JURIST - Illinois

The Illinois Senate passed a bill on Friday that would allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes in the state, subject to strict regulations. The bill indicates that marijuana may only be used for specified medical conditions, and is intended to be regulated through dosage limits and backgroun....... [more]

On May 10, 2012, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a discrimination suit in the US District Court for the District of Arizona against the Sheriff's Office of Arizona's Maricopa County and Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The claim alleged that Sheriff Arpaio and his office unlawfully and systematically disc....... [more]

On May 6, 2011, two congressmen, Edward Markey and Joe Barton, released a draft of legislation they aimed to introduce in the US House of Representatives; the bill would have prevented companies from tracking the Internet activity of minors without parental consent. The congressmen introduced the le....... [more]

On May 5, 2006, the Illinois Supreme Court declined to reconsider its decision to vacate a $10.1 billion judgment against Phillip Morris USA. The judgment resulted from a case where the tobacco company was found liable of falsely claiming that light cigarettes were safer than regular ones. Expla....... [more]

On April 25, 2007, the Iowa General Assembly passed a bill that granted equal opportunity protections to gay and lesbian individuals in areas of housing, employment and education. The bill was a precursor to the Iowa Supreme Court overturning Iowa's ban on same-sex marriage. Today, Iowa is one of 21....... [more]

On April 15, 2010, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS), per an order from President Barack Obama, advised hospitals that accept Medicare and Medicaid funding to broaden patient rights. These rights include honoring any advance directives created by a patient, which usually dictate v....... [more]

On April 4, 1818, the US Congress passed legislation to redesign the US flag to consist of thirteen stripes representing the original thirteen colonies and one star per state. This new design was in response to the addition of more states since the development of the previous flag in 1795. The act a....... [more]

On March 27, 1794, the Senate passed and the president signed the Navy Armament Act of 1794, officially sanctioning the US Navy. The legislation was passed after years of debate over whether or not Congress should sanction a navy for the Executive Branch to administer. The act officially permitted t....... [more]

On March 21, 2005, Iceland's parliament granted citizenship to US chess champion Bobby Fischer in a unanimous vote. Fischer had been detained in Japan and risked being deported to the US, where he was wanted for violating international sanctions due to playing a chess game in Yugoslavia. On March 23....... [more]

On March 11, 2012, 55% of voters in a national Switzerland referendum agreed to increase fines for public protesters who demonstrated without government authorization. After passage of the referendum, a fine of 100,000 Swiss Francs would be imposed on anyone who protested without government authoriz....... [more]

On March 10, 2006, China confirmed during the National People's Congress, an annual parliamentary meeting, that it had established a Judicial Court of Intellectual Property in conjunction with strengthened copyright laws. These changes followed accusations from various countries, including the US, t....... [more]