Supreme Court

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Judge Demands Speedy Trial for Gitmo Prisoners

After 7 years, it's 'time to move cases forward'

(Newser) - A federal judge coordinating 200 Guantanamo Bay cases has ordered the Justice Department to set aside all other work to give the detainees their day in court as soon as possible. "The time has come to move these forward," he ruled. A Justice Department attorney asked for eight...

Employers Use Law to Withhold Benefits

Think you're covered? Not if your company decides you're not

(Newser) - Thomas Amschwand was dying, but made sure his wife would collect on his $426,000 life insurance policy. Yet when he died, his boss withheld the money, and his wife was powerless—because a federal law stops workers from suing employers for large sums of health, life, or retirement benefits....

Bush Could Decide by Weekend to Close Gitmo

Supreme Court's decision has forced administration's hand

(Newser) - President Bush could decide by Saturday to close Guantanamo Bay as a prison for high-value detainees, insiders tell ABC. There is “generally wide agreement” among Bush's top advisers—Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates among them—that Gitmo should eventually be shuttered, but the landmark recent Supreme Court decision undermines...

Supreme Court Goofs Up Key Fact in Child Rape Decision

Court was wrong about federal death penalty

(Newser) - The Supreme Court misconstrued a key fact in reaching its recent decision banning the death penalty for child rape, reports the New York Times. Swing justice Anthony Kennedy mistakenly noted in his decision that child rapists did not face the death penalty in federal jurisdiction. But in fact the rape...

Mayors Call for Middle Ground on Guns
Mayors Call for Middle Ground on Guns
Opinion
Jun 30, 2008 9:44 AM CDT

Mayors Call for Middle Ground on Guns

Bloomberg, Boston counterpart lay out consensus changes

(Newser) - Extremist-driven debate over gun control “made for good political theater,” but it hasn’t accomplished much, mayors Michael Bloomberg of New York and Thomas Menino of Boston write in the Wall Street Journal. Now that the Supreme Court has clarified the issue, it’s time to implement some...

Chief Justice Ain't Got a Bob Dylan Quote

Roberts almost cites singer correctly in dissenting decision

(Newser) - A Supreme Court decision was livened up this week by a quote from 1960s thinker, Robert Dylan—known to his fans as Bob. Regarding a stand-off between phone companies, Chief Justice John Roberts quoted, "When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose," from Bob Dylan's 1965 hit...

McCain Would Tilt Split Court Right

Court now divided along political spectrum

(Newser) - America’s choice for president will likely ripple all the way to the halls of the sharply divided Supreme Court, the Washington Post reports. Since the next justice to retire is likely to be left-leaning, a Barack Obama victory would maintain the status quo of four conservatives, four liberals, and...

Supreme Court's Gay Rights Revolution

5 years later profound change still rippling though society

(Newser) - It’s been five years since the Supreme Court heard Lawrence v. Texas and handed down a landmark decision in effect decriminalizing homosexual activity and paving the way for gay marriage legislation in Massachusetts and California. The decision has been cited in numerous cases around the country challenging morals legislation,...

NRA Sues San Francisco, Chicago Over Gun Laws

Suit quickly follows Supreme Court 2nd Amendment ruling

(Newser) - Close on the heels of the Supreme Court ruling that Americans have the right to own guns for self-defense, the National Rifle Association filed suits yesterday against San Francisco and Chicago over gun-control laws in those cities. In San Francisco, the NRA hopes to overturn a law keeping guns out...

Order in Court Will Be Task for Next President
Order in Court Will Be Task for Next President
ANALYSIS
Jun 27, 2008 3:41 PM CDT

Order in Court Will Be Task for Next President

With liberal bloc aging, McCain could boost conservative leaning

(Newser) - Recent Supreme Court decisions that broke 5-4 underlined the impact the next president could have on top US judicial body, the Boston Globe notes. The liberal bloc—including John Paul Stevens (age 88) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (75)—is more likely to lose members during the next administration, so a...

