Recent Updates

  • Court: Right-to-work law applies to state workers

    Court: Right-to-work law applies to state workers

    Recent Cases 08/19/2013

    Michigan's right-to-work law applies to 35,000 state employees, a divided state appeals court ruled Thursday in the first major legal decision on the much-debated measure eight months after it passed. Judges voted 2-1 to reject a lawsuit filed by uni...

  • Court challenge fails to stop Calif. gay marriages

    Court challenge fails to stop Calif. gay marriages

    Recent Cases 08/15/2013

    The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to halt gay marriages in the state, leaving opponents of same-sex weddings few if any legal options to stop the unions. The brief, unanimous ruling tossed out a legal challenge by ban supporters without ...

  • Ore. appeals court reverses sex abuse conviction

    Ore. appeals court reverses sex abuse conviction

    National News 08/12/2013

    The Oregon Court of Appeals has overturned the conviction of a man found guilty of sodomy and sex abuse after it ruled a lower court erroneously allowed a previous victim of his to testify. Prosecutors said the previous conviction was necessary to sh...

  • Federal court officials fear budget cuts

    Federal court officials fear budget cuts

    Legal Events 08/06/2013

    Federal courts officials in Minnesota say they're worried automatic spending cuts will jeopardize the justice system's smooth operation, with layoffs likely in both the U.S. attorney and public defender's offices. The cuts are part of what's known as...

  • US court: Pa. school can't ban 'boobies' bracelets

    US court: Pa. school can't ban 'boobies' bracelets

    National News 08/05/2013

    A federal appeals court ruled Monday that a Pennsylvania school district cannot ban "I (heart) Boobies!" bracelets, rejecting the district's claim that the slogan _ designed to promote breast cancer awareness among young people _ is lewd. The 3rd U.S...

  • Judge denies class action for Wal-Mart bias suit

    Judge denies class action for Wal-Mart bias suit

    Recent Cases 08/04/2013

    A judge rejected on Friday an attempt to file a class action discrimination lawsuit on behalf of 150,000 Wal-Mart women employees in California who claimed their male colleagues were paid more and promoted faster than them. The lawsuit filed in San F...

  • Supreme Court OKs early release plan for Calif. inmates

    Supreme Court OKs early release plan for Calif. inmates

    Recent Cases 08/03/2013

    Despite warnings from California officials, the nation's highest court is refusing to delay the early release of nearly 10,000 California inmates by year's end to ease overcrowding at 33 adult prisons. In its decision Friday, the Supreme Court dismis...

  • Court: No workers' comp in drunk dockworker case

    Court: No workers' comp in drunk dockworker case

    Recent Cases 08/02/2013

    A federal appeals court says an Oregon longshoreman who got drunk on the job, urinated while standing on a dock and then fell 6 feet onto concrete should not get workers' compensation benefits for his injuries. Gary Schwirse drank at least nine beers...

  • Pitt schools segregation lawsuit in federal court

    Pitt schools segregation lawsuit in federal court

    Recent Cases 07/26/2013

    Nearly 60 years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down racial segregation in public schools, lawyers are set to square off in a federal courtroom in eastern North Carolina over whether the effects of that Jim Crow past still persist. A trial was to...

  • Arizona high court to hear school funding case

    Arizona high court to hear school funding case

    National News 07/23/2013

    The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday hears arguments in an appeal of a lower court's ruling that requires the state Legislature to give schools an annual funding increase even in lean years to account for inflation. The high court is reviewing a Cour...

  • Court: Legal status can't be used in civil cases

    Court: Legal status can't be used in civil cases

    Headline Legal News 07/17/2013

    A person's legal status in the country can't be used in civil cases by attorneys to intimidate or coerce under a new rule approved by the Washington Supreme Court last week. Since 2007, advocates have been working to make the change to the Rules of P...

  • Court sides with Yahoo in data collection case

    Court sides with Yahoo in data collection case

    Headline Legal News 07/16/2013

    Yahoo has won a court fight that could help the public learn more about the government's efforts to obtain data from Internet users. The U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which reviews government requests to spy on individuals, ruled Mond...