US Legal News

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein criticized the US policy of separating immigrant children from their parents in a statement made on Monday. The commissioner cited the American Association of Pediatrics , which called the policy “government-sanctioned child abuse.” “The thought that any State would seek to deter parents by inflicting [...]

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A federal judge ruled Monday that Kansas cannot require documentary proof of US citizenship to register to vote, finding such laws violate the constitutional right to vote. The Kansas legislature passed the Secure and Fair Elections (SAFE) Act in 2011, which included a new requirement that Kansas citizens must produce documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) [...]

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© WikiMedia (Michael Coghlan)

In a 5-3 decision, the US Supreme Court held Monday that a judge’s explanation for a sentence reduction for drug offenses was adequate because the record indicated that the judge had a reasoned basis for his decision. The offender pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and was sentenced to 135 months’ imprisonment, [...]

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The US Supreme Court released two opinions in gerrymandering cases Monday—remanding a Wisconsin gerrymandering question for lack of standing, and affirming a Maryland district court decision to deny an injunction until the former issue was decided. Gill v. Whitford relates to the voting district map in Wisconsin where, according to the plaintiff, a particularly extreme [...]

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© WikiMedia Robert Mueller (The White House from Washington, DC)

In the days leading up to the trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, a federal judge ordered him on Friday to be detained without bail awaiting trial, citing recent witness tampering charges . Judge Amy Berman Jackson in the US District Court for the District of Columbia said that there are no conditions [...]

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The US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a report Thursday that reviewed various actions by the FBI and former Director James Comey leading up to the 2016 election. The DOJ internal review organization found that Comey’s actions before the election were not within FBI norms, but they were not motivated by bias and did not [...]

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© WikiMedia (Gage Skidmore)

The New York attorney general filed a petition today against the Donald J. Trump Foundation and its directors Donald J. Trump, Donald J. Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump. The petition alleges “a pattern of persistent illegal conduct, occurring over more than a decade, that includes extensive unlawful political coordination with the Trump presidential [...]

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© WikiMedia (MarkBuckawicki)

A new lawsuit filed Wednesday challenges the laws pertaining to photo identification requirements for voters in the state of Missouri. The challenge was brought on behalf of Mildred Gutierrez, a 70-year-old Missouri resident who, in order to vote in the November 2017 election, was forced to sign a sworn statement under penalty of perjury because [...]

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