Recent Updates
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California Supreme Court dumps triple-slaying death sentence
U.S. Court Watch 01/25/2023The California Supreme Court on Monday overturned the murder convictions and death sentence for a man who killed three people and committed a series of other crimes in San Diego in 1985.The court ordered a new trial for Billy Ray Waldon, ruling unani...
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Lawsuit against doctor who defied Texas abortion law tossed
U.S. Court Watch 12/10/2022Lawyers for a doctor who intentionally defied a Texas abortion law that the lawyers called a “bounty-hunting scheme” say a court has dismissed a test of whether members of the public can sue providers who violate the restrictions for at l...
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Same-sex marriage is now legal in all of Mexico’s states
U.S. Court Watch 10/25/2022Lawmakers in the border state of Tamaulipas voted Wednesday night to legalize same-sex marriages, becoming the last of Mexico’s 32 states to authorize such unions.The measure to amend the state’s Civil Code passed with 23 votes in favor, ...
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Zimbabwe students scoop international awards for moot court
U.S. Court Watch 07/17/2022A history-making team of Zimbabwean high school students that became world and European moot court competition champions has been widely praised in a country where the education system is beset by poor funding, lack of materials and teachers’ s...
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Florida judge blocks new 15-week abortion ban
U.S. Court Watch 07/05/2022A Florida judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a new 15-week abortion ban days after it took effect in the state, an expected move following an oral ruling last week in which he said the law violated the state constitution.Judge John C. Cooper issued...
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Washington prepares for more patients seeking abortion
U.S. Court Watch 06/18/2022While the nation waits for the Supreme Court’s opinion on a blockbuster abortion case that could overturn Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood of Washington is getting ready for an increase in out-of-state patients seeking an abortion.“We are ...
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No state charge for billionaire Sanford in child porn probe
U.S. Court Watch 05/28/2022The South Dakota attorney general’s office has declined to file charges against billionaire T. Denny Sanford following an investigation into possible possession of child pornography, saying it found no “prosecutable offenses” within...
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2nd defendant pleads guilty in 2018 hate crime in Washington
U.S. Court Watch 04/09/2022A second defendant has pleaded guilty in federal court to a hate crime and making false statements in connection with a 2018 racially-motivated assault in the Seattle area.U.S. Attorney Nick Brown said Jason DeSimas, 45, of Tacoma, Washington, is one...
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Court: Local Wisconsin heath departments can’t close schools
U.S. Court Watch 06/11/2021The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday that local health departments do not have the authority to close schools due to emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic, delivering a win to private and religious schools that challenged a Dane County order....
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Court nixes South Carolina’s lifelong sex offender registry
U.S. Court Watch 06/09/2021South Carolina’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a state law requiring sex offenders to register for life, without prior judicial review, is unconstitutional. In a unanimous ruling, justices wrote that “requirement that sex offender...
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Supreme Court ruling gives immigrant facing deportation hope
U.S. Court Watch 06/01/2021A Guatemalan man who lived in a Massachusetts church for more than three years to avoid deportation said Tuesday he’s hopeful a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision boosts his efforts to remain in the country. Lucio Perez’s lawyer, Glenn Fo...
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Lawsuit seeks Confederate statue’s removal from courthouse
U.S. Court Watch 05/05/2021Civil rights advocates sued a Maryland county on Wednesday to seek the court-ordered removal of a Confederate monument from a courthouse lawn on the state’s Eastern Shore, calling it a racist symbol of oppression.In their federal lawsuit, an NA...