All articles tagged with #courts and law
President Trump blasts courts, Congress and preservation advocates for delaying his White House ballroom project, which, after rapid federal approvals, now faces a lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation that could push back completion.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson criticized the Supreme Court for expediting a major voting-rights ruling, saying the move made the court look political. She was the lone dissenter to dropping the usual 32-day waiting period, in a decision that sharply limits a key provision of the Voting Rights Act and enabled Louisiana Republicans to quickly redraw a congressional district.
The Supreme Court issued a temporary order allowing patients to continue receiving the abortion pill mifepristone by mail for one week as it weighs emergency appeals from drugmakers challenging a lower-court ruling that required in-person pickup.
The Supreme Court's conservative majority appeared sympathetic to the Trump administration's bid to end temporary humanitarian protections for Haitian and Syrian migrants, hearing cases that could lead to the deportation of hundreds of thousands and affect about 1.3 million people from 17 countries; lower courts had blocked the policy, citing racial animus in Trump’s remarks, with a decision expected by June.
The Supreme Court is weighing President Trump's bid to end temporary protected status for Haitians. Justice Amy Coney Barrett has two Haitian-adopted children, bringing her personal ties to Haiti into focus as the high-stakes asylum case unfolds.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court cleared the way for U.S. Army Spec. Winston T. Hencely, who was seriously wounded while trying to thwart a 2016 suicide bombing in Afghanistan, to sue contractor Fluor Corp. for negligence, overturning a lower court ruling and signaling greater contractor accountability as private firms play a larger role in military operations.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Chevron, allowing the environmental-damages lawsuit to be heard in federal court, a decision that could affect about a dozen similar lawsuits against the oil and gas industry; the ruling carries particular resonance for Louisiana, where offshore drilling and coastal erosion shape the economy.
The Washington Post reports that in his second term, the Trump administration is intensifying an effort to reshape public perception of the Jan. 6 attack by vacating convictions for Proud Boys and Oath Keepers (citing “interests of justice”) while continuing pardons and pursuing related litigation that challenges 2020 election results, sparking criticism that these moves undermine the rule of law and efforts to hold accountable those involved.
The Supreme Court ruled that Colorado's ban on conversion therapy for gay and transgender minors probably infringes free-speech rights, a ruling that adds to a string of decisions rolling back LGBTQ+ protections and complicating similar bans in about 30 states.
Lawyers for Rep. Eric Swalwell sent a cease-and-desist letter to FBI Director Kash Patel asking the bureau to stop releasing decade-old files involving Swalwell’s alleged ties to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, in response to a Washington Post report that Patel planned to publish the materials.
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to overturn birthright citizenship, arguing with 19th-century arguments (notably by Alexander Porter Morse) that the 14th Amendment should be read to restrict citizenship. Scholars say the push draws on anti‑Black and anti‑Chinese racism from the post‑Civil War era. If successful, the case could redefine who is a citizen for children born in the United States to immigrant parents, with a decision anticipated by the summer.
FBI officials express alarm as Director Kash Patel pushes to publicly post a decade-old file linking Rep. Eric Swalwell to a suspected Chinese operative, despite no public evidence of wrongdoing; agents are redacting the records prior to release, raising concerns about sources, methods, and political implications.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson criticized the Supreme Court for its growing willingness to issue rulings on the emergency docket, arguing the trend lets controversial Trump policies stand while legal challenges unfold; she and conservative Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh offered differing views on Trump-era decisions during a Washington lecture.
The Florida Bar says it is not investigating Lindsey Halligan, revising a previous statement that a probe was pending; the complaint against Halligan remains at a preliminary stage under review.
The Justice Department publicly released additional Jeffrey Epstein records, including 2019 allegations about Donald Trump, after officials said some files were previously withheld because they were incorrectly coded.