Recent Updates

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  High Court rules against Northern Ireland's abortion law

  Lawyer News 12/01/2015

  A Belfast High Court ruling is expected to ease Northern Ireland's strict anti-abortion laws to make it easier for women to terminate pregnancies in some cases. Abortions are illegal in Northern Ireland except in extreme cases when a woman's life is ...

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  South African appeals court nears Pistorius ruling

  Headline News 11/29/2015

  An official says a top South African appeals court is finalizing a decision on whether to send Oscar Pistorius back to prison by overturning a lower court's manslaughter conviction and finding the double-amputee Olympian guilty of murdering girlfrien...

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  2 charged in pastor's wife killing say little in court

  Criminal Law 11/28/2015

  Two young men charged in the shooting death of an Indianapolis pastor's pregnant wife gave brief answers to a judge's questions Tuesday during their first court appearance since their arrest. Marion County Superior Court Judge Grant Hawkins entered n...

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  Detroit-area ex-officer found guilty in videotaped beating

  Criminal Law 11/22/2015

  A white, former Detroit-area police officer was found guilty Thursday of assault and misconduct in the bloody beating of a black driver during a traffic stop that was captured on video.   Wayne County jurors handed down the verdict in the case a...

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  Rancher pleads guilty to falsely claiming cattle losses

  Court Alerts 11/21/2015

  A South Dakota rancher has pleaded guilty in federal court to falsely claiming he lost more than a hundred cattle during the autumn blizzard of 2013 that left ranchers in the state reeling with financial losses.   Karl Knutson pleaded guilty Fri...

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  Lawyer: Don't judge Chicago officer based on shooting video

  Headline News 11/20/2015

  An attorney for a white Chicago police officer who shot a black teenager 16 times says his client acted lawfully and urges the public not to rush to judgment based solely on a video of the shooting that's to be released within days. Attorney Dan Herb...

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  Perry's indictment in hands of top Texas criminal court

  Lawyer Blogs 11/20/2015

  Attorneys for former Texas Gov. Rick Perry urged the state's highest criminal court Wednesday to dismiss felony abuse-of-power charges that the Republican blames in part for foiling his short-lived 2016 presidential run. After two hours of arguments,...

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  Texas man executed for setting fire that killed 3 children

  Criminal Law 11/19/2015

  A Texas inmate was executed Wednesday for setting a fire that killed his 18-month-old daughter and her two young half-sisters at an East Texas home 15 years ago. Raphael Holiday, 36, became the 13th convicted killer put to death this year in Texas, w...

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  Snowboarders fight ban at Utah resort in appeals court

  Criminal Law 11/17/2015

  A group of snowboarders who argue a ban on their sport at Utah's Alta Ski Area amounts to discrimination are set to present their case Tuesday to a federal appeals court in Denver. The lawsuit, filed in early 2014, brought renewed attention to the lo...

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  Kansas court's approval of death sentence not seen as shift

  Lawyer News 11/15/2015

  Even though the state Supreme Court recently upheld a death sentence for the first time under the state’s 1994 capital punishment law, Kansas isn’t likely to see executions anytime soon or a shift in how the justices handle capital murder cases. “Sym...

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  Ruling gives Sandusky back $4,900-a-month Penn State pension

  Law & Politics 11/14/2015

  The state must restore the $4,900-a-month pension of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky that was taken away three years ago when he was sentenced to decades in prison on child molestation convictions, a court ordered Friday. A ...

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  Court won’t hear case over grant to Planned Parenthood

  Court Alerts 11/13/2015

  The Supreme Court has rejected an anti-abortion group’s bid to force disclosure of confidential Planned Parenthood and federal government records about a contract for family planning services in New Hampshire. The justices on Monday let stand a rulin...