JURIST - Pennsylvania

On May 21, 1800, US President John Adams issued a pardon to the participants in the 1799 Fries' Rebellion that occurred in southeastern Pennsylvania. The rebellion, motivated by citizen disdain over a federal property tax, resulted in protestors descending on Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in March 1799 t....... [more]

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a deed dispute over Marcellus shale gas rights that the gas is not considered a "mineral." The dispute dates back to an 1881 deed that conveyed partial mineral rights to the property holder. In the decision, the court reaffirmed Pennsylvania's "Dunha....... [more]

JURIST Guest Columnist Kathryn Young, University of Virginia School of Law Class of 2013, analyzes the uses, reliability and legality of independent reports in light of their increased uses in collegiate sports...When sports scandals break, a common tool used by universities is the "independent repo....... [more]

On April 2, 1792, the US Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1792. Section 1 of the act called for the construction of a national mint near the federal capital, which resulted in the creation of the Philadelphia Mint. Section 9 established gold, silver and copper coinage to serve as the national curr....... [more]

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin tendered her resignation to Governor Tom Corbett on Monday. Melvin and her sister were convicted in February of corruption for misusing state-paid staffers to do campaign work to aid Melvin in winning a seat on the bench. Pennsylvania Bar Associati....... [more]

On February 27, 2006, the Utah House of Representatives voted down a bill that would have challenged the teaching of evolution in high school science classes. While the bill did not expressly provide an alternative to evolution, it would have required teachers to present a disclaimer that not all sc....... [more]

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin and her sister were convicted Thursday of corruption for misusing state-paid staffers to do campaign work and win a seat on the bench. The sisters were convicted for work done on Melvin's 2003 and 2009 Supreme Court campaigns. Melvin was found guil....... [more]

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) filed a lawsuit in US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on Wednesday against Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett and other state officials. The NCAA lawsuit seeks to stop the Commonwealth from keeping for its own uses the $60 mil....... [more]

Lawyers for Pennsylvania and the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU) on Friday reached an accord allowing state residents to vote in upcoming primary and special elections without submitting identification. According to media sources, voters will be asked to present ID, but may de....... [more]

4/24/2013: Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that natural gas is not a "mineral" 3/6/2013: New York lawmakers approved two-year fracking moratorium 12/21/2012: EPA released progress report on study to better understand the effects of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water 9/4/2012: Attorneys for P....... [more]

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled Wednesday that members of the media do not have the right to report from, or take photos or video within, Pennsylvania polling places. While PG Publishing Company (PG), the appellant in the case, argued that a portion of the Pennsylvania Election....... [more]