TheRepublic.com - National courts News

Pa. school can exclude morning-after pill coverage

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:25:47 -0400

PITTSBURGH - A federal judge says a Christian college in western Pennsylvania can exclude coverage for birth control like the morning-after pill and the week-after pill when it offers a health insurance plan to its students.

Judge: Idaho terror case evidence is 'classified'

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:05:32 -0400

BOISE, Idaho - A federal court judge in Idaho has appointed a security specialist in the case of an Uzbek national accused of terrorism-related crimes in Idaho and Utah, to vet potentially classified information in the evidence.

Zimbabwe's president goes back to court on polls

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:11:29 -0400

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's highest court said Wednesday it has received an application from longtime President Robert Mugabe's party to delay crucial elections by at least two weeks following pressure from regional leaders.

Judge orders Sudan refugee lawsuit to go forward

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:00:05 -0400

DENVER - A federal judge is refusing to dismiss civil rights claims in a lawsuit filed by the family of a Sudanese refugee who was shot to death after a 911 operator told him to return to Denver from a neighboring suburb to settle a traffic dispute.

UK soldiers' families can sue over Iraq deaths

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:34:28 -0400

LONDON - The families of several British soldiers killed or injured in Iraq can sue the government for failing to protect them, the country's highest court ruled Wednesday.

Judge delays trial of Kansas store owner

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:06:29 -0400

WICHITA, Kansas - A federal judge is giving a Wichita store owner more time to work out a plea deal with the government over accusations she sold fake luxury goods.

SEC to require mea culpas in some big settlements

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:52:36 -0400

WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission says the agency will start requiring companies and individuals to admit wrongdoing in some big settlements.

House passes far-reaching anti-abortion bill

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:40:27 -0400

WASHINGTON - The Republican-led House on Tuesday passed a far-reaching anti-abortion bill that conservatives saw as a milestone in their 40-year campaign against legalized abortion and Democrats characterized as yet another example of a GOP war on women.

Closing arguments held in public defense trial

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:00:27 -0400

SEATTLE - Lawyers working with the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal judge Tuesday to find the public defense systems in two northwest Washington cities inadequate, saying "a warm body with a law degree doesn't cut it" when it comes to providing legal representation to poor defendants.

Madigan gets guns delay; speaker wants bill OK'd

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:59:50 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - The U.S. Supreme Court granted an extension Tuesday for Illinois's attorney general to decide whether to appeal a court order permitting the state's gun owners to carry concealed firearms.

Christie can set NJ election date, lawyers argue

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:26:01 -0400

TRENTON, New Jersey - Government lawyers argued Tuesday that the New Jersey Supreme Court should reject a request to move a special U.S. Senate election that Gov. Chris Christie scheduled three weeks before the state's regular Nov. 5 election.

Defense in Sherry Arnold case seeks to avoid death

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:22:38 -0400

BILLINGS, Montana - Defense attorneys for one of two men charged in the killing of a Montana high school teacher said Tuesday that they've asked a state judge to rule their client ineligible for the death penalty because he is mentally disabled and to relocate his trial.

Argentine Supreme Court rejects judicial reform

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:44:59 -0400

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentina's Supreme Court has struck down key elements of a judicial reform the government hoped would rapidly make the courts more responsive to majority rule.

Uzbek charged with terrorism gets new Idaho lawyer

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:38:20 -0400

BOISE, Idaho - An Uzbek refugee accused of terrorism-related crimes in Idaho and Utah has a new lawyer whose resume includes successfully defending a man accused of murdering a federal agent and helping free a Saudi college student charged with working for a group funneling money to terrorists.

Justices won't take abortion-doctor killer's case

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:33:54 -0400

BUFFALO, New York - The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a petition to review the case of an anti-abortion extremist who claims his constitutional rights were violated during the state and federal trials that sent him to prison for life for the sniper-style slaying of an abortion provider.

Judge: 650+ farm workers entitled to know wages

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:20:39 -0400

YAKIMA, Washington - A federal judge has ruled that a class of more than 650 farm workers should have had information about wages and other job conditions disclosed to them by the company that hired them.

RI high court upholds murder conviction of parolee

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:06:26 -0400

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island - The Rhode Island Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the murder conviction of a man in a deadly 2007 home invasion while out on parole after decades of incarceration on an earlier murder conviction.

Civil rights groups sue NYPD over Muslim spying

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:47:12 -0400

NEW YORK - The New York Police Department's widespread spying programs directed at Muslims have undermined free worship by innocent people and should be declared unconstitutional, religious leaders and civil rights advocates said Tuesday after the filing of a federal lawsuit.

Ousted Commerce founder tries again for big payout

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:51:52 -0400

CAMDEN, New Jersey - The founder of Commerce Bank is seeking a new trial on his claim he was owed a golden parachute when he was ousted in 2007.

November retrial in 9 arson deaths in Cleveland

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:22:16 -0400

CLEVELAND - A November retrial has been set for the man suspected in the 2005 arson deaths of a woman and eight children at a birthday sleepover in Cleveland.

Iowa man sentenced in SD for sex trafficking

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:57:23 -0400

SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota - An Iowa man convicted of commercial sex trafficking in South Dakota has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

Judge dismisses lawsuit to stop brewery demolition

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:25:08 -0400

NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Dixie Brewing Co. in an effort to stop any demolition of the building which is now part of the new VA hospital under construction in New Orleans.

Hearing set in Blytheville suit over school choice

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:52:05 -0400

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas - A hearing is set for next week in federal court over a lawsuit challenging the Blytheville School District's decision to exempt itself from the state's school choice law.

Covington man pleads guilty in septic tank scheme

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:34:49 -0400

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - A former septic system inspector for the Onsite Wastewater Program of the state's Center for Environmental Services has admitted in federal court that he accepted approximately $50,000 in bribes from a septic tank contractor.

Tenn. to review proof of citizenship ruling

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:38:01 -0400

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Tennessee election officials plan to review a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says states can't demand proof of citizenship from people registering to vote in federal elections unless they get federal or court approval to do so.