The Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced a settlement Wednesday in the case against the Progress for America Voter Fund (PFA-VF) for violating campaign finance laws during the 2004 election cycle. The conciliation agreement indicates that PFA-VF will pay a $750,000 fine, the third largest fine in FEC history, and that PFA-VF agreed to register as [...]

Lawmakers in Connecticut's House of Representatives have introduced a health care reform bill aimed at providing coverage to the state's uninsured. The initiative introduced Tuesday positions Connecticut within the growing ranks of states that have recently proposed health care reform plans for their poor and uninsured residents. Massachusetts became the first state to require health [...]

Whorton v. Bockting, US Supreme Court, February 28, 2007 . Read the Court's unanimous opinion per Justice Alito. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

DKT International, Inc. v. US Agency for International Development, US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, February 28, 2007 . Read the full text of the ruling . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

David Iglesias, former US Attorney for the District of New Mexico , told reporters Wednesday that he received two phone calls in October from federal lawmakers pressuring him to speed up indictments of local Democrats under investigation for a kickback scheme in time for the November elections. Iglesias and six other US Attorneys, who had [...]

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has rejected a plan by the US military to construct a $100 million courthouse at Guantanamo Bay . The complex proposed last October , would have included three new courtrooms, a new high-security area for detainees awaiting trial, and other adjunct facilities. The compound would have accommodated up to 1,200 [...]

US District Judge Marcia Cooke ruled Wednesday that alleged terrorist Jose Padilla is competent to stand trial, rejecting defense arguments that he often cannot assist his attorneys because he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to nearly four years of incarceration in a military brig. Cooke noted that Padilla understands "legal nuances" and that [...]

Hawaii legislators have shelved a proposal to create civil unions for same-sex couples, indicating that the state legislature did not have enough votes to pass the law. The state House Judiciary Committee declined to vote on the proposal after hours of testimony Tuesday without explaining the reasons for deferring debate. Hawaii was one of the [...]

US State Department Legal Advisor John Bellinger told reporters in Brussels Wednesday that European investigations into allegations of CIA misconduct in Europe may dampen intelligence sharing efforts between the US and European countries. He also said that allegations of torture by the CIA are unsupported by hard evidence. AP has more. Earlier this month, the [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation , 06-157 , where the court must decide whether taxpayers have standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge federal support for "faith-based" religious initiatives. The Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFR) sued US Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao , [...]