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Pa.'s tough, new voter ID law heads to court
Top Court Watch |
2012/07/27 11:51
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The first legal test for Pennsylvania's tough new voter identification law is arriving.
A state Commonwealth Court judge will begin a hearing Wednesday on whether to block the law from taking effect in this year's election while the court considers a challenge to its constitutionality.
The hearing could last a week.
The law is the subject of a furious debate over voting rights as Pennsylvania is poised to play a key role in deciding the presidential contest in the Nov. 6 election.
Republicans say it's necessary to prevent fraud. But Democrats say it's an election-year scheme to steal the White House and contend that there's no track record of fraud that it would prevent.
Republican Gov. Tom Corbett signed the law in March without a single Democratic lawmaker supporting it.
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Court hears ex-officers' appeals in Katrina case
Top Court Watch |
2012/07/11 15:50
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Two former New Orleans police officers have asked a federal appealscourt to throw out their convictions on charges stemming from thefatal shooting of a man whose burned body turned up in HurricaneKatrina's aftermath.A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also onWednesday heard the Justice Department's appeal of a judge's decisionto order a new trial for a third officer, Travis McCabe.McCabe was convicted of writing a false report on Henry Glover's 2005 shooting.The panel didn't indicate when it would rule.David Warren, who was convicted of shooting Glover withoutjustification, argues he shouldn't have been tried alongside otherofficers charged in the case, including Gregory McRae, who wasconvicted of burning Glover's body in a car. |
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Court: Union must give fee increase notice
Top Court Watch |
2012/06/21 12:21
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The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that unions must give nonmembers an immediate chance to object to unexpected fee increases or special assessments that all workers are required to pay in closed-shop situations.
The court ruled for Dianne Knox and other nonmembers of the Service Employees International Union's Local 1000, who wanted to object and opt out of a $12 million special assessment the union required from its California public sector members for political campaigning. Knox and others said the union did not give them a legally required notice that the increase was coming.
The union, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said the annual notice that the union gives was sufficient. The high court disagreed in a 7-2 judgment written by Justice Samuel Alito.
"When a public-sector union imposes a special assessment or dues increase, the union must provide a fresh ... notice and may not exact any funds from nonmembers without their affirmative consent," Alito said.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg agreed with the judgment but wrote their own opinion. "When a public-sector union imposes a special assessment intended to fund solely political lobbying efforts, the First Amendment requires that the union provide non-members an opportunity to opt out of the contribution of funds," Sotomayor wrote. |
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UK top court rejects Assange bid to reopen case
Top Court Watch |
2012/06/14 10:36
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Britain's Supreme Court rejected WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange's bid to reopen his extradition case on Thursday, meaning the controversial anti-secrecy campaigner could be sent to Sweden by the end of the month.
Assange is wanted for questioning in Sweden after two women accused him of sexual misconduct during a visit to the country in mid-2010. The women's lawyer, Claes Borgstrom, told The Associated Press the ruling Thursday was "an obvious and expected decision that has been delayed for too long."
In a brief, five-point judgment, the court rejected arguments that Assange's legal team hadn't been given the chance to properly cross-examine the evidence that justices relied on to deny the Australian's appeal against extradition.
The development effectively exhausts Assange's legal options in Britain, where he has been fighting the extradition demand since late 2010. Assange could still apply to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, but legal experts say the 40-year-old stands little chance there. |
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Court rules for news groups in execution case
Top Court Watch |
2012/06/09 23:54
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A federal appeals court ruled Friday that witnesses should have full viewing access to Idaho's upcoming execution, siding with The Associated Press and 16 other news organizations.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the decision a day after hearing arguments in a lawsuit from the news groups seeking to change Idaho's protocol, saying it's unconstitutionally restrictive.
The case aims to strike down a portion of Idaho's regulations that prevent witnesses — including reporters acting as representatives of the public — from watching executions until after catheters have been inserted into the veins of death row inmates.
The lawsuit comes as lethal injections have drawn greater scrutiny, from whether the drugs are effective to whether the execution personnel are properly trained.
It's unclear how the ruling will affect the scheduled execution next week of Idaho death row inmate Richard Leavitt, who will be put to death by lethal injection. Leavitt was convicted of the 1984 murder of a Blackfoot woman.
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