Lawyers and victims of medical malpractice cases won a major victory last week when the Florida Supreme Court declared caps on non-economic damages to be unconstitutional. Reversing one of the major legislative victories of former Governor Jeb Bush, the Court found the caps to be arbitrary and concluded that they did not achieve the intended result … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Decision Limits Power of SEC
Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling that effectively limits the power of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to recover funds gained through fraudulent activity. Justice Sonia Sotomayor authored the opinion for the court, writing that the SEC must seek “disgorgement” – the process whereby illegally garnered … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Will Hear a Case Involving Cell Phone Privacy
Recently, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could determine whether the government can use information obtained from cell phone companies to find out a person’s location – and whether they can do this without a warrant. In the past, the highest court has prevented government authorities from using GPS devices to track someone’s movement. … [Read more...]
House Republicans Vote to Repeal Key Reforms in Dodd-Frank
This past Thursday while everyone was watching the Comey hearing, the House of Representatives voted to rescind several post-2008 regulations that Republicans regard as too restrictive on financial institutions. This is the latest in a series of GOP-guided initiatives to roll back Obama-era rules. Trump said earlier in his presidency that he would … [Read more...]
Kansas Republicans Abandon Governor Brownback’s Experiment in Conservative Governance
Kansas Republicans made an about face this week when they decided to abandon the extremely conservative tax policy that Governor Sam Brownback (R) called a “real live experiment” in unfettered trickle-down economics. The Governor attempted to veto the bill but was overridden by the state legislature, a major embarrassment for the Republican leader … [Read more...]
DeVos Gives Vague Response Regarding Discrimination in Private Schools
When asked by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) whether religious discrimination would be allowed in private schools receiving federal funding, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos would not respond directly to the question. Instead, she insisted on repeating this phrase: “Schools that receive federal funds must follow federal law.” The question came … [Read more...]
DOJ No Longer Allows Settlements to Fund Third-Party Organizations
Two weeks ago, the Justice Department ended yet another Obama-era policy that allowed money from legal settlements to go to third-party organizations. Attorney General Jeff Sessions released a memo (dated June 5th) demanding that all settlement funds are to go directly to the victims involved in the case. The guidance could majorly affect large … [Read more...]
Lawsuit Attempts to Halt Public School Bible Classes in W.V.
A lawsuit filed in January could force public schools in Mercer County, West Virginia, to cease having bible classes during the school day. The bible classes have been an aspect of public education in that county for the past 75 years, but the suit – which was amended by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) several months ago – claims that … [Read more...]
Court Denies Attempt to Repeal Colorado’s Marijuana Laws
This past Wednesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit rejected Nebraska and Oklahoma’s claim that Colorado’s marijuana laws violate federal statutes. Colorado’s Amendment 64, passed on November 6th 2012, repealed state statutes that prohibit the recreational use of marijuana. Their arguments to the appeals court echoed the … [Read more...]
Texas Voting Laws Are Racist, Federal Courts Rule
In 2013, Supreme Court Justices struck down a key provision (Section 4) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that required states with histories of racial discrimination to “pre-clear” changes to voting law before moving forward. This gave nine (mostly) southern states (and parts of six others) the ability to pass voting laws without having to seek … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- …
- 28
- Next Page »
