All Law & Courts
- Can police use your silence against you? Supreme Court to decide.
The Supreme Court is reviewing a case in which a Texas man's silence while voluntarily answering police questions was presented as evidence at trial. His murder conviction was upheld on appeal.
Ohio town, reeling from rape case, sets up website. Can it influence coverage?Steubenville, Ohio, was buffeted by criticism after the alleged rape of a teenage girl by two high school football players. Now the town has a website for the case, but whether it will deflect critics is unclear.
- Drunk driving: Supreme Court considers whether forced blood tests are OK
The case, which the Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday, pits the requirements of the Fourth Amendment against the need for effective enforcement of drunk-driving laws nationwide.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio's bid to make schools safer: armed posse patrols nearbyIn the wake of the Connecticut shooting, Joe Arpaio, who describes himself as America's toughest sheriff, announces a plan to have armed volunteers patrol the areas near schools in Maricopa County, Ariz.
10 weird criminal sentences Check out these 10 court cases where judges have done more than sentence the guilty to a fine or jail time.
Ohio rape case: Evidence on social media creates new world for justiceInvestigators in the Ohio rape case confiscated electronic devices from those involved. Evidence from social media allows jurors to rely more on common sense and less on expert testimony.
- Drunk driving: Can blood-alcohol test be forced? Case reaches Supreme Court.
The justices will hear arguments Wednesday in the case of a drunk driver forced to submit to a blood test. State supreme courts are divided on whether that violates the Fourth Amendment.
James Holmes hearing: At last, a chance for victims to testifyA weeklong hearing into the shooting attack in Aurora, Colo., began Monday, offering a potential window into the mindset of the suspect, James Holmes, and a chance for victims to unburden themselves of testimony.
- Child sex abuse: Operation Sunflower highlights new efforts to get predators
Some 245 people accused of exploiting and abusing children have been arrested, US officials announced this week. Operation Sunflower also removed 44 victims from homes where their abusers also lived.
Transocean agrees to pay $1.4 billion fine for Gulf oil spillTransocean was a contractor to BP and owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that was at the center of the Gulf oil spill. BP has already agreed to $4.5 billion in fines.
Judge dismisses case involving targeted killing of Americans overseasThe ACLU and New York Times had sought access to government documents explaining the legal justification for a US drone strike that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen and suspected Al Qaeda operative in Yemen.
Pennsylvania suing NCAA over Penn State sanctions. Does it have a case?Gov. Corbett says the NCAA sanctions against Penn State in the Sandusky case irreparably harm Pennsylvania. One hurdle for the lawsuit: The university did not challenge the punishment.
New Orleans tries reform of pretrial detention and bailAfter instituting new services last spring to help judges know more about the risk with each defendant, the number of inmates awaiting trial dropped by an average of 165 a day – an annual rate of savings to the city of $1.4 million. But, the program is now in danger of budget cuts.
Cover StoryJailed without conviction: Behind bars for lack of moneyAbout 10 million people are jailed each year for crimes large and small. Most – two-thirds of the 750,000 in jail on any given day – stay long periods without conviction at great cost to the public and to themselves because they can't afford bail.
CIA rendition case: European court holds Macedonia partly responsibleThe decision is important because it suggests that US allies that helped the CIA undertake its secret detention and interrogation program may face liability for their role supporting such operations.
9/11 trial: Any mention of torture is classified, military judge rulesThe military judge in the 9/11 trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others granted a government request to make all mention of alleged torture in the court classified. The defense called the ruling 'shameful.'
Why more people didn't die in Clackamas mall shootingImproved police practices and greater public awareness about what to do in an 'active shooter scenario' may have limited casualties during the Clackamas mall shooting Tuesday in Portland, Ore.
Concealed weapons: Illinois's last-in-the-nation ban must go, US court rulesAt least some Illinois legislators say the ruling will help calm the violence in Chicago, where the nation's strictest gun controls have failed to quell growing numbers of gang shootings this year.
Alleging US torture, terror convict Padilla appeals to Americas’ rights groupJose Padilla's mother is alleging to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that her son, currently in solitary confinement in a Colorado prison, was tortured during his 4 years in a naval brig.
Supreme Court: Both sides in gay marriage debate voice optimismThe Supreme Court's decision to take up appeals over DOMA and California's Prop. 8 ban on gay marriage elicited positive reactions from advocates on both sides of the contentious issue.
