US Supreme Court

Stories 1061 - 1080 | << Prev   Next >>

Supreme Court Rejects Anti-Prostitution Pledge

Ruling strikes down restrictions on AIDS funding

(Newser) - The government can't make opposition to prostitution a prerequisite for federal funding for non-profits, the Supreme Court ruled today. In doing so, it struck down a 2003 law that required any group getting federal funding for HIV-prevention programs overseas to have a blanket policy against sex trafficking and prostitution....

Supreme Court Kills Arizona 'Proof of Citizenship' Law

Justices say anti-immigrant measure interferes with federal law

(Newser) - The Supreme Court today struck down an Arizona law requiring people to show proof that they're US citizens in order to register to vote. In a 7-2 decision, the court ruled that the law, which was approved by voters as a ballot proposition, conflicted with a 1993 federal law...

Elena Kagan Ruling Cites ... Tommy Tutone Song

She makes reference to '867-5309' in decision

(Newser) - The Supreme Court ruled today that truckers at the Port of Los Angeles can't be forced to affix "How Am I Driving?" placards on their trucks, reports the LA Times . The decision is getting more attention than you might expect, however, thanks to Elena Kagan's sense of...

For Cops, DNA Databases Are the New Fingerprints

Departments around the country keeping profiles

(Newser) - Across the country, local cops are quietly building DNA databases in much the same way they might build a fingerprint catalog, the New York Times reports. New York City has the genetic info of some 11,000 suspects on file, and Orange County, Calif., makes even that trove look tiny,...

Supreme Court: No, You Can't Patent Our DNA

But court rules that synthetic genes are fair game

(Newser) - Sorry, corporate America, you can't own our genes. The Supreme Court declared that unanimously today, ruling against Utah-based Myriad Genetics, which holds patents on a pair of genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer. But in something of a compromise, the court ruled that while it was unconstitutional to...

Supreme Court DNA Ruling Has Scary Echoes of Gattaca

Decision opens path to swabbing without suspicion: Noah Feldman

(Newser) - In a 5-4 decision yesterday , the Supreme Court ruled that those arrested for "serious crimes" can have DNA samples taken from their cheeks—even without suspicion. And that "represents a major step toward a Gattaca world," writes Noah Feldman at Bloomberg . In short, evidence can now be...

Supreme Court Upholds DNA Swabs of Those Under Arrest

Not a violation of 4th Amendment

(Newser) - DNA swabbing the cheek of a person arrested—but not yet convicted—for a "serious offense" is just as acceptable as fingerprinting and photographing that person, the Supreme Court ruled today. Such DNA swabs do not violate a person's Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable searches, the justices found....

Supreme Court Rejects Alabama Immigration Case

Only Scalia votes to hear it

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has rejected Alabama's appeal to revive portions of a state immigration law, including a section that made it a crime to harbor people who are living in the country illegally. The justices today left in place a federal appeals court ruling that blocked parts of the...

Supreme Court's Stephen Breyer Falls Off Bike, Breaks Shoulder

It's his third major accident

(Newser) - One of Stephen Breyer's Supreme Court clerks might gently suggest that it's time to put away the bike: Breyer broke his shoulder today after taking a spill in DC near the Korean War memorial, reports the Los Angeles Times . It's actually his third major bike accident, notes...

No More Mandatory Deportation for Minor Pot Busts
No Mandatory Deportation
for Minor Pot Busts Anymore
supreme court
Apr 24, 2013 5:49 AM CDT

No Mandatory Deportation for Minor Pot Busts Anymore

Possession of small amounts not a federal felony: supreme court

(Newser) - The federal government should stop kicking people out of the country with no chance of appeal for possessing tiny quantities of marijuana, the Supreme Court has decided. The justices ruled 5-2 that those whose crime is only "social sharing of a small amount of marijuana" should no longer be...

High Court Won't Hear Challenge to NY Gun Law

Justices offer no comment

(Newser) - The Supreme Court is staying out of the gun debate for now. The justices today declined to hear a challenge to a strict New York law that makes it difficult for residents to get a license to carry a concealed handgun in public. The court did not comment in turning...

High Court Won't Hear Prof's Suit Over 9/11 Essay

State courts backed firing by University of Colorado

(Newser) - A former professor's lawsuit following his firing from the University of Colorado has been stopped in its tracks. The Supreme Court won't hear Ward Churchill's case against the school, Reuters reports. He was fired after an investigation cited problems with his academic work, but the probe was...

DOMA Plaintiff: 'Spectacular' Day for Me

Edith Windsor, 83, thinks things went well in court

(Newser) - The 83-year-old woman at the center of today's arguments about gay marriage before the Supreme Court offered a more human side to the debate in comments afterward. Edith Windsor recalled suffering from "broken heart syndrome" when her longtime partner died, reports the Huffington Post . She also called marriage...

Court Sounds Skeptical About DOMA

Kennedy seems concerned that it violates states' rights

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has concluded its oral arguments on the Defense of Marriage Act (the second half of its gay marriage double bill ), and most observers think things are looking bad for the 1996 law; in a tweet , SCOTUSblog predicted that the court was "80% likely to strike...

Red Symbol of Gay Support on Facebook Is Awesome
Red Symbol of Gay Support on Facebook Is Awesome
OPINION
Mar 27, 2013 11:47 AM CDT

Red Symbol of Gay Support on Facebook Is Awesome

Mary Elizabeth Williams: Critics who say it's a meaningless gesture are wrong

(Newser) - Those red equal signs popping up all over Facebook and Twitter in support of gay rights have their share of critics—"meaningless gesture that accomplishes nothing" is a common theme —but Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon says those critics are missing the point. True, the logo, which is...

On Today&#39;s Docket: DOMA
 On Today's Docket: DOMA 
Mar 27, 2013 7:50 AM CDT

On Today's Docket: DOMA

Supreme Court hears second gay rights case

(Newser) - The Supreme Court heard arguments on California's Prop 8 yesterday; today, the federal Defense of Marriage Act is on the docket. What to expect:
  • What is today's case about? DOMA defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman, meaning that gay couples who legally wed
...

Nate Silver: We'll Have Gay Marriage Before 2020

Support has been rising steadily for 9 years, he finds

(Newser) - The second of two landmark gay rights cases is before the Supreme Court today, but supporters of marriage equality can take heart even if the decisions don't go their way, says New York Times stats whiz Nate Silver. Support for gay marriage hasn't surged recently, he finds, but...

Listen to Court's Audio in Gay Marriage Case

Supreme Court releases recording, transcript

(Newser) - Analysts are in overdrive trying to predict what the Supreme Court may or may not do in terms of gay marriage, but if you want to listen to today's arguments for yourself, Slate provides a link to the audio here . The same link brings up the full transcript. The...

Gay Marriage Backers Should Hope Court Punts
Gay Marriage Backers
Should Hope Court Punts
OPINION
Mar 26, 2013 1:53 PM CDT

Gay Marriage Backers Should Hope Court Punts

Sweeping decision could backfire: David Cole

(Newser) - David Cole is all for gay marriage—yet he's still hoping that when it comes to California's Prop 8, which the Supreme Court considered today , the justices will "decide not to decide the gay marriage issue at all," he writes in the New York Times . It...

High Court Split in Gay Marriage Questioning

SCOTUSblog predicts a no-decision

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has finished hearing the arguments in the Proposition 8 case, and prognosticators are busy reading the tea leaves for what it might be thinking. Here's what went down:
  • Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and, perhaps surprisingly, John Roberts, peppered Charles Cooper, the lead attorney
...

Stories 1061 - 1080 | << Prev   Next >>