The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit by numerous Japanese individuals and business who hoped to sue General Electric (GE) over its role in building and maintaining the reactors that exploded in the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. The Japanese plaintiffs had [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided Monday that a case challenging the Texas prohibition of government entities from contracting with companies who boycott Israel is moot. The court vacated the preliminary injunction and remanded the case to the district court to dismiss the complaints. The order did not address the constitutionality of [...]
Saudi Arabia issued a royal decree Sunday ending the death penalty for individuals convicted of crimes when they were minors. This decree could prevent six men from receiving the death penalty. According to Amnesty International, in 2019, Saudi Arabia put 184 people to death, the highest number on record. The President of the Human Rights [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday dismissed as moot a claim concerning a New York City law limiting the transportation of firearms between home and shooting ranges. In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. City of New York, the regulation transporting firearms is considered moot because the city changed the rule last year. Gun [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday in Georgia v. Public.Resource.org that Georgia is not entitled to copyright protection for the official annotated code of the state. The majority opinion, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, based its reasoning on a prior holding from Banks v. Manchester (1888). In Banks, the court held that “non-binding, [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday requested briefings from attorneys working two separate cases regarding efforts to secure President Donald Trump’s tax records. The court asked for briefings explaining whether the cases raise the political question doctrine, which states that courts should not hear cases that are political problems. Based on temporary stays from the [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled Monday in Maine Community Health Options v. United States that health insurance companies that suffered losses related to Affordable Care Act health benefit exchange policies may receive compensation. Insurance companies recently sued the government to receive reimbursement owed for ACA related losses. In an 8-1 decision, the court held that [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Monday condemned the abuse of emergency powers to commit human rights violations in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19. “ need to be necessary, proportionate, and non-discriminatory,” says the statement. “They also need to be limited in duration and key safeguards against excesses must [...]
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety announcement on Friday warning against the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine to treat COVID-19 outside of the hospital setting or clinic trials. “Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19,” said the FDA in its statement [...]
The heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) called Friday for nations to lift trade restrictions on medical supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The heads of the international agencies said that the trade restrictions on supplies used to fight COVID-19 could be “dangerously counterproductive,” adding, “what makes sense in [...]
