All Law & Courts
First LookSocial media overload: More states sue Meta in order to protect youthMeta 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 tacticsA 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 McClainAn 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 nameRicky 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 votersThe 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 illegalDACA 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 capturedDanelo 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 lawyersLawyers 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.
First LookJan. 6 sentencing: Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio gets 22 yearsFormer Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for orchestrating a failed plot to keep Donald Trump in power. Mr. Tarrio’s sentence is the longest so far among more than 1,100 Capitol riot cases.
Proud Boys leaders sentenced for their role in Jan. 6 Capitol attackTwo former leaders of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group have been sentenced to more than a decade each in prison for their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Police reform: Nurturing female recruits long before they applyIn a reform effort to change the male-dominated police profession, the Santa Ana, California, department intensely mentors potential female recruits.
First LookHunter Biden probe ramps up as DOJ appoints special counselAttorney General Merrick Garland has named David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware, as special counsel in the Justice Department’s investigation into Hunter Biden. Mr. Garland said Mr. Weiss will have “all the resources he requests” to probe the matter.
First LookTrump pleads not guilty to charges he tried to overturn 2020 electionFormer President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in court Thursday to four felony charges that he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss. The magistrate judge set the next hearing on this case for August 28.
First LookDeath sentence for Pittsburgh synagogue gunmanA federal jury recommended Wednesday that 50-year-old Robert Bowers be sent to death row for perpetrating the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. A judge must formally impose the sentence.
