Recent Updates
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Fraternity brothers due in court in pledge's fatal fall
Criminal Law 06/11/2017Members of a Penn State fraternity facing charges related to the death earlier this year of a pledge after a night of heavy drinking are due in court Monday for a hearing about whether there's enough evidence to head to trial. Prosecutors in the case...
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South Dakota and Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe clash in court
Criminal Law 05/14/2017The Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe is suing South Dakota over the state's interpretation that contractors working on an expansion of the Royal River Casino are required to pay contractor excise taxes to the state. The Argus Leader reported that the law...
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Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman returns to court in drug case
Criminal Law 05/05/2017Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is returning to a Brooklyn courtroom Friday, a day after a judge rejected his request to be allowed in the general inmate population. The 59-year-old defendant famous for twice escaping from prison in Mexic...
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Not guilty pleas entered for accused in Canada polygamy case
Criminal Law 04/20/2017The trial of two Canadian men from a fundamentalist sect that allows men to have multiple wives opened Tuesday with not guilty pleas being entered on charges of practicing polygamy. Winston Blackmore and James Oler each face one count of polygamy. Bo...
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Conservatives fault Arkansas court for halting executions
Criminal Law 04/20/2017Arkansas' attempt to carry out its first execution in nearly 12 years wasn't thwarted by the type of liberal activist judge Republicans regularly bemoan here, but instead by a state Supreme Court that's been the focus of expensive campaigns by conser...
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Democrats tighten opposition of high court pick
Criminal Law 04/01/2017Senate Democratic opposition to President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee swelled Friday as Democrats neared the numbers needed for a filibuster, setting up a showdown with Republicans who have the votes to confirm Neil Gorsuch. Sens. Claire McC...
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Court: Wisconsin Bell discriminated against worker
Criminal Law 03/26/2017A Wisconsin appeals court says state labor officials properly determined that Wisconsin Bell's decision to fire a bipolar employee amounted to discrimination. According to court documents, Wisconsin Bell fired Charles Carlson in 2011 for engaging in ...
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Court: Sex offender can challenge internet restrictions
Criminal Law 03/21/2017A convicted sex offender challenging restrictions on internet use will get a new hearing before New Jersey's parole board. The state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in the case of a man identified only by the initials J.I. who had claimed the restriction...
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Immigration courts: record number of cases, many problems
Criminal Law 03/06/2017Everyone was in place for the hearing in Atlanta immigration court: the Guinean man hoping to stay in the U.S., his attorney, a prosecutor, a translator and the judge. But because of some missing paperwork, it was all for nothing. When the government...
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Court officer investigated for photographing lawyer's notes
Criminal Law 03/03/2017A court security officer in Maine has been placed on leave while under investigation for sending a cellphone photo of a defense attorney's notes to a prosecutor. The Kennebec Journal reports that court officials are calling the incident a serious eth...
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Lawmakers want Supreme Court review of voting law continued
Criminal Law 03/01/2017North Carolina Republican legislative leaders want the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the new Democratic state attorney general's bid to dismiss their appeal of a lower court ruling that struck down a voting law based on racial bias. Lawyers the Genera...
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Top court reviews free speech case of man's anti-police rap
Criminal Law 01/29/2017Pennsylvania's highest court is reviewing the conviction of a Pittsburgh man for making threats against police in a rap song after he was charged with drug offenses. The Supreme Court on Monday said it would take up an appeal by Jamal Knox, who argue...