The Supreme Court of Wisconsin ruled Friday that GPS trackers are not subject to state statutes on the execution of warrants. The majority found that Wisconsin Stat § 968.15 and 968.17(1), which require that any warrant for the search and seizure of property be conducted within five days of issuance and be returned to the [...]
The Department of Justice (DOJ) released a memo Wednesday defending the constitutional basis for the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General. The memo was written by Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel of the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel. The Office of Legal Counsel serves as the principle legal interpretation body within the DOJ. [...]
West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Allen Loughry’s resignation will take affect at the close of business Monday. Loughry submitted his resignation to West Virginia Governor Jim Justice who accepted it effective Monday. The governor had convened a special session of the state legislature set for Tuesday to consider Loughry’s removal as one of the four [...]
A number of clean energy and environmental protection ballot measures were voted down Tuesday. These ballot measures ranged from more conventional measures requiring certain percentages of a state’s electricity production to come from renewable sources to more radical measures including direct taxes on carbon emissions and the requirement of an open and competitive electricity market. [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a Second Amendment challenge to California’s concealed carry law. The original case stems from James Rothery and Andrea Hoffman being denied concealed carry permits by their local sheriff. Under California law, the carrying of firearms loaded or unloaded guns is generally prohibited in public places, but [...]
The Supreme Court declined Monday to review a 2016 case brought by various broadband service providers challenging Federal Communications Commission (FCC) net neutrality protections from the Obama era. The present case comes from the FCC of the Obama Administration issued the 2015 Open Internet Order, which reclassified broadband providers to be “common carriers” obligated to [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Maryland, on Friday allowed discovery to proceed in a case against President Donald Trump under the constitution’s emoluments clause, denying two motions by Trump. Trump’s legal team filed two motions in late September hoping to halt the case: a motion for an interlocutory appeal [...]
The US Supreme Court agreed Friday to review a decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on a 93-year-old World War I Memorial that has been the subject of a separation-of-church-and-state controversy since 2012. The “Peace Cross” is a 40-foot-tall Latin Cross built in 1925 in Bladensburg, Maryland, to honor 49 [...]
A federal grand jury on Wednesday charged Robert Bowers in a 44-count indictment for the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that killed 11 people and injured six others including four police officers responding on scene. The indictment alleges that Bowers drove to the Tree of Life Synagogue early on the [...]
An Ohio law that expands the definition of distracted driving took effect Monday. The previous law defined distracted driving as driving “using a handheld electronic wireless communications device” targeting traditional mobile phone usage while driving. The new law retains this definition while also expanding distracted to include “Engaging in activity that is not necessary for [...]
