| US LEGAL NEWS |  |
| The very latest from JURIST... |
|
 |
|
Groups petition Supreme Court to overturn Montana ban on corporate campaign spending
3:18 PM ET, February 11
[JURIST] American Tradition Partnership, Montana Shooting Sports Association [advocacy websites] and Champion Painting have petitioned the US Supreme Court [official website] to reverse the decision by the Montana Supreme Court [official website] in Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Montana that corporations cannot directly contribute to political campaigns or candidates [JURIST report]. The three groups argue that Montana's century-old ban on corporate spending, implemented by the 1912 Corrupt Practices Act [PPL backgrounder], is illegal [Great Falls Tribune report] in light of...... [full story]
Apple sues Motorola in federal court over patent claims in Germany
2:30 PM ET, February 11
[JURIST] Apple [corporate website; Bloomberg backgrounder] brought suit against Motorola Mobility [corporate website; Bloomberg backgrounder] in the US District Court for the Southern District of California [official website] on Friday seeking an injunction to stop Motorola from bringing patent claims against Apple in Germany. Motorola's suit in Germany is over patent no. 6,359,898 [text]. Apple contends that Motorola's German suit violates a licensing agreement between Motorola and Qualcomm [Reuters report]. Apple argues that as a customer of Qualcomm it is...... [full story]
Federal appeals court refuses to reconsider Texas sonogram law
9:44 AM ET, February 11
[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] on Friday denied a request [press release] filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) [advocacy website] to hold an en banc hearing to reconsider a challenge to a Texas law that requires doctors to perform a sonogram on women before an abortion [JURIST news archive]. The court's refusal means that the appeals court's original decision [opinion, PDF] that the law is enforceable will stand. The Texas law...... [full story]
Virginia senate approves bill allowing adoption agencies to refuse placement
12:46 PM ET, February 10
[JURIST] The Virginia Senate [official website] approved a bill [text, PDF] Wednesday that would allow private adoption agencies to refuse placement to families if the agency, or anyone affiliated with it, disagrees with the proposed placement based on religious beliefs. Effectively, this bill would allow adoption agencies to refuse to adopt to same-sex couples. It has already been passed [JURIST report] by the the Virginia House of Delegates [official website], and Governor Bob McDonnell [official profile] said he will sign...... [full story]
Lawyer for 9/11 suspect challenges government review of legal correspondence
11:28 AM ET, February 10
[JURIST] James Connell, defense lawyer for suspected 9/11 [JURIST backgrounder] conspirator Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, filed suit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] on Wednesday challenging an order for military officials to read all legal correspondence between the lawyers of the suspected 9/11 conspirators and their clients. Rear Adm. David Woods [official profile] has testified [JURIST report] that the policy balances his responsibilities to facilitate attorney-client communication while also ensuring security, safety, guard protection...... [full story]
Senate panel approves bill to televize Supreme Court proceedings
11:06 AM ET, February 10
[JURIST] The Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] on Thursday voted 11-7 [CSPAN video] in favor of a bill [S 1945 text, PDF] that would allow televising of US Supreme Court [official website] proceedings. Currently, only few citizens can hear the proceedings in person, and audio recordings are released after the proceedings are over. However, the bill would not make televising proceedings mandatory: "The Supreme Court shall permit television coverage of all open sessions of the Court unless the Court decides,...... [full story]
Supreme Court blocks Ohio execution
1:33 PM ET, February 9
[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Wednesday denied [text, PDF] Ohio's request to put a condemned killer to death, effectively putting the state's executions on hold. Without comment, the court refused [AP report] to allow Ohio to execute Charles Lorraine, a 45-year-old man who was convicted in 1986 of killing an elderly couple. Though Ohio Governor John Kasich [official website] rejected Lorraine's plea for mercy, the execution has been consistently delayed by federal courts over growing concerns that...... [full story]
Federal, state AGs reach agreement in foreclosure investigation
1:11 PM ET, February 9
[JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder, along with Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan [official websites] and 49 state attorneys general announced [press release; official website] Thursday that a $25 billion agreement was reached with the nation's five largest mortgage servicers to address mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses. This agreement is the largest joint federal-state settlement ever obtained and includes mortgage servicers Bank of America Corporation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Company, Citigroup Inc....... [full story]
Consumer watchdog files suit to block Google privacy changes
1:02 PM ET, February 9
[JURIST] The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) [advocacy website], a consumer privacy group, filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF; press release] Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] asking that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) [official website] block Google's [corporate website] proposed privacy policy changes [text]. EPIC alleged that the changes to the privacy policy are in violation of a settlement [JURIST report] reached by the FTC and Google in October over a breach of...... [full story]
Federal judge allows 'secret evidence' in al Qaeda trial
8:47 AM ET, February 9
[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky [official website] on Wednesday allowed "secret evidence" to be used against an Iraqi refugee for terrorism charges, finding probable cause that he is "an agent of a foreign power." Mohanad Shareef Hammadi is charged with attempting to provide material support to terrorists and terrorist organizations and conspiracy to transfer weapons to terrorist organizations, specifically al Qaeda [JURIST news archive]. Judge Thomas Russell, after assessing all of...... [full story]
| For more US and world legal news from today, yesterday, and back to January 2003, check JURIST's Paper Chase Archive.
|
|
|
|
