A US appeals court on Tuesday reopened a $1 billion lawsuit by Palestinians claiming more than 30 pro-Israel American entities and individuals are liable for alleged war crimes and support of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. The complaint alleges that the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to expel [...]
US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Tuesday called for the court to review its ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan, a libel case that challenged freedom of press protections. Writing a concurrence to a denied petition for certiorari, Thomas argued that the current threshold for plaintiffs is “almost impossible” because: Under this Court’s [...]
The US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform issued a report Tuesday outlining the Trump administration’s efforts to transfer sensitive nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, after receiving concerning whistleblower complaints. The complaints arose after whistleblowers noticed “efforts inside the White House to rush the transfer of highly sensitive U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi [...]
US Senators Richard Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse and Mazie Hiron dropped a lawsuit Tuesday that challenged the constitutionality of former acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker’s appointment, which was made without the Senate’s consent. The complaint, filed in November, alleged that Whitaker and President Donald Trump violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, which requires Congress’s “advice and consent” before principal federal Officers [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging US President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency in efforts to fund the construction of a border wall between the US and Mexico. The organization, alongside the Sierra Club, claims that the use of taxpayer dollars in this manner is unconstitutional and urges [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in Return Mail Inc. v. United States Postal Service, which will determine if the government is able to initiate review proceedings for patents. Return Mail Inc. had filed a patent infringement suit against the US Postal Service (USPS). USPS initiated a review proceeding with the Patent Trial [...]
The New York City Commission on Human Rights released a guidance document on Monday detailing the implications of the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), which protects New Yorkers from hair-based discrimination. The Commission stated that anti-black bias and racism includes discrimination based on characteristics that are associated with being black. This manifests in [...]
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed the death penalty sentence of Bobby James Moore for the second time, again finding that he lacks the mental capacity to be subjected to capital punishment. Moore was convicted of the murder of a grocery store clerk during a botched robbery in 1980 and sentenced to death. His [...]
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear arguments about the indirect movement of pollutants through groundwater to navigable waters. The case, County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, previously made its way through the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, where the court was asked to determine whether nonpoint sources of pollution [...]
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds confirmed Monday in a press release that she will not appeal a judge’s ruling that struck down the state’s “fetal heartbeat” abortion law. The law would have been one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the country. Reynolds noted that while she disagrees with the judgement, she ultimately accepts the [...]