Recent Updates
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Black robes or bathrobes? Virus alters high court traditions
U.S. Court News 05/01/2020The coronavirus pandemic is forcing big changes at the tradition-bound Supreme Court. The justices will hear arguments this month by telephone for the first time since Alexander Graham Bell patented his invention in 1876.Audio of the arguments will b...
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Blind justice: No visual cues in high court phone cases
Legal Events 04/23/2020On the evening before he was to argue a case before the Supreme Court years ago, Jeffrey Fisher broke his glasses. That left the very nearsighted lawyer with an unappealing choice. He could wear contacts and clearly see the justices but not his notes...
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Court issues temporary restraining order on Gov. Kelly's order
Law Reviews 04/19/2020A federal judge issued a limited temporary restraining order on Governor Kelly's order banning religious gatherings of ten or more people. The ruling was made by Judge John W. Broomes Saturday evening.Kelly responded, saying, "This is not about relig...
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Hawaii Judiciary postpones state court trials amid pandemic
Legal Compliance 04/16/2020Hawaii Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald has announced an order to postpone all state court trials amid the coronavirus pandemic, the state Judiciary said.The order states all state trials in civil, criminal and family courts be postponed until May 29 o...
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Texas clinics ask Supreme Court to abortions during pandemic
Legal Events 04/12/2020Abortion clinics in Texas on Saturday asked the Supreme Court to step in to allow certain abortions to continue during the coronavirus pandemic.The clinics filed an emergency motion asking the justices to overturn a lower-court order and allow aborti...
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Kansas' high court rules for governor on religious services
Legal Compliance 04/12/2020The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Saturday that a Republican-dominated legislative panel exceeded its authority when it tried to overturn the Democratic governor’s executive order banning religious and funeral services of more than 10 people durin...
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Court lifts part of order blocking Texas abortion ban
Legal Issues 04/10/2020A federal appeals court on Friday partially rescinded a lower-court order that had largely blocked the enforcement of an abortion ban in Texas during the coronavirus pandemic.By a 2-1 vote, the three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appea...
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Court denies Seattle’s bid for wealthy household income tax
Ethics 04/02/2020Washington’s Supreme Court has denied Seattle’s bid to reinstate an income tax on wealthy households.In a majority decision, the Supreme Court on Thursday declined to review the city’s request to overturn rulings against the tax by ...
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Wisconsin’s pandemic election puts focus on state’s court
Ethics 04/02/2020Anyone needing proof of the power and significance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court can look no further than the lines of mask-wearing voters that stretched for hours in Milwaukee during an election held despite a stay-at-home order because of the coro...
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Neville keeps seat in crowded primary for Supreme Court
Legal Compliance 03/19/2020Illinois Supreme Court Justice P. Scott Neville Jr. has won the primary election to keep his seat on the state’s highest court, emerging from a field of a six other Democrats. No Republicans ran, making him the presumed winner in November for t...
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Georgia high court election cancellation headed for appeal
Law Journals 03/17/2020A would-be candidate for a seat on Georgia's highest court on Wednesday asked the state's lower appeals court to step in after a judge this week said the governor had the right to fill the position even though a judge who's resigning won't leave unti...
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Australian highest court to rule on Cardinal’s appeal later
Legal Issues 03/15/2020Australia’s highest court on Thursday said it will deliver a verdict at a later date on whether to overturn the convictions of the most senior Catholic to be found guilty of child sex abuse.Cardinal George Pell’s lawyer, Bret Walker, told...