The US Supreme Court ruled Wednesday Buck v. Davis in favor of a death row inmate seeking a new sentencing hearing. The inmate, Duane Buck, claims that his own lawyers stated during trial that he was more likely to cause future harm due to the color of his skin. The court ruled that Buck has [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled in Life Technologies Corporation v. Promega Corporation on Wednesday that the supply of a single component in a multi-component patented invention for manufacture overseas does not violate Section 271(f)(1) of the Patent Act . Section 271 prevents the supply from the US of “all or a substantial portion of the [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled Tuesday that Maryland’s assault weapons ban is constitutional. A lower court ruling last year found that Maryland’s Firearm Safety Act , violated the Second Amendment . Based on the US Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller , the appeals court found that [...]

A lawsuit was filed against Delaware Governor John Carney on Tuesday arguing that a provision in the state’s constitution requiring a political balance of judges in the state’s courts is unconstitutional. In the complaint, attorney James Adams alleges that the provision, which mandates that nominations be evenly split between the two major parties, excludes minority [...]

South Africa’s High Court on Wednesday blocked the government’s attempt to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) . High Court Judge Phineas Mojapelo found that the “decision by the national executive to deliver the notice of withdrawal of South Africa from the Rome Statute of the ICC without prior parliamentary approval is unconstitutional and [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on the cross-border shooting of a Mexican citizen by a US Border Patrol Agent. In Hernandez v. Mesa , the court is considering the extraterritorial application of the Fourth Amendment . The court is also considering the application of qualified immunity depending upon legal status and the [...]

The lower house of the Dutch parliament on Tuesday voted 77-72 to approve a bill that would tolerate the cultivation of cannabis. Possessing and buying the drug at shops has been tolerated in the Netherlands but the selling and growing of the drug and selling the plant to the shops has remained illegal. Proponents of [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday to halt Texas’ plan to cut Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood . The injunction prevents the state from cutting funding until a trial is held. Judge Sam Sparks based his decision heavily on the merits of [...]

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday remanded a dispute over an elementary school student’s service dog to the lower court. In Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools , a child with cerebral palsy attempted to bring her trained service dog with her to kindergarten. The school stated that the school staff could perform all of the [...]

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe vetoed legislation Tuesday that would have defunded Planned Parenthood and other women’s health providers. HB 2264 sought to remove funding from any provider that performed any abortion or abortion related services from receiving any federal funding including medicare coverage. The governor vetoed the bill in hopes of stabilizing health care services. [...]