. Last month BP executives pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to criminal charges levied against them for their role in the spill. That same day the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website] announced that BP would be indefinitely suspended [press release] from bidding on government contracts, saying the company's "lack of business integrity" has disqualified them from consideration. Also in November US Attorney General Eric Holder announced that BP had agreed to pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties and to plead guilty [JURIST report] to felony misconduct for its role in the devastation caused by the oil spill. It has been argued that this settlement was a step in the right direction [JURIST op-ed] for compensating those affected by the oil spill.

Earlier in the month a federal district court refused to block the law [JURIST report] claiming a challenge of the constitutionality was "not likely to prevail." A separate challenge to SB 1172 resulted in a temporary injunction [JURIST report] by a different judge in the same court earlier in the week. That challenge, brought by the Pacific Justice institute (PJI), resulted in a temporary injunction which would have allowed the plaintiffs in that case to continue SOCE after the law goes into effect. PJI filed its lawsuit challenging the bill just days after it was signed [JURIST reports] into law by California Governor Jerry Brown [official website] in October. SB 1172 was approved by the California State Assembly [JURIST report] in August and the California Senate [JURIST report] in May. Supporters of the bill, including groups such as Equality California [advocacy website] and the American Psychoanalytic Association [advocacy website] assert the reason for legislation is that homosexuality is not and should not be treated as a disease, and efforts to reverse homosexuality have proven to be detrimental to minors.

IVF is a type of fertility treatment for couples who have had difficulty conceiving children. Through IVF, a woman's eggs are removed and fertilized outside the body. Successfully fertilized embryos are then implanted into the woman for gestation. Costa Rica was the only Western nation that banned the practice. Although the nation is known for a progressive human rights and civil liberties record, the government usually holds to the Catholic Church's edicts on many social issues. In August 2010 the Supreme Court of Costa Rica ruled 5-2 to disallow a nationwide referendum [JURIST report] on whether to recognize same-sex civil unions [JURIST backgrounder]. The referendum was to be on the ballot during the December 2010 municipal elections after qualifying for the ballot through a petition.

The Senate filibuster rule has been a long-standing tradition on Capitol Hill, but has not been without its criticism, particularly in the previous few years over alleged misuse and abuse. In May Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on the Senate floor called [Huffington Post report] for a change to the rule, referencing bills for which both parties have shown overwhelming support, but are in danger of expiration due to unjustified filibuster delay. Currently, Senate rules dictate that 60 votes are needed to end debate on a bill while a simple majority would be required to pass it. The most infamous of filibusters was during debate over the Civil Rights Act of 1957 [JURIST report] in which former Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC) spoke [biography] on the Senate floor in protest of the bill for 24 hours and 18 minutes without pause, a record that stands to this day.