On Friday an inn in Vermont settled a discrimination case brought by a same-sex couple who was turned away from the holding their wedding reception at the inn because of the owner’s views on same-sex marriage. The Wildflower Inn was fined $10,000 in civil penalties and $20,000 to put in a charitable trust. The couple, [...]

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia approved an agreement Friday between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Virginia in a case dealing with the treatment of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Virginia was found to have violated the interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements in the Supreme [...]

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Friday signed a resolution describing South Korea’s control of islands in the Sea of Japan as an “illegal occupation.” The resolution also calls for South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak to apologize and renounce comments he made during an August 15 surprise visit to the disputed island territory. These comments [...]

A jury in the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled Friday that Samsung Electronics violated several smartphone and tablet technology related patents held by Apple , awarding $1.05 billion in damages. The dispute covers everything from the shape and design of the competing companies’ tablets and smartphones to the technology employed [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Friday upheld the life sentence imposed on a former Osama bin Laden aide after he stabbed a prison guard in the eye in 2000. Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, 54, is a Sudanese-born Iraqi who at the time of the stabbing was awaiting trial for an al [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday rejected an appeal of a lower court decision that dismissed a challenge to federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. The three-judge panel found no error in the July 2011 decision of the US District Court for the District of Columbia [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Friday that tobacco companies do not need to print graphic warnings of the dangers of smoking on cigarette packages. In a 2-1 decision, the DC Circuit struck down a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation that requires tobacco companies to display graphic images [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday called on China to stop forcibly returning thousands of Kachin refugees to northern Myanmar . HRW reported that Chinese authorities repatriated more than 1,000 Kachin refugees to Myanmar last week and plan to deport another 4,000 in the near future. HRW claims that the refugees are at risk from [...]

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit on Thursday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas challenging a policy directive to defer the deportation of young illegal immigrants. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 10 agents of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and named US Secretary [...]

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to expedite its hearing of the challenge to the state’s new voter ID law . The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court declined to issue an injunction against the law last week. The decision prompted the challengers, 10 voters and several rights groups including the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania [...]