The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Thursday that under an EU directive governing electronic commerce, Airbnb must be classified as an “information society service,” not a real estate agent. Following a complaint by a hotel and tourism trade group, French authorities had tried to classify Airbnb so that it would be subject to real [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday ruled the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional but declined to strike down the entire law. Instead, the 2-1 ruling remanded the question of severability (whether the ACA can remain legal without the individual mandate) back to the original district [...]

A Justice of the Peace in McLennon County Texas, Diane Hensley, filed a suit against the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct after they released a public warning condemning her “referral system” for officiating same-sex marriages. The warning, released last month, claims that Hensley is in violation of Canon 4A(1) of the Texas Code of [...]

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the federal government is entitled to proceeds from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden’s new memoir and several speeches because he did not submit the material to federal agencies in advance. Snowden formerly worked as a contract employee of both the Central Intelligence (CIA) Agency and the National Security Agency [...]

Justice Maxwell Wiley of the Supreme Court of New York on Wednesday granted Paul Manafort’s motion to dismiss an indictment from March that charged him with crimes of residential mortgage fraud, falsifying business records and scheming to defraud. Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, had already been charged with the same crimes at the [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee filed a lawsuit against a Nashville suburb on Wednesday to stop a zoning ordinance that effectively bans surgical abortions within the city limits. Two days after the opening of Carafem, the only abortion clinic within the city limits of Mt. Juliet, the Mt. Juliet Board of Commissioners [...]

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday added five new cases to be heard this spring. The consolidated cases of Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel cover the breadth of the “ministerial exemption” doctrine, which was created by the court and deals with employee hiring practices regarding church ministers. These cases [...]

After hours of short speeches, the US House of Representatives voted Wednesday evening to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of justice. The historic vote followed party lines with Republicans voting against impeachment and only one independent voting for it. Two Democrats, Representatives Collin Peterson and Jeff Van Drew, opposed the [...]

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović said Tuesday that Albania’s proposed anti-defamation legislation, expected to pass this week, is incompatible with freedom of expression. Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and [...]

Rick Gates III, the former deputy campaign manager for the Trump 2016 presidential campaign, was sentenced Tuesday to 45 days in jail and three years probation for lying to the FBI as part of Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Gates will also be required to serve 300 hours of community service and pay a $20,000 fine. [...]