The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Monday ruled that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) contractors who designed enhanced interrogation techniques do not fall under the jurisdiction of US federal courts in civil claims. The three-judge panel unanimously affirmed the dismissal of Abu Zubaydah’s claims against two psychologists who designed enhanced interrogation techniques [...]

A coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit Friday to prevent the federal government from opening a migrant detention center at an airstrip in Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve. The detention center, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” because the alligators, panthers, and pythons in the surrounding swamp would deter escapes, was set to open next week. The [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision Thursday that a Texas death row inmate has the right to sue over the state’s laws governing DNA testing. The majority opinion was written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Ruben Gutierrez was convicted of capital murder in 1998. Since 2010, he has been unsuccessfully requesting DNA testing [...]

Rights groups have criticized recent US sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC), its staff, and those cooperating with it, including the ICC prosecutor and four judges. The coalition of international legal organizations, consisting of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, Judges for Judges and Lawyers’ [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management that the members of the US Preventive Services Task Force were properly appointed under Article II of the Constitution, preserving preventive care requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A group of Christian-owned businesses sued the task force, claiming that the preventive care mandates [...]

In a 6-3 ruling released Friday, the US Supreme Court found that a universal-service contribution scheme does not violate the nondelegation doctrine, which restricts Congress’ ability to delegate its power to federal agencies, private companies, or the other two branches of government. Writing for the majority, Justice Elena Kagan described respondent Consumers’ Research’s reading of [...]

Two national immigrants’ rights organizations filed a federal class-action lawsuit on Friday seeking to block President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order ending birthright citizenship. The filing comes just hours after the US Supreme Court issued a decision limiting the ability of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions against federal policies, while leaving open the door [...]

The US Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Texas law that mandates that adult consumers of pornographic material verify their ages before accessing the material. Applying intermediate scrutiny, the court held that the law is likely constitutional under the First Amendment. The law, HB 1181, only applies to “commercial” entities, including “corporation, limited liability compan, [...]

The US Supreme Court on Friday granted a preliminary injunction to a group of Maryland parents challenging their school board’s mandatory instruction of LGBTQ+ themed storybooks in elementary schools. The court stated that the introduction of the books, combined with the parents’ inability to opt their children out of the instruction, “places an unconstitutional burden [...]

The US Supreme Court granted the government’s stay application in the birthright citizenship case on Friday, limiting the federal courts’ injunctive relief powers to plaintiffs with standing. In its opinion, the court held: Universal injunctions likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has given to federal courts. The Court grants the Government’s applications for a [...]