All Law & Courts
- Smugglers' air force? Drug war sees rise in use of ultralight planes.
Ultralight planes have become an increasingly popular vehicle for smugglers in the US-Mexico border drug war. The aircraft are hard to spot and can haul hundreds of pounds of illicit cargo.
- Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
The lawyer for a convicted New Hampshire man had asked the Supreme Court to establish an expanded rule to help prevent unreliable eyewitness testimony at criminal trials.
- Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
The Supreme Court decides unanimously that the First Amendment bars government interference in a religious group's decision to fire a minister. Critics say the ruling protects religious groups that fire people for the most venal reasons.
- Lawyer makes startling argument in Supreme Court hearing on FCC
A lawyer arguing that the FCC has gone overboard in its regulation of broadcast nudity and language directed the justices' attention to the bare buttocks of statues in the Supreme Court. The justices are considering whether FCC rules are inconsistent.
- Are tough FCC indecency laws obsolete? Supreme Court hears free-speech case.
Fox and ABC say tougher FCC regulations of broadcasters regarding expletives and partial nudity are discriminatory in an age when cable and Internet programs are not similarly regulated.
- Supreme Court justices face tangled mess with Texas redistricting plan
Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments Monday over competing plans for redrawn legislative districts in Texas amid allegations the state Legislature was diluting Latino political power.
- Progress WatchUS crime rate at lowest point in decades. Why America is safer now.
The crime rate for serious crimes, including murder, rape, and assault, has dropped significantly since the early 1990s in part because of changes in technology and policing, experts say.
- Is new Supreme Court ruling a retreat from Citizens United?
The Supreme Court upheld Monday a long-established provision of campaign finance law that seeks to prevent foreign interests from influencing domestic politics.
- Supreme Court to hear case of dream home quashed by EPA
The Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in a case that shows the EPA is out of control, property-rights advocates say. Environmentalists say the couple involved is merely trying to scapegoat the EPA.
- Supreme Court to enter tangled Texas redistricting case
The Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments over whether federal judges overstepped their authority when they revised state and congressional districts drawn by the Texas Legislature.
- Does drug dog sniff outside home violate privacy? Supreme Court takes case.
The Supreme Court will examine a case in which a drug dog signaled the presence of narcotics after being brought to the door of a home. A warrant was obtained, and growing marijuana was found.
- Oklahoma mom kills home invader: Why the law was on her side
Sarah McKinley, an Oklahoma mom who shot and killed a knife-wielding intruder, was cleared of any wrongdoing by prosecutors on Thursday – vindication of the 'castle doctrine,' proponents say.
- BP parries with Halliburton over recovery costs for Gulf oil spill
British oil giant BP wants a US judge to force Halliburton to pay all recovery costs stemming from 2010 Gulf oil spill. In a filing Monday, it aims to rebuff assertion that Halliburton bears no liability.