Amnesty International on Wednesday issued a warning about US President Donald Trump’s refusal to cooperate with US President-elect Joe Biden and its dire impact on what it called the “human rights crisis” presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The human rights organization condemned Trump’s refusal to cooperate, concluding that the lack of cooperation and its resulting [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Coumbiaruled Wednesday that the Trump administration must halt its expulsion of unaccompanied minor migrants. The plaintiff, a 15-year-old migrant from Guatemala, alleged that the current US practices constituted violations of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, the Immigration and [...]
A group of Orthodox Jewish synagogues in New York State filed an emergency application on Monday with the US Supreme Court seeking relief from state COVID-19 restrictions. The applicants, Agudath Israel of Kew Garden Hills and Agudath Israel Madison, are synagogues affiliated with Agudath Israel of America, a national grassroots Orthodox Jewish organization. The relief [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to reinstate a District Court order requiring Texas prison officials to enact basic safety precautions for the coronavirus. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented from this decision with Justice Elena Kagan joining. The case was filed by two inmates at the Wallace Pack Unit, a geriatric prison in Texas. Laddy [...]
Hungary and Poland vetoed the EU budget and COVID-19 recovery package Monday in objection to a rule of law clause. The leaders of Hungary and Poland took issue with a provision that would tie the funds to respect for democratic norms. Another provision would allow a qualified majority of EU governments to impose sanctions on [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday urged the EU to press for human rights reforms in Central Asia during an upcoming meeting. Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU, was set to have a virtual meeting with foreign ministers of five Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan—at the 16th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting [...]
Supreme Court Justice Alito gave a speech at the Federalist Society’s annual National Lawyers Convention on Thursday in which he declared that “religious liberty is fast becoming a disfavored right.” The theme of the convention was the ways in which the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting the rule of law, and Justice Alito said the pandemic [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Friday denied a motion to separate Pennsylvania mail-in ballots received after 8 PM on Election Day. The decision affirmed a ruling from the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and the validity of more than 9,300 mail-in ballots. The court based its decision [...]
The Supreme Court of Kentucky ruled in favor of Governor Andy Beshear’s COVID-19 restrictions Thursday, reversing a lower court’s ruling for businesses that challenged the mandates. In late June, three business owners from northern Kentucky filed suit following Beshear’s state of emergency declaration in March. Following the statewide declaration, the state Cabinet for Health and [...]
The Paris prosecutor’s office on Tuesday announced plans to advance the criminal investigation against the public officials responsible for France’s response to COVID-19. Initiated in June, the inquiry now seeks to identify and prove the nature of the offenses committed. The decisions made by these public officials are now being scrutinized for their effect on [...]
