The Supreme Court Thursday upheld a Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) order making changes to media ownership rules. Overturning a Third Circuit ruling, the Court found that the agency met the necessary procedural requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The FCC is the federal agency responsible for the regulation of radio, television, and other media [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the Southern District of New York’s ruling on Thursday dismissing New York City’s suit against Chevron. The court held a state tort lawsuit could not be brought against Chevron for environmental protection reasons because federal law, not state, applies. The suit stems from environmental protection [...]
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced Thursday that the popular video-sharing social media app TikTok would be unblocked in Pakistan after the Peshawar High Court rescinded its March ban on the Chinese app over concerns of alleged “obscene content . . . unacceptable for Pakistani society.” The PTA announced that while the ban would be [...]
The Court of Appeal for Ontario on Wednesday affirmed the damages award of $30 million in a class action lawsuit against Ontario for mistreatment of inmates in solitary confinement, finding that the administrative segregation was negligent and in violation of inmates’ constitutional rights. The use of administrative segregation in correctional facilities in Ontario constitutes solitary [...]
The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) v. Alston, a case concerning whether the NCAA’s ban on education-related payments to student-athletes is a violation of antitrust law. Last year, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the NCAA could not categorically deny academic benefits [...]
A federal judge for the District Court of the Southern District of New York ruled on Tuesday that non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements signed by employees of former President Donald Trump’s campaign cannot be enforced. In November 2017, Jessica Densen attempted to file a lawsuit against the campaign for sex discrimination, harassment, and slander. The campaign [...]
The US Department of State released the 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Secretary of State Antony Blinken painted a grave picture of the deterioration of human rights in multiple countries and regions throughout the world. The 2020 reports highlight abuses in Russia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, among many other countries. The report for China is [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia decided that Georgia’s ballot access restrictions for third-party candidates are unconstitutional. In 1943, Georgia approved a five percent petition ballot access requirement. The law currently states that a “political body” or independent candidate for non-statewide offices “must submit (1) a notice of candidacy and [...]
The UK House of Lords’ Select Committee on the Constitution published a report that found the backlog of cases in the Crown Court to have reached “crisis levels.” While the backlog was significant before COVID-19 interrupted the usual operations of the justice system, the pandemic was found to have increased it to reach “crisis levels.” According [...]
The UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a statement Wednesday condemning abuses attributable to Russian security contractors in the Central African Republic (CAR) and expressing concern over the proximity of human rights abuses to UN peacekeepers. The UN experts, including members of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries [...]
