The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that Chicago did not violate the US Bankruptcy Code by maintaining possession of cars it had impounded. The ruling came in the case of Chicago v. Fulton. In oral arguments, the city framed the question in the case as “whether the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay requires a creditor [...]
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed suit against the New York City Police Department (NYPD) Thursday for its handling of peaceful protests and use of excessive force. In her complaint, James argued that the NYPD unjustifiably used pepper spray and batons against Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters in violation of NYPD policies. Such action [...]
Non-governmental watchdog organization Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) reported recently that Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, has ignored human rights violations at Hungary’s Schengen borders. The report found that Frontex ignored the violations for four years. Moreover, it found that Frontex recently remained in Hungary after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in [...]
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has voiced his support for a new bill introduced by state legislators to abolish capital punishment within the state. On Wednesday, members of Virginia’s Senate and the House of Delegates introduced House Bill No. 1779 seeking to eliminate death sentences and to convert already existing capital sentences to life imprisonment without [...]
The US Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the execution of two men on federal death row would go forward this week, overturning a stay that would have delayed their executions until mid-March. Corey Johnson and Dustin Higgs, the men scheduled for execution, were both diagnosed with COVID-19 in mid-December. They requested a preliminary injunction [...]
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced new measures Tuesday designed to ensure that no British organisations profit from or contribute to human rights violations against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, China, which he described as “barbarism.” Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Raab told the House that the “scale and severity of the human [...]
The Los Angeles Police Commission adopted a policy on Tuesday that establishes oversight measures for the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) use of facial recognition technology. The controversial facial recognition tool allows detectives to compare criminal suspects’ photos to millions of individuals’ mugshots taken in Los Angeles County. The five-member Police Commission unanimously approved the [...]
The Attorney General of Michigan brought two charges of criminal neglect Wednesday against former governor Rick Snyder for his role in the Flint water crisis. The charges cite violations of section 750.478 of the Michigan Penal Code. Section 750.478 refers to willful neglect of duty of a public officer or a person holding public trust [...]
Thousands of US law students and of members of the Missouri, Texas and DC bars have signed a petition for the disbarment of Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz for their objections to Congressional certification of the Electoral College’s votes. As of Wednesday, there were more than 11,000 signatures on the petition from lawyers and [...]
The US Department of Justice on Monday filed the first two federal grand jury indictments in connection with last week’s Capitol riots. The first of the indictments charges Mark Leffingwell of Seattle with civil disorder, violent entry into a restricted building, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding two police officers. According to the criminal complaint filed [...]
