state supreme court

19 Stories

Court: Everyone Knows 'Boneless' Is No Guarantee

Chicken fingers aren't really fingers, either, Ohio justice writes in rejecting lawsuit

(Newser) - Consumers cannot expect boneless chicken wings to actually be free of bones, a divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday, rejecting claims by a restaurant patron who suffered serious medical complications when a bone stuck in his throat. Michael Berkheimer was dining with his wife and friends at a wing joint...

In Iowa, a Big Win for Opponents of Abortion

State Supreme Court upholds law banning abortion after fetal 'heartbeat' detected

(Newser) - In a 4-3 decision, Iowa's Supreme Court upheld a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy on Friday, meaning the law will replace current rules allowing abortions up to 22 weeks. Many women don't know they're pregnant at six weeks. After that point, women in Iowa...

Plaintiff 'Outraged' After Texas Supreme Court Abortion Ruling

State Supreme Court rejects challenge to law that would've forced clarification on medical exemptions

(Newser) - The Texas Supreme Court on Friday rejected a challenge to one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the US. The unanimous ruling from the court, whose nine justices are all elected Republicans, is the latest decision to uphold Texas' abortion ban, which critics say doesn't offer enough clarity...

Closely Watched Pennsylvania Supreme Court Race Goes to Dem

Daniel McCaffery beats Republican Carolyn Carluccio

(Newser) - Democrat Dan McCaffery won an open seat on Pennsylvania's Supreme Court in Tuesday's general election, preserving a strong Democratic majority on a panel that has produced several critical election-related rulings in the presidential battleground state, the AP reports. The seven-member bench, which will be made up five Democrats...

Another Setback for Teacher Fired Over Premarital Sex

Catholic school fell under religious exception to anti-discrimination law: NJ supreme court

(Newser) - New Jersey's Supreme Court has sided with a Catholic school that fired a pregnant teacher for having premarital sex. St. Theresa's in Kenilworth fired unmarried art teacher Victoria Crisitello in 2014, saying she'd violated an agreement to abide by Catholic law, which meant abstaining from premarital sex....

In North Carolina, GOP Scores Big Court Wins

Rulings may give Republicans an edge in next congressional elections

(Newser) - In massive victories for Republicans, the North Carolina Supreme Court on Friday threw out a previous ruling against gerrymandered voting maps and upheld a photo voter identification law that colleagues had struck down as racially biased. The rulings likely give the GOP-controlled legislature the ability to rework the state's...

Georgia's Abortion Ban, Found to Be Invalid, Is Back in Place

State Supreme Court reinstates ban days after lower court ruling found law to be invalid

(Newser) - The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated the state's ban on abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy, abruptly ending access to later abortions that had resumed days earlier . In a one-page order, the justices put a lower court ruling overturning the ban on hold while they consider an...

Court: Don't Count Mail Ballots Lacking Right Date on Envelope

Republicans win at Pennsylvania Supreme Court

(Newser) - In a victory for Republicans, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court told state election officials on Tuesday not to count mail-in ballots that don't have the correct date on the envelope. The ruling could make the difference in close races, potentially deciding control of Congress in next week's midterm elections,...

Court Lets Homicide Defendant Use Sex Trafficking Defense

Chrystul Kizer will have to provide evidence for the claim, Wisconsin decision says

(Newser) - A defendant will be allowed to argue in her trial defense that she killed a man because he sexually abused her for years, the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided Wednesday. The state's affirmative defense law was designed to safeguard sex trafficking victims from facing prosecution for "any offense committed...

Ohio Supreme Court Says Nope to GOP's District Map

Justices ruled that GOP-drawn congressional district blueprint was gerrymandered

(Newser) - The Ohio Supreme Court rejected a new map of state congressional districts Friday as gerrymandered, sending the blueprint back for another try. In the 4-3 decision, justices returned the map to the powerful Ohio Redistricting Commission, or its map-drawing counterparts in the Legislature, and said they must assure the next...

Murder Verdict Reversed in Justine Damond Case

Minnesota Supreme Court rules the charge against ex-cop didn't fit the circumstances

(Newser) - The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed the third-degree murder conviction of a former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an Australian woman in 2017, saying the charge doesn't fit the circumstances in this case. Mohamed Noor was convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of...

Cleared Man Battles Bill for 14-Month Jail Stay

Kentucky Supreme Court to decide on $4K tab

(Newser) - A Kentucky factory worker had spent 14 months in jail when he was able to make bail, a few months before the case against him was dropped. As often happens when someone checks out of accommodations, he was presented a bill by Clark County Detention Center: $4,008. That started...

Judge Banned After Telling Woman to 'Close Your Legs'

NJ Superior Court Judge John Russo can't preside over courtroom anymore

(Newser) - A judge who suggested that a woman seeking a restraining order could "close your legs" to prevent a sexual assault was removed from the bench Tuesday by the New Jersey Supreme Court and permanently barred from presiding over a courtroom. The unanimous decision cited "repeated and serious acts...

Governor Sues Her Own State's Lawmakers

Kansas Republicans revoked executive order limiting religious gatherings

(Newser) - Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is suing Republican lawmakers who overturned her executive order limiting church gatherings in the state. The Democratic governor signed the order Tuesday limiting services to no more than 10 people, but a GOP-controlled legislative council revoked it the following day, citing religious freedom. "The last...

Teens Face 55 Years for Killing They Didn't Commit

'Elkhart 4' case under review by Indiana supreme court

(Newser) - Blake Layman, 16, and some friends were smoking weed and complaining about their empty wallets in October 2012 when the group had the idea to break into a neighbor's house and steal some stuff to sell. When no one answered Rodney Scott's door five minutes later, they put...

Wisconsin Labor Law Gutting Collective Bargaining Upheld

Gov. Scott Walker's Act 10 legislation survived all challenges

(Newser) - Collective bargaining is not a constitutional right, but a matter of "legislative grace," the Wisconsin Supreme Court says. The court’s ruling today kills the last challenge to Gov. Scott Walker’s Act 10 labor law with a 5-2 vote. The legislation , held up in its entirety, bans...

Arkansas High Court Strikes Down Execution Law

Legislature, not corrections dept., must set death penalty rules: court

(Newser) - A split Arkansas Supreme Court says the state's execution law is unconstitutional. The state's constitution says that execution rules must be set by the legislature, but a 2009 law put matters in the hands of the Department of Corrections, the AP reports. Under that law, the director of...

Cops Investigating Prosser 'Chokehold'

Governor wants infighting to stop

(Newser) - Wisconsin cops have launched a full investigation into accusations that State supreme court justice David Prosser put a female justice in a "chokehold," reports Politico . Gov. Scott Walker says the infighting must stop in order to restore public confidence in the court. The sheriff says, “Beginning today,...

Wisconsin Justices Get Into Brawl

One alleges she was choked, but he says he was only defending himself

(Newser) - Things are getting heated in Wisconsin: State supreme court justice Ann Walsh Bradley yesterday accused another justice of putting his hands around her neck in a "chokehold," reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . The incident allegedly happed on June 13, when six of the state's seven supreme court...

19 Stories