All Law & Courts
'American Sniper' trial: Why US juries often reject the insanity pleaA jury in Stephenville, Texas, returned a guilty-as-charged capital murder verdict against Eddie Ray Routh in less than two hours, underscoring how little patience the US court system and its juries have with most claims of not guilty by reason of insanity.
Baseball steroids chemist sentenced to 18 months in prisonInvestigators said Paulo Berejuk was the key drug source for Anthony Bosch, who ran the now-closed Biogenesis of America clinic that provided steroids to baseball players and other athletes.
Federal judge halts Obama's executive action on illegal immigrationA federal judge ruled that the government must stop implementation of President Obama's executive action to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. The Obama administration will appeal.
'Lone wolves' spotlighted in the fight against violent extremismAt a White House summit this week, officials from the US and abroad will study ways to counter violent extremism of the kind that happened in recent days in the United States and Europe. ‘Lone wolf’ attackers are a special concern.
Cover StoryHow communities are keeping kids out of crimeCities and states are moving away from locking up juvenile offenders, offering treatment and other programs to prevent them from becoming hardened criminals.
Judge orders one Alabama official to start gay marriages. Will others follow?After a week of conflicting legal arguments, confusion, and open defiance in Alabama, a federal judge rules that a Mobile probate judge may not deny same-sex couples a marriage license.
Why is Senate committee delaying vote on Loretta Lynch nomination?Senate Democrats say that the GOP is stalling the nomination process for Loretta Lynch, President Obama's attorney general pick. Republicans say they have additional questions and are not looking for a 'big fistfight.'
More Alabama judges issue gay marriage licenses, but most are still defiantWith many probate judges still defying a federal court order invalidating Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban, many couples are still waiting for a marriage license.
Defiance in Alabama, as same-sex marriage ruling takes effectMost county probate judges refused to issue marriage licenses in Alabama on Monday. Alabama's chief justice says that probate judges are not bound by a federal judge's ruling declaring the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.
Does Ferguson run 'debtor's prison'? Lawsuit targets a source of unrest.A harsh regime of fees for minor violations landed many Ferguson, Mo., residents in jail and fueled last summer's unrest. Now a lawsuit is taking aim at the system as some signs of progress emerge.
Did Supreme Court justices tip their hand in Alabama gay marriage case?On Monday, Alabama became the 37th state to allow same-sex marriage, after the Supreme Court declined to issue a stay. The high court action provides perhaps the best indication yet that a majority of justices are preparing to uphold gay marriage.
- Staged kidnapping of boy: why parents should avoid using fear
A 6-year-old Missouri boy was subjected to a violent kidnapping arranged by family members who worried he was 'too nice' and who wanted to impart a 'stranger danger' lesson, police say.
Do recent Guantanamo releases put US at risk? GOP senators question policyThe Obama administration has accelerated transfers out of Guantanamo, with 27 detainees released in the past two months. On Thursday, lawmakers aimed to assess at a hearing the future of US terror detention policy.
Eleventh Circuit says it will wait for Supreme Court on same sex marriageA federal appeals court stated in a memo that it would take no further action in same-sex marriage cases in that circuit until the US Supreme Court decides the issue later this year. The decision does not affect same-sex couples in Alabama.
- Will gay marriage be legal in Alabama? It's up to Supreme Court now.
A federal appeals court Tuesday refused to block a ruling that the state's ban is unconstitutional, clearing the way for Alabama to become the next state to legalize same-sex unions. Also on Tuesday, the state attorney general asked the US Supreme Court to issue a hold.
As Somali-American fights no-fly list, FBI says his brother is most wantedA federal judge on Friday questioned the constitutionality of the US government's no-fly list. In a twist, the FBI one day earlier put the brother of Gulet Mohamed, who has been fighting the no-fly list for four years, on its list of most-wanted terrorists.
Ohio delays all 2015 executions, amid scrutiny of lethal injection drugsThe postponement was announced three weeks after Ohio said it would no longer use a controversial drug that was employed in a series of executions that went awry last year.
Republicans ask: Is Loretta Lynch just another Eric Holder?Day 2 of the Senate confirmation hearings for attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch centered on Republican questions about her willingness to rein in President Obama.
Loretta Lynch, attorney general nominee, fields GOP senators' barbed questionsWednesday's confirmation hearing seemed at times more like a forum for Republican complaints about the Obama administration than an examination of Loretta Lynch and her qualifications to become US attorney general.
Supreme Court halts Oklahoma executions pending lethal injection caseThe US Supreme Court stayed the executions of three Oklahoma death-row inmates challenging the state's lethal injection protocol. A fourth plaintiff was executed on Jan. 15, before the high court agreed to hear the case.
