Recent Updates
-
Thai court drops royal insult charges against academic
Court Watch 01/17/2018A Thai military court on Wednesday dropped royal insult charges against an 84-year old historian who questioned whether a Thai king had actually defeated a Burmese adversary in combat on elephant-back over 500 years ago.Sulak Sivaraksa was charged in...
-
Supreme Court: Water rule suits should begin in trial courts
Court Watch 01/09/2018Opponents of an Obama administration rule aimed at protecting small streams and wetlands from development and pollution now know which courts should be hearing their lawsuits.The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that litigation over the rule sh...
-
Cake case before Supreme Court has ties to barbecue decision
Court Watch 12/03/2017The upcoming Supreme Court argument about a baker who refused to make a cake for a same-sex couple makes some civil rights lawyers think of South Carolina's Piggie Park barbecue.When two African-Americans parked their car at a Piggie Park drive-in in...
-
Trappers ask court to throw out lawsuit over US fur exports
Court Watch 11/25/2017Fur trappers are asking a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit from wildlife advocates who want to block the export of bobcat pelts from the United States.Attorneys for trapping organizations said in recent court filings that the lawsuit against the ...
-
Court: Colorado county wrongly OK’d asphalt plant near homes
Court Watch 11/22/2017A Colorado court has overturned Weld County’s approval of a $20 million concrete and asphalt plant currently under construction, saying the county had evidence the plant would violate noise standards.The Greeley Tribune reports the Colorado Cou...
-
Free Speech Is Starting to Dominate the US Supreme Court's Agenda
Court Watch 11/15/2017To get the Supreme Court's attention these days, try saying your speech rights are being violated.Whether the underlying topic is abortion, elections, labor unions or wedding cakes, the First Amendment is starting to dominate the Supreme Court's agen...
-
Court gives go-ahead for minimum alcohol price in Scotland
Court Watch 11/14/2017Britain's Supreme Court has given the go-ahead for the introduction of minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Scotland — a watershed moment for public health advocates alarmed at the level of abuse.The court on Wednesday rejected the Scottish Whis...
-
'Dirty soda' Utah court battle ends with legal settlement
Court Watch 11/08/2017Two Utah chains that sell flavor-shot-spiked "dirty sodas" have settled their court battle over the sugary concept that's grown increasingly profitable in a state where sugar is a common vice, according to court documents filed Tuesday.Soda shops Sod...
-
Illinois to require veterans courts across the state in 2018
Court Watch 10/30/2017A law passed last year requires every judicial circuit in Illinois to have a veterans treatment court starting Jan. 1.The courts allow veterans who were honorably discharged to plead guilty to a crime in exchange for a probation sentence, The Chicago...
-
Immigrant teen seeking abortion asks court to reconsider
Court Watch 10/22/2017Attorneys for a pregnant teen being held in a Texas immigration facility are asking a federal appeals court to reconsider its decision not to order the government to let her obtain an abortion.Lawyers for the 17-year-old on Sunday asked the U.S. Cour...
-
Court weighing whether graffiti mecca was protected by law
Court Watch 10/18/2017For two decades, Jerry Wolkoff let graffiti artists use his crumbling Queens warehouse complex as a canvas for their vibrant works. Artists gave the spot the name "5Pointz" — a place where all five New York City boroughs come together — b...
-
California hits Gatorade in court for "anti-water" videogame
Court Watch 09/17/2017Gatorade has agreed not to make disparaging comments about water as part of a $300,000 settlement reached Thursday with California over allegations it misleadingly portrayed water's benefits in a cellphone game where users refuel Olympic runner Usain...