All Law & Courts
- Second Amendment rights for abusers? Justices seem skeptical.
On Tuesday, a majority of Supreme Court justices appeared dubious that the U.S. Constitution would prioritize gun ownership of domestic abusers over women’s safety.
- First LookJury acquits 2nd police officer in Elijah McClain’s death. Why?
Officer Nathan Woodyard was found not guilty in Elijah McClain’s death. In 2019, the 23-year-old was placed in a neck hold by Aurora, Colorado, police officers and given ketamine. The acquittal reignites widespread outrage over racial injustice in policing.
- First LookDo those with restraining orders have gun rights? SCOTUS weighs in.
Two years after Ruth Glenn was shot in the head by her estranged husband, Congress passed a law prohibiting people facing domestic violence restraining orders from having guns. Now, in a Supreme Court case, a Texas man is challenging the 1994 law.
- First LookSam Bankman-Fried convicted of fraud in $10 billion FTX scheme
A New York jury has convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of fraud charges. Jurors rejected his testimony that he didn’t defraud thousands of customers who trusted him to safeguard billions of dollars. Mr. Bankman-Fried has been jailed since August.
- First LookPolice brutality: Former officer pleads guilty in Tyre Nichols case
Desmond Mills Jr., a former Memphis police officer, pleaded guilty in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop in January 2023. He is the first of the five officers charged to admit guilt. Prosecutors recommended a 15-year sentence.
- First LookTrump sons on trial in NY: Did they cover up company fraud?
Donald Trump’s eldest sons are scheduled to testify at New York Attorney General Letitia James’ fraud lawsuit that could jeopardize the family’s real estate company. Donald Jr. and Eric deny any wrongdoing.
- First LookSocial media overload: More states sue Meta in order to protect youth
Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is being sued by dozens of states. It is alleged that Meta specifically designs their social media platforms to attract children despite knowing they harm young people’s mental health.
- First LookSettlement in ACLU lawsuit to end Trump-era family separation tactics
A settlement filed in federal court in San Diego will halt for eight years a Trump-era rule, aimed to deter undocumented migrants, that separates children from families at the border. The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU, which represents separated families.
- First LookJury finds senior officer guilty in wrongful death of Elijah McClain
An Aurora police officer was convicted on charges stemming from the 2019 death of Elijah McClain. Mr. McClain, put in a neck hold and injected with an overdose of ketamine, became a rallying cry in protests over police brutality.
- First LookFalsely imprisoned: How one man used COVID relief to clear his name
Ricky Dority spent decades in jail on a wrongful murder conviction. He used pandemic relief funds to hire a private investigator, which led to his exoneration.
- As Supreme Court starts new term, how far right is it headed?
A theme of the term is likely to be consequences, with the court wrestling with the fallout from some of its landmark conservative rulings.
- First LookTrump fraud verdict: What does the New York ruling mean?
A judge in New York has ruled that Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire. If appeals are unsuccessful, some of the former president’s key businesses in the state will be taken out of his control or dissolved entirely.
- First LookConsumers rely on Amazon. So why did the FTC file an antitrust suit?
In Washington state, Amazon is facing an antitrust lawsuit. The FTC and 17 state attorneys general are asking the court to issue a permanent injunction to prohibit Amazon from engaging in its alleged unlawful conduct and restore marketplace competition.
- First LookSCOTUS: Alabama districts must be redrawn to represent Black voters
The Supreme Court rejected an Alabama plea to retain a Republican-drawn congressional map, allowing work to proceed on new districts with greater representation for Black voters. Redistricting lawsuits are pending in several other Southern states.
- First LookFacial recognition wrongly put a Black man in jail. He wants justice.
Randal Quran Reid is among several Black plaintiffs who are suing law enforcement. They claim they were wrongly arrested based on matches generated by facial recognition, a technology they say tends to disproportionately misidentify people of color.
- First LookNative American remains to return to Illinois for burial. Why now?
A new act signed last month by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker hopes to speed up the recovery and reburial of Native Americans whose remains had been unearthed. Institutions across the state have identified nearly 13,000 individuals to be repatriated.
- First LookDACA back on the docket: Texas federal judge rules program illegal
DACA was declared illegal by a federal judge from the District Court in Southern Texas. The declaration accompanies lawsuits from nine Southern states and does not end protection for dreamers, yet seeks to undermine the program through the Supreme Court.
- First LookAfter two-week manhunt, escaped inmate Danelo Cavalcante captured
Danelo Cavalcante was apprehended by state police two weeks after escaping from the Chester County jail in Pennsylvania. Mr. Cavalcante had broken out while awaiting transfer to a state prison to serve a life sentence for killing an ex-girlfriend in 2021.
- First LookCash bail: Illinois to end ‘price tags on people’s freedom’
Illinois will be the first state to eliminate cash bail as a condition of pretrial release on Sept. 18. Critics of cash bail argue that the system disproportionately and unfairly affects Black people and other communities of color.
- First LookMaui fires: TV and phone companies share responsibility, say lawyers
Lawyers for residents and business owners of Lahaina, Hawaii told a court that cable TV and telephone companies share in responsibility for last month’s fires. Power poles were overloaded with cables, they alleged, which caused them to break in high winds.