Fourteenth Amendment

Afternoon Briefs: Female topless ban upheld; is requiring stamp on mail-in ballot a poll tax?

Judge upholds beach town’s female topless ban U.S. District Judge James Bredar has upheld a ban in Ocean City, Maryland, on women exposing their breasts in public. Bredar, an appointee of President Barack Obama, found no equal-protection violation. “Whether or not society should differentiate between male and female breasts is…

Apr 9, 2020 4:48 PM CDT

Closure orders spark lawsuits from NRA, anti-abortion protesters and others

Across the nation, business owners, the National Rifle Association, would-be churchgoers and anti-abortion protesters are among the plaintiffs suing over state shutdown orders.

Apr 6, 2020 2:12 PM CDT

As exposed health care workers seek legal remedies, who’s liable for lack of personal protective equipment?

Doctors and nurses across the country are asking about legal remedies they may have because of exposure to COVID-19 and a lack of personal protective equipment, or PPE. Invariably, their main concern is the dangers to which they’re being exposed.

Apr 2, 2020 11:35 AM CDT

SCOTUS rules states have immunity from copyright suits in case involving Blackbeard’s ship

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that states have sovereign immunity from lawsuits alleging copyright infringement. Congress did not have the authority to eliminate that immunity when it passed the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act, the court ruled in a decision by Justice Elena Kagan. The Supreme Court had previously ruled…

Mar 23, 2020 5:00 PM CDT

Lawsuits over coronavirus quarantines are unlikely to succeed, experts say

Lawsuits challenging COVID-19 quarantines and restrictions on public gatherings may be doomed to failure. Experts said the government has broad powers to handle a public health crisis.

Mar 18, 2020 4:36 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: LGBTQ students sue for sex ed equality; judge’s law license is suspended 5 times

South Carolina LGBTQ students fight for equality in sexual education Eli Bundy, a 15-year-old sophomore at Charleston County School of the Arts in South Carolina, is the leader of the school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance, one of three groups suing the state’s superintendent of education in an effort to repeal…

Mar 2, 2020 4:16 PM CST

Ex-felons in Florida who can’t afford fees and fines are entitled to vote, 11th Circuit says

Ex-felons in Florida who can’t afford to pay outstanding fees and fines are entitled to vote under a state constitutional amendment restoring voting rights, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Feb 19, 2020 12:32 PM CST

Justice Ginsburg calls for renewed effort to pass Equal Rights Amendment

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg celebrated Monday evening the centennial of the 19th Amendment that gives women the right to vote as a “miracle” and a “first step towards equal citizenship stature for women.” But she still holds out hope for another goal of the suffragist movement—the adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Feb 11, 2020 10:43 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard sues over Hillary Clinton gripe; court order doesn’t stop deportation

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard sues Hillary Clinton for ‘Russian asset’ comment about unnamed candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidate, has filed a defamation suit against Hillary Clinton for her podcast comments about “somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary” being groomed to be a third-party candidate.…

Jan 23, 2020 4:36 PM CST

Over 200 federal lawmakers urge SCOTUS to reconsider Roe; DOJ takes narrower stance

More than 200 members of Congress filed an amicus brief Thursday that encouraged the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider and possibly overrule Roe v. Wade when it decides a case on a restrictive Louisiana abortion law.

Jan 6, 2020 3:27 PM CST

Sotomayor voices concerns in case stemming from court staffer’s suicide note about pro se appeals

A court staffer’s suicide note and the response by an appeals court in Louisiana led U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to raise due process concerns in a statement Monday regarding cert denial in a prisoner’s case.

Dec 9, 2019 12:42 PM CST

Woman claims lewdness law is unconstitutional after she’s charged for appearing topless in front of stepkids

Lawyers are asking a judge to overturn Utah’s lewdness law and to toss charges against a Utah woman who appeared topless in front of her stepchildren.

Nov 22, 2019 11:30 AM CST

Class action says Mississippi’s DA’s office has a pattern of wrongfully excluding black jurors

A federal lawsuit filed on Monday claims a Mississippi district attorney and his prosecutors are wrongfully using peremptory challenges to exclude potential black jurors more frequently than whites.

Nov 20, 2019 2:13 PM CST

Judge rules woman who joined ISIS is not US citizen based on birthright citizenship exception

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled from the bench Thursday that an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State group and traveled to Syria is not a U.S. citizen because of an exception to the Constitution’s grant of birthright citizenship.

Nov 15, 2019 11:31 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: FBI probes slaying of US lawyer overseas; liberal group’s SCOTUS short list released

FBI to aid probe into slaying of US lawyer in Micronesia The FBI is aiding the investigation into the Monday shooting death of U.S. lawyer Rachelle Bergeron, who was acting attorney general of Yap State in the Pacific nation of Micronesia. A friend, Amos Collins, said he doesn’t know who…

Oct 16, 2019 4:11 PM CDT