In a unanimous opinion [PDF] delivered Thursday, the US Supreme Court [judicial website] ruled that US courts do not have to defer to a foreign government's interpretation of its own law. The decision overturned the lower court opinion, which said that the US government was bound by the foreign int
A new lawsuit [complaint, PDF] filed Wednesday challenges the laws [text, PDF] pertaining to photo identification requirements for voters in the state of Missouri. The challenge was brought on behalf of Mildred Gutierrez, a 70-year-old Missouri resident who, in order to vote in the November 2017 el
The US Supreme Court ruled [opinion, PDF] 7-2 Thursday that a Minnesota political apparel ban within polling places violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky [docket] challenged a Minnesota law [text] that banned political badges, buttons or other p
Citizens in Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana [complaints, PDF] filed [press release] lawsuits on Tuesday against their respective states for violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act [text, PDF] through the drawing of the congressional districts. The lawsuits request that the congressional maps ap
The Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] filed a lawsuit on Monday against AT&T, DirecTV, and Time Warner on Monday seeking to prevent [complaint, PDF] the companies' proposed $108 billion merger. The DOJ alleges that the companies' merger would violate section 7 of the Clayton Act [t
The City of Chicago announced in a press conference [video] on Friday that they would file a federal lawsuit against US Steel [corporate website] alleging that the company had violated the Clean Water Act [materials] and accusing the company of allowing two toxic spills to take place in recent mont
The US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois [official website] on Thursday denied [order, PDF] the City of Chicago's motion for reconsideration of an earlier order granting partial injunction of a federal law enforcement grant program. The dispute stems from the City's receipt of fe
The US Supreme Court [official website] on Monday overturned [opinion, PDF] a lower court's decision to enforce an original plea bargain in accordance with contract law principles, finding such application was not supported by federal law. The case arose from a California criminal conviction. Respo
The US Supreme Court on Monday heard oral arguments [day call, PDF] in two criminal procedure cases. In Ayestas v. Davis [transcript, PDF] the petitioner, Carlos Manuel Ayestas, a Texas death-row inmate, filed a habeas petition for ineffective assistance of counsel. The case challenges 18 USC § 35
A bipartisan group of US senators introduced the USA Rights Act [text] on Tuesday that would overhaul aspects of the National Security Agency (NSA) [official website] warrantless internet surveillance program. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [text], which is set to expire a
Uber [corporate website] confirmed on Tuesday that they are currently under investigation by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] for bribing foreign officials. The DOJ is seeking to determine whether Uber operated in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act [text, PDF] over
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] filed an amicus curiae brief [PDF] on Wednesday urging the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website] to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a man who claims he was fired for his sexual orientation. Donald Zarda alleges that his empl
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner [official website] signed SB 189 [text, PDF] on Friday removing the statutes of limitations on certain sexual abuse crimes. The legislation amends chapter 38, sections 3-6, of the Illinois Criminal Code to eliminate a time guard for reporting [AP report] felony sex cr
An Austrian court in the District of Feldkirch [official website] found a man guilty of violating the country's anti-Nazi laws on Monday for his claims that the mass killing of Jews in gas chambers is a fictitious story. Austria's Prohibition Act of 1947 [materials, in German] provided a legal fram
Japan's lower legislative house [official website] approved changes to Japan's century-old rape laws on Thursday that would expand the definition of rape, lengthen prison sentences to five years and allow prosecutions to occur in instances where a victim did not press charges. The amendments would
The US Supreme Court [official website] issued an order [text, PDF] Friday allowing enforcement of Wisconsin's fetal protection law. The law gives courts jurisdiction over an "unborn child" and "expectant mother" when the mother "habitually lacks self-control" in the u
The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Friday that citizens have a First Amendment right to record police performing their duties. The court found that officers, "are public officials carrying out public functions, and the First Amendment requires
Japan's parliament, the National Diet [official website], passed a controversial "anti-conspiracy" bill on Thursday aimed at improving security and combating terrorism. Critics of the new bill, including the Japanese Bar Association and a UN Special Rapporteur [official website], worry it
The US Supreme Court [official website] on Monday agreed to hear [order list, PDF] arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a case concerning a bakery that refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, and Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers [SCOTUSblog
The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Monday in California Public Employees' Retirement System v. Anz Securities, Inc., et al. [SCOTUSblog materials] that a member of a class action suit cannot file a new suit separately past the statute of repose [LII backgrounder]. Justice