A four-judge New York appellate panel Thursday unanimously agreed to dismiss state fraud charges against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Manafort, who was previously sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for money laundering and witness tampering in a federal court, might escape state prosecution for similar crimes. The New York court [...]

Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill Thursday dismissed a third-degree murder charge against Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd. The Minnesota judge denied the motion to dismiss the second-degree murder and murder counts against him and three other officers for aiding and abetting. The defense advanced the theory that Chauvin’s act of [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Barlett, has called for the Indian government to protect the rights of human rights defenders and NGOs in India. She praised India for being at the forefront of the fight for human rights but cautioned that vaguely worded laws may put that in jeopardy. Her Tuesday statement comes [...]

Walmart Inc. filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Drug Enforcement Administration Thursday asking the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to “clarify the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists and pharmacies under the Controlled Substances Act.” The had DOJ threatened to sue Walmart, claiming that its pharmacists should [...]

Several environmental nonprofit organizations brought a lawsuit against the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Wednesday, alleging the agency broke environmental laws by suppressing protests in Portland, Oregon with tear gas and other chemical munitions without first measuring the chemicals’ impacts on human health and the environment. The Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, along [...]

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed three bills into law establishing a compassionate release program for certain inmates and also a Corrections Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention Fund. In addition to the compassion release program and crime prevention fund, the bills approved Monday will work together to require a cost-savings study of compassionate release programs and [...]

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to pass the CAREN Act, making it unlawful for people to call 911 with solely the intent to discriminate. This comes as a response to the uptick in 911 calls made by individuals who call to report innocuous behavior or non-criminal behavior for what appears to [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Wednesday that groups cannot offer Michigan citizens free or reduced-price rides to polling places. This suit originally arose as three voter-advocacy organizations challenged a Michigan election Statute, MCL § 169.931(1)(f), which prevents anyone from hiring a ride service as a means to vote unless the [...]

The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) reported Wednesday that 2019 Black law school graduates trail all other racial and ethnic groups in employment overall and in bar-passage required jobs. Despite experiencing the highest employment rate since 2007, the class of 2019’s employment racial disparities are still profound. The report found that Pacific Islander and [...]

The US Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Thursday to advance the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court. The vote was 12-0 in favor of advancing Barrett’s nomination to set up a vote by the full Senate, bringing President Donald Trump’s nominee closer to confirmation. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee [...]