All Law & Courts
Dennis Hastert paid $3.5 million to hush sexual abuse, say prosecutorsFor the first time prosecutors have confirmed former House speaker Dennis Hastert paid hush-money to conceal sex abuse, according to court documents. As a teacher and coach at a suburban Chicago high school, he allegedly molested five boys.
An Ohio police officer who shot, but didn't killDespite heightened perceptions that police shoot to kill, a police officer averted a 'suicide by cop' situation by wounding a murder suspect who charged him.
First LookDEA to reconsider marijuana's federal statusThe US Drug Enforcement Agency announced this week that it would reach a decision in the first half of 2016 as to whether to downgrade marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to Schedule II.
First LookNo-fly list: vital security measure or state-sanctioned religious profiling?A Muslim civil rights group has filed a federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of Muslims who say they have been wrongfully added to government watch lists.
First LookPolice shooting in Alabama highlights challenge of policing mentally illMelissa Boarts's family called police on Sunday hoping to get her into mental health treatment. Instead the officers shot her, saying she charged them with a weapon.
First LookWhat does Scalia's empty chair mean for the Supreme Court's case load?The US Supreme Court appears to be choosing cases carefully, in effort to avoid the appearance of being hamstrung by the vacancy left by the death of Justice Scalia.
- First Look'One person, one vote': What Supreme Court ruling means for states
In a blow to conservative challengers of the current system for outlining legislative districts, the court ruled to keep the widely-used system states use to draw voting districts based on total population, rather than just eligible voters.
Chicago violent crime has soared in 2016. What's the response?Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to combat increasing crime in Chicago starts with a new interim police superintendent.
First LookJust months after pledge of tolerance, SFPD caught in another racism scandalBarely a year after eight SFPD officers were fired for their part in an exchange of racist text messages, five more have been implicated doing the same thing.
First LookFederal judge strikes down last state law barring gay couples from adoptingSame-sex couples in Mississippi who are seeking to adopt will now finally be able to do so, thanks to a federal judge.
Why the Lexi Page case may go to the US Supreme CourtThe case echoes several other cases pitting the foster care system against the ICWA. In 2013, Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, a case involving Veronica, a young Cherokee girl, reached the US Supreme Court.
First LookFor protesters, lack of charges in Minn. shooting is one more justice failureThe Minneapolis prosecutor tried to differentiate the shooting death of Jamar Clark from other police shootings of black men that have ignited protests across the country.
What if ISIS were run by women? In Mississippi, a glimpse.In the Middle East, female ISIS recruits play specific, gender-defined roles. But a Mississippi case shows how, in the West, women can be jihadi leaders.
First LookJustice Department brings 'jolt' of reform to Newark PDNewark's police reforms are the latest chapter in a nationwide trend of federally mandated changes in response to civil rights complaints.
First LookObama grants 61 drug offenders clemency: Sign of shifting times?This latest round of commutations is part of President Obama's broader push to reframe the way law enforcement treats drug offenses.
First LookPossible release of Illinois convict points to new willingness to revisit old casesThe name Jack McCullough could soon be added to the growing list of exonerees after a prosecutor dug back into the initial investigation leading to his 2012 conviction for the 1957 murder of a 7-year-old girl.
In this Supreme Court, not all ties are equalThe Supreme Court issued a 4-to-4 decision in a union case Tuesday but sought to avoid a tie in another case. The actions show how the court is seeing different cases differently.
In key test for public-sector unions, Supreme Court hits 'pause'The high court split 4-to-4 Tuesday in the case of a California teacher seeking to avoid union fees. The case could be re-heard once a ninth justice is confirmed, amid a larger political battle in the states that has weakened organized labor.
First LookYoung Mississippi woman followed increasingly familiar path to ISISA young Mississippi woman pleaded guilty to conspiring to support Islamic State militants Tuesday, just weeks after her fiancé pleaded guilty to similar charges.
Sex offender passport: Unlawful stigma or valid way to curb sex tourism?A California group filed a lawsuit challenging the new US law that requires sex offenders to have "unique identifiers" in their passports.
