The Massachusetts Senate on Friday approved a bill that imposes a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill was then sent to Governor Charlie Baker for approval. “ purposes, which are to establish forthwith a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures during the governor’s COVID19 emergency declaration … necessary for the immediate [...]
Maryland governor Lawrence Hogan signed an executive order on Saturday allowing the expedited release of hundreds of eligible inmates in an effort to enable social distancing and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within the state’s prisons. Hogan’s order authorizes the Commission on Correctional Standards and the Maryland Parole Commission to expedite the release of eligible categories of [...]
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filed a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court on Friday requesting that the court weigh in on a case on media ownership that has lasted almost two decades. The issue first rose in 2002 during one of the reviews the FCC is required to conduct every four years [...]
A federal judge ruled Friday against Twitter revealing the scope of Department of Justice (DOJ) surveillance requests. The suit concerned Twitter’s Draft Transparency Report that describes the amount of security processes that Twitter received from the DOJ between July 1, 2013, and December 31, 2013. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers decided the case. Rogers concluded that [...]
A federal judge on Friday blocked Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s executive order to limit surgical abortions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Abortion providers, Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit after Lee promulgated Executive Order 25 on April 8. The order aimed to limit non-essential procedures to ensure abundant personal protective equipment (PPE) [...]
A federal judge on Saturday blocked Kansas from limiting attendance at in-person religious services or activities to 10 or fewer people to prevent the spread of COVID-19, indicating that he believes that the policy violates First Amendment rights. This ruling prevents the enforcement of Executive Order No. 20-18 issued by Governor Laura Kelly, which sought [...]
The UN Security Council on Friday called upon Yemen’s warring factions to end their five-year civil war due to the spread of COVID-19. “Yemen cannot face two fronts at the same time: a war and a pandemic,” said UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths. “We can do no less than stop this war and turn all [...]
A federal judge refused Friday to order California prison officials to release large number of inmates or impose social-distancing requirements as protections against the coronavirus, saying the state has acted reasonably so far by freeing several thousand prisoners ahead of schedule and taking steps to expand housing and improve sanitation. US District Judge Jon Tigar [...]
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele defied the Supreme Court Wednesday after the nation’s highest judiciary issued an order for his administration to respect COVID-19 related rulings. In March the El Salvador government responded to the COVID-19 outbreak by ordering all citizens to undergo a mandatory month-long lockdown. Individuals found violating this order have been arrested [...]
Amnesty International on Thursday expressed human rights abuse concerns over emergency COVID–19 responses across Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Amnesty accused governments of broadening and abusing their police powers through emergency–pandemic measures intended to suppress political dissent, freedom of expression, and civil society. Daniel Balson, advocacy director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty, referred [...]
