Law Newswatch

Legal News for February 22, 2012

US Supreme Court hears military medal lying case
* At issue whether law violates free-speech rights * Law provides up to one year in prison for false claims * Ruling expected by the end of June By James Vicini WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices questioned on Wednesday whether the federal government , in making it a crime to lie about receiving a military medal, could next make it illegal for someone to tell lies about an ...
AlertNet - 2012-02-22 16:14:03

US Supreme Court takes up WV nursing home arbitration cases
In a Feb. 21 opinion, the nation's highest court overturned a West Virginia Supreme Court ruling dealing with nursing home arbitration in three consolidated cases ...
State Journal - 2012-02-22 16:25:29

Federal judge delays Utah immigration ruling until Supreme Court rules on Arizona law
[JURIST] Judge Clark Waddoups of the US District Court for the District of Utah [official website] said Tuesday that he would delay his ruling [order, PDF] on Utah's immigration law [HB 497, PDF] until the US Supreme Court rules on the similar Arizona Immigration Law. Waddoups believes that it is in the best interest of the state and the court to wait until the Supreme Court offers more guidance [Salt ...
JURIST's Paper Chase - 2012-02-22 16:54:40

Appeals court dismisses land claim (121)
ONEIDA ' The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Monday in favor of New York state and Madison and Oneida counties in the 35-year-old Oneida land claim case. District Judge Nina Gershon and Circuit Judges Joseph McLaughlin and Debra Ann Livingston issued the ruling to dismiss claims to nearly 250,000 acres of land by the Oneida Indian Nation of New York, the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin ...
Oneida Daily Dispatch - 2012-02-22 15:47:46

Alabama High Court Challenges Roe on Viability of Pre-Born
The Alabama Supreme Court has placed a shot across the bow of Roe v. Wade's crumbling rampart, calling on states to abandon the concept of fetal 'viability' introduced in that ruling and to recognize the right to life of the unborn. While the ruling in the wrongful death case (Hamilton v. Scott ) will have little immediate impact on the infamous U.S. Supreme Court decision, which effectively legalized ...
New American - 2012-02-22 20:14:31

US Presbyterians uphold pastor's rebuke over gay marriages
SAN FRANCISCO (Feb 21): The U.S. Presbyterian Church's highest court on Tuesday upheld the ecclesiastical rebuke levied against a lesbian minister for blessing same-sex weddings in California. The decision affirming the censure of the Rev. Jane Spahr means that Presbyterian ministers will continue to face church discipline for treating homosexual couples the same as heterosexual couples when it comes ...
Malaysia Edge - 2012-02-22 16:43:00

Boston College to fight federal court order to disclose secret IRA interview tapes
BOSTON Boston College is challenging a federal judges order to hand over interviews with seven former Irish Republican Army members to U.S. government officials. Under terms of a treaty, American officials plan to share the interviews with British authorities investigating a 1972 homicide. The case involves an oral history project that recorded recollections from combatants in the Troubles in Northern ...
Washington Post - 2012-02-22 18:59:13

Federal court gives Wisconsin lawmakers last chance to revisit maps
MILWAUKEE ' Federal judges gave Republican lawmakers a final three-hour window today to decide whether to modify their newly drawn election maps or stand trial on legal challenges. Democrats and Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant-rights group, have sued the state Government Accountability board over redistricting and are trying to prevent it from conducting elections this year based on the new maps. ...
Sheboygan-Press - 2012-02-22 16:28:36

Day 8 in Bribery-Conspiracy Trial Continues in Federal Court
Good news and bad news for prosecutors and defense attorneys alike in the ongoing bribery and conspiracy trial of former Oklahoma Senate President Pro-Tem Mike Morgan, Oklahoma City attorney Martin Stringer, and lobbyist Andrew Skeith. The day began with Tenaska Energy attorney Bart Ford telling jurors that his company's not in the business of bribery or extortion; that he wasn't certain if it was ...
KTOK - 2012-02-22 18:37:49

Federal judge flouts constitution in anti-taxpayer lawsuit
Frivolous anti-TABOR lawsuit ("Fenster's Folly") gets hearing before Federal judge, who questions Supreme Court precedent The frivolous, groundless, and vexatious politically-motivated lawsuit attempting to overturn a filed in Federal court last May got its day in court yesterday (Wednesday, 15 February) before U.S. District Court Judge William Martinez, in oral arguments on the state'sMotion to Dismiss ...
Examiner.com - 2012-02-22 16:28:22