Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of the murder of George Floyd last month, filed a motion for a new trial on Tuesday. The motion for a new trial alleges that the court abused its discretion in a number of instances. According to the motion, Chauvin challenges the court’s denial of [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta and Guam v. United States. In Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, the plaintiffs, two conservative nonprofits, are “challenging the constitutionality of California’s requirement that charities and nonprofits operating in the state provide the state attorney general’s office with the [...]
US District Judge Robert Chatigny dismissed a lawsuit Sunday challenging the participation of transgender athletes in girl’s high school sports. The plaintiffs, four cisgender girls, brought the lawsuit against the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC). The CIAC governs interscholastic athletic activities in Connecticut. In compliance with state law, they changed their policies to allow student-athletes [...]
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill allocating $536 million to fight wildfires in California on Tuesday. The funding is $200 million more than he originally sought. While California’s wildfire season occurs in the summer and fall, dry conditions this past winter have already produced a few wildfires. As such, in addition to handling recent [...]
The US Supreme Court on Friday granted a petition to put restrictions on in-home bible study and prayer meetings on hold. The plaintiffs sought an injunction last December against a California restriction on the allowable size for indoor gatherings. The restrictions were instituted last year to slow the spread of COVID-19. After a judge for [...]
Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, accused Vladimir Putin Wednesday of subjecting Alexei Navalny to a slow death through torture and inhumane detention conditions. Navalny, Putin’s most prominent critic, was poisoned in August 2020, the consequences of which Callamard alleges may be exacerbating his condition. Since his imprisonment earlier this year, reports indicate Navalny [...]
The Attorneys Generals (AGs) of Tennessee and Kentucky filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging part of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan. In their complaint, the AGs allege that an aspect of the plan that “prohibits any State acceding federal financial assistance under the Act from lowering the tax burden on its citizens for the next [...]
A New York judge on Monday ordered the state to offer vaccines to prisoners. The order instructs New York to amend COVID-19 vaccine priority category 1b to include incarcerated individuals as a whole group. Previously only incarcerated individuals who were over 65 years old or had certain medical conditions could receive the vaccine. As determined [...]
The US Southern District Court of New York convicted Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez, a Honduran national, of drug trafficking on Monday. Fuentes Ramirez was convicted on cocaine-importation and two weapons charges. Fuentes Ramirez will be formally sentenced on June 22, 2021. Conspiracy to transport cocaine carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years. The two [...]
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the implementation of personal sanctions on former president Viktor Yanukovych and 26 others on Friday. The sanctions will bar the 27 individuals from accessing assets and property within Ukraine and withdrawing money from Ukrainian bank accounts, among other penalties. Zelenskyy also called on Europe and the UK to impose sanctions. [...]
