The US Senate Wednesday blocked a Washington DC criminal law reform bill. A joint resolution to disapprove of the bill passed the Senate in a vote of 81-14, with 33 Democrats and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) joining all Senate Republicans. During floor speeches before the vote, Democrats and Republicans debated the utility of the DC [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday announced a review of the Memphis Police Department’s (MPD) use of force and de-escalation policies following the January 7 killing of Tyre Nichols. The review will concentrate on the use of specialized police units like the SCORPION (Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods) unit in [...]

The US Department of Defense (DOD) Wednesday said it will release Gussan Abdullah Al Sharbi after 20 years in Guantanamo Bay. Al Sharbi, a citizen of Saudi Arabia, is set to be transferred the Kingdom for repatriation. Al Sharbi was captured in Pakistan in 2002 by the US military. He was accused of training al [...]

Republican members of the Florida State House and Senate Tuesday proposed parallel bills further restricting the abortion ban in the state from 15 weeks of pregnancy to six weeks of pregnancy. The bills provide that physicians cannot perform abortions after six weeks of fetal gestation, tightening the state’s already existing 15-week ban, which was approved [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday released a report which found that the Louisville County Metro Police Department (LMPD) and the Louisville County Metro Government engaged in a pattern of civil rights violations. The report comes as a result of a DOJ investigation into the LMPD and the Metro Government following the death of [...]

The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) Wednesday issued notices of violation to 28 municipalities in the state for civil rights violations committed through exclusionary marriage license practices against non-binary people. The notices allege that the municipalities in question violated the Law Against Discrimination (LAD) by requiring non-binary people applyling for marriage licenses to [...]

The US District Court for the Western District of Missouri Central Division Tuesday ruled that a Missouri law attempting to invalidate federal firearm laws within the state is unconstitutional. Specifically, Judge Brian C. Wimes ruled that the Missouri Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) violates the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution and the doctrine of [...]

A Texas court Tuesday postponed inmate Andre Thomas’ execution date to allow his legal team to prove that he is not competent to be executed. After confessing to a triple murder in 2004, Thomas gouged his eyes out and claimed divine direction for his crimes. Thomas has been considered “seriously mentally ill” since the incident. Further, [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Tuesday heard oral arguments on whether the West Virginia Medicaid Program’s denial of gender-affirming surgery for individuals with gender dysphoria violates the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid Act and Equal Protection Clause under the US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment. Caleb David, attorney for the state defendants, argued that [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Tuesday found that Russia violated the rights of an American expatriate and her Russian husband when Russia revoked their residential permit. The court found multiple violations of articles of the European Convention of Human Rights. Included among the violations were an Article 8 violation of the right to [...]