All Law & Courts
Trial begins in shooting of Renisha McBride. Does 'Castle Doctrine' apply?Theodore Wafer, of Dearborn Heights, Mich., is charged with second-degree murder for shooting Renisha McBride on his front porch last November. She was unarmed.
More suspensions after chokehold death, complaints grow about NYPD tacticsTwo paramedics and two emergency medical technicians who responded to the scene where Eric Garner was allegedly put in a police chokehold have been suspended without pay. His death is fueling community outrage.
Eric Garner death after police chokehold roils N.Y.C. minority communitiesThe apparent use of a police chokehold on New Yorker Eric Garner, who later died, has further strained NYPD relations with the city's minority residents. The incident is a test for new Mayor Bill de Blasio.
How minor crime questioning led to chokehold death of Eric GarnerNew York police officers questioning Eric Garner about an alleged minor crime – selling cigarettes on the street – subdued Mr. Garner using a chokehold banned more than 20 years ago. Soon after, he was dead.
Drug offenders in federal prisons can seek shortened sentencesUnder new US sentencing guidelines, 46,000 federal inmates would be able to shave about two years off stiff punishments meted out during America's 'war on drugs.'
Is FedEx a drug trafficker? Charges lift lid on drugs-through-mail pipeline.FedEx is facing $1.6 billion in possible fines after it was indicted for drug trafficking. It is accused of ignoring warnings that it was delivering illicit pharmaceuticals to customers around the US.
Mass. moves on abortion clinic bill: How is it different from buffer zone law?The US Supreme Court last month struck down Massachusetts’ 35-foot buffer zones. A new bill allows police to order individuals to withdraw if they substantially impede access to an abortion clinic.
Death penalty: Ruling in California finds long delays 'cruel and unusual'A federal judge struck down California's death penalty on Wednesday, ruling that death-row wait times are too long and the application of the sentence is too arbitrary, in violation of a constitutional ban on 'cruel and unusual punishment.'
University of Texas can use race as factor in admission, court rulesA federal appeals court has ruled in a case that made it all the way to the US Supreme Court. The University of Texas' method for partially using race in admissions is essential to creating a diverse student body, the court said.
Indiana marriage law is discriminatory, US court says in ruling for humanistsIn a significant victory for nonreligious Americans, the appeals court ordered Indiana to allow secular humanists to officiate at weddings despite a state law barring them from performing nuptials.
Illinois pioneers crackdown on scams targeting student loan debtThere is no 'Obama Forgiveness Program,' and some of the services that debt settlement companies sell are available for free. Illinois is taking to court two firms that target people struggling under student debt.
Texas family killed: In domestic violence cases, more focus on red flagsIncreasingly, advocates and law enforcement officials are teaming up to show that some of the worst domestic violence situations can be prevented. However, in a Texas tragedy, Ronald Lee Haskell is accused of killing six members of his ex-wife’s family.
- Judge orders Florida districts redrawn. Will it affect US Congress?
Judge Terry Lewis ruled that two of Florida's 27 congressional districts had been drawn to benefit the Republican Party, putting the GOP-controlled Legislature under a judicial microscope.
In Colorado, same-sex marriage battle waged in county clerk's officeA Boulder County clerk, citing a US appeals court ruling against Utah's ban, has issued more than 100 marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying she believed she had a moral and legal obligation to do so.
Marijuana: Brooklyn DA and New York police at odds on minor crimesBrooklyn's new DA says his office will dismiss low-level marijuana crimes, which 'weigh down the criminal justice system.' But NYPD Commissioner Bratton says policing procedures will not change.
Ray Nagin sentence surprises some experts. Why it was only 10 years.Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday for corruption. The trial highlighted the city's tumultuous post-Katrina era.
Why care about the Donald Sterling case? Let us count the ways.The case unfolding in a Los Angeles courtroom is more than a legal tussle between a feuding couple over the sale of an NBA team. Who gets to decide a person's mental incompetence is one key issue.
On heels of Hobby Lobby, Supreme Court grants stay for religious collegeDays after addressing one facet of Obamacare's contraception mandate in the Hobby Lobby ruling, the Supreme Court dealt with another Thursday, issuing a stay that protects a nonprofit Christian college from federal penalties for noncompliance.
Citing 'reckless disregard,' judge denies bond in hot car toddler deathPolice say Justin Harris, charged with murder in the death of his young son left in a hot car, was attracted to a 'childless' life and had studied such deaths on the Internet.
Supreme Court 101: Top takeaways from big rulings of the termNot since the 1950s has the US Supreme Court handed down so many unanimous decisions – 65 percent of its 2013-14 cases. There are two explanations for the rise in 9-to-0 rulings.
