The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday in Mitchell v. Wisconsin, a case surrounding the administration of a warrantless blood alcohol concentration (BAC) test to Mitchell who was unconscious at the time of the test. Justice Samuel Alito wrote that in such circumstances where the driver is unconscious, the court holds that the “exigent circumstances rule [...]

The US Supreme Court on Thursday issued its ruling in Department of Commerce v. New York, the case challenging the planned inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 census. The Court held that the Secretary of Commerce did not give an adequate explanation for including the citizenship question on the 2020 census: We are [...]

The US Senate approved a bipartisan border funding bill by a vote of 84-8 Wednesday after rejecting a similar bill passed by the House. The bill provides $4.5 billion in border funding, which includes nearly $3 billion in humanitarian aid and funding for the Department of Defense and more money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Thursday that partisan gerrymandering cases cannot be decided by federal courts. Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the court in Rucho v. Common Cause and Lamone v. Benisek, a consolidated partisan gerrymandering case. Voters from Maryland and North Carolina brought the claims alleging that the gerrymandering violated the [...]

Two major Pittsburgh health systems, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and Highmark Health (Highmark) struck a deal on Monday allowing Highmark patients to utilize UPMC’s facilities. The agreement prevents expiration of a previous agreement between the two systems set to occur on June 30, 2019. Originally, a consent agreement governed the relationship between [...]

The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal on Wednesday quashed former Chief Executive Donald Tsang’s conviction and sentence for misconduct in public office. This case arose when Tsang failed to declare certain dealings with a business tycoon. Tsang was arranging to live in a Shenzhen apartment owned by a company controlled by the business tycoon, but [...]

The US House Committee on Oversight and Reform voted 25-16 Wednesday to subpoena Kellyanne Conway in an attempt to compel her to testify about her alleged Hatch Act violations. Earlier this month, the Office of Special Counsel wrote to the White House claiming that Conway had committed multiple Hatch Act violations by using her government [...]

The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) ruled Wednesday regarding how member states should interpret air quality regulations set up by the Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 (Directive 2008/50) on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe. The judgment is in regard to [...]

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted Wednesday to reinstate the Russian delegation to the Assembly despite criticism over human rights abuses. Russia’s voting rights had been stripped in 2014 in response to the Russian Federation’s annexation of Crimea. Russia in turn paid only one-third of its membership dues that year and has [...]

June 26 is a day designated by the United Nations as International Day in support of victims of torture. The General Assembly resolution creating the date imagined this as a day stakeholders – member states and their citizens – would unite in support of those that have endured torture and cruelty and recommit to ending [...]