California man Thomas Emens filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles on Tuesday against Catholic bishops in California and the Archdiocese of Chicago, saying they conspired to commit and conceal sexual abuse. Emens was sexually abused by his priest, Monsignor Thomas Joseph Mohan, from 1978 to 1980 when he was 10 to 12 years [...]
The Parliament of Finland on Wednesday voted 178-13 to add an amendment to the constitution providing an exception to the right to privacy, providing the government with more ability to combat terrorism and foreign government spying. The amendment is specifically aimed at protecting confidential communications. Essentially, it will allow the government to enact legislation for [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday over whether the state can execute an individual who suffers from dementia and cannot remember the crime. Madison v. Alabama is before the Supreme Court for a second time. This time, the court seeks to answer the question : “onsistent with the Eighth Amendment … may the State [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday upheld a Louisiana abortion law “requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital located within thirty miles of the clinic where they perform abortions.” The court contrasted the Louisiana law, Unsafe Abortion Protection Act , with the US Supreme Court’s 2016 decision in Whole [...]
The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday upheld in-part the constitutionality of the world’s largest biometric database system, which contains personal information of more than a billion Indians, saying the benefits of the system outweigh the costs to individual freedoms. The system is called the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI). The court explained the [...]
The number of violent crimes in the US dropped by 0.7 percent and property crimes dropped by 3 percent, according to the FBI’s 2017 crime statistics released Monday. Violent crimes include murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, and property crimes includes offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson. The report reflects data [...]
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an application to block a federal judge’s decision requiring more disclosure from super PACs. The decision vacates Chief Justice John Roberts’ order to stay the lower court ruling. The petitioner, Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, a conservative political action committee, submitted the application to stay the district court’s order, arguing [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday overturned a district court judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by server and bartender employees alleging they were paid “tipped” wages for performing non-tipped duties in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) . Under the “dual jobs” provision of the FLSA, employers [...]
Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, on Monday dismissed a lawsuit challenging Texas’ voter ID law, in light of the Fifth Circuit Court’s April decision upholding the law as constitutional. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the victory for Senate Bill 5 , saying the law will [...]
Illinois’ Fourth District Appellate Court upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit challenging an Illinois law that allocates funding for abortions for government employees and individuals on Medicaid. Several pro-life organizations filed the lawsuit in 2017, saying the law, House Bill 40, violated the Balanced Budget requirement of the Illinois Constitution because the General Assembly [...]
