The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit on Monday in the 16th Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri on behalf of eight same-sex couples seeking recognition for their marriages, which were all performed out of state. Currently, Missouri’s Constitutional Amendment 2 , approved by Missouri voters in 2004, [...]
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JURIST Guest Columnist Steven Baicker-McKee of the Duquesne University School of Law notes that the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in ruling that a declaratory judgment action does not affect the court’s jurisdiction or shift the parties’ burden of proof …
JURIST Guest Columnist Tung Yin of the Lewis & Clark Law School argues that the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board’s report on the NSA’s telephone records program is likely best directed toward statutory changes in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act rather than influencing decisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court …
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled Tuesday that a 2011 North Carolina law that permits residents to display a license plate reading “Choose Life” is unconstitutional. North Carolina appealed to the Fourth Circuit after a federal district court judge struck down the law. The Fourth Circuit held that North Carolina violated [...]
Residents of Fremont, Nebraska , voted on Tuesday to reaffirm Ordinance 5165 , which prohibits harboring, hiring or renting to undocumented immigrants. The law was initially approved in 2010 , but its implementation was delayed during a federal lawsuit over the law’s constitutionality. Last year a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for [...]
Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected petitions filed by both the ruling and opposition parties accusing each other of attempting to overthrow the country’s government during recent elections. The court cited insufficient grounds for either claim brought by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s ruling Pheu Thai Party or the opposition Democrat Party . The Democrat Party [...]
Spain’s Parliament on Tuesday approved a bill that will diminish the powers of Spanish courts to pursue cases of genocide and other crimes against humanity committed abroad. The bill includes a clause to halt current investigations, including the arrest warrants issued on Monday for several former Chinese leaders for their involvement in the alleged genocide [...]
Washington Governor Jay Inslee on Tuesday announced a moratorium on executions in the state. Under Washington law the governor has the power to commute death sentences. In his remarks Inslee criticized the death penalty, stating the “system that falls short of equal justice under the law and makes it difficult for the State to justify [...]
A Pakistani judge on Wednesday ordered the nation’s Interior Ministry to hand over anti-drone activist Kareem Khan for a court appearance slated for late-February. Khan reportedly brought legal action against the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Pakistani government after a 2009 drone attack killed his son and brother. Sources indicate unidentified government forces [...]
The Virginia state Senate on Tuesday voted to repeal a 2012 law requiring women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound. The measure passed after Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam cast his vote in favor of repeal, breaking a 20-20 tie. After casting his deciding vote Northam released the following statement: I’ve said time and time [...]