Gun Ruling Will Trigger Barrage of Lawsuits
Gun Ruling Will Trigger Barrage of Lawsuits
analysis
Jun 26, 2008 6:45 PM CDT

Gun Ruling Will Trigger Barrage of Lawsuits

Most state and city laws appear safe, others will challenge

(Newser) - Today's Supreme Court ruling upholding an individual's right to bear arms is unlikely to lead to sweeping changes across the nation, the New York Times reports. Gun laws in most cites and states—putting restrictions on felons and the mentally ill, for example, or banning guns in certain settings—appear...

Candidates Duel Over Gun Ruling
Candidates Duel Over Gun Ruling
ANALYSIS
Jun 26, 2008 4:17 PM CDT

Candidates Duel Over Gun Ruling

Obama steps back from support of ban; McCain smells red meat, slams rival

(Newser) - Barack Obama and John McCain were firing away even before the Supreme Court's Second Amendment salvo today, Talking Points Memo notes. The Democrat backed away from a year-old comment (by an aide) that he thought Washington’s handgun ban was constitutional; the Republican smacked his opponent for flip-flopping—even using...

Justices Nix 'Millionaire's Amendment' for Campaigns

Opponents of wealthy candidates will no longer see donor ceilings raised

(Newser) - The Supreme Court today voided the “millionaire’s amendment,” ruling by 5-4 that the law—which raised donation limits for candidates who face wealthy, self-financed opponents—violates the First Amendment, the AP reports. The majority said it would have been a different story if all candidates saw their...

Gun Ruling a Sea Change for 2nd Amendment
 Gun Ruling a Sea Change
 for 2nd Amendment  
ANALYSIS
Jun 26, 2008 2:28 PM CDT

Gun Ruling a Sea Change for 2nd Amendment

Supreme Court's 5-4 decision "takes certain policy choices off the table"

(Newser) - The Supreme Court’s decision today striking down Washington's handgun ban represented a change in interpreting the Second Amendment. The court’s 5-4 vote split down partisan lines, the Post reports, with Justices Scalia, Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito in opposition to Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer. "The enshrinement...

Jindal Signs Castration Bill for Sex Offenders

Says he's proud of 'strong measures'

(Newser) - Louisiana governor and GOP VP wannabe Bobby Jindal signed a bill yesterday that will allow sex offenders to be punished with chemical castration. Said Jindal, “I am glad we have taken such strong measures...to put a stop to these monsters’ brutal acts,” said Jindal, taking the opportunity...

Gun Ruling Sends Chicago Mayor Into Rage

'Very frightening,' Daley says; vows to fight for city's strict law

(Newser) - Today’s Supreme Court ruling striking down a handgun ban in Washington, DC, is “a very frightening decision,” says Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, vowing to fight for Chicago’s own strict gun law, which will likely now be challenged. Mayors across the country must protect their cities, Daley...

Court Strikes Down DC Handgun Ban

Justices vote 5-4 in landmark gun rights case

(Newser) - The Supreme Court says Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the justices' first major pronouncement on gun rights in US history. The court's 5-4 ruling strikes down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with the Second Amendment, the AP reports. But...

Obama Backs Death Penalty for Child Rapists

Dem disagrees with Supreme Court ruling against Louisiana law

(Newser) - Barack Obama joined rival John McCain yesterday in supporting the death penalty for child rapists, the AP reports. The Democratic candidate spoke after the Supreme Court ruled against a Louisiana law allowing capital punishment for child rape, saying it violates the constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The verdict...

Exxon Ruling Enrages Alaskan Fishermen

Shrunken payout will mean more years of tough work for many

(Newser) - Today's Supreme Court decision to drastically shrink the punitive damages that Exxon must pay Alaskan fishermen over the Valdez spill has left plaintiffs enraged, cynical, and forced to rethink retirement in some cases, the Anchorage Daily News reports. "This is a total slap in the face," said one...

Justices Strike Death Penalty for Child Rape

Top court also trims $2.5B Exxon Valdez damages to $500M

(Newser) - The Supreme Court found today that the “death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child,” striking down a Louisiana law as cruel and unusual punishment. While the court split 5-4 on the hot-button issue—swing justice Anthony Kennedy penned the opinion—there has...

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