Constitutional Law

Faulty Eyewitness IDs, Flawed Procedures Helped Convict the Innocent

Faulty eyewitness identifications, often encouraged by flawed police procedures, were the reason why 18 of 19 men cleared by DNA evidence since 2001 were initially convicted in Dallas County, Texas, of crimes that they didn’t commit. Although the county has led the nation in the number of defendants exonerated by…

Oct 13, 2008 5:14 PM CDT

Okla. Law Requiring Ultrasound Before Abortion is Challenged

A suit has been filed challenging an Oklahoma law that bars physicians from performing abortions unless they first conduct an ultrasound and describe the fetus. Oklahoma is the fourth state mandating ultrasounds but the only state requiring the doctor to turn the ultrasound screen toward the patient and to describe…

Oct 13, 2008 12:01 PM CDT

Big Brother’s View Expands in UK

George Orwell was right, at least as far as residents in metropolitan areas of the United Kingdom are concerned: Big Brother is watching. Surveillance cameras are seeking not only to spot terrorists but to see whether dog-walkers are properly picking up after their pets, reports Bloomberg. A London Times article…

Oct 10, 2008 6:26 PM CDT

Conn. Supreme Court Finds Gays Have a Constitutional Right to Marry

Connecticut has become the third state to allow gay marriages with a state supreme court ruling today finding a right to marry. The 4-3 decision (PDF) was based on equal protection provisions of the state constitution, report the Associated Press and the Boston Globe. The majority found that the state’s…

Oct 10, 2008 4:31 PM CDT

Top Alaska Court Allows Sarah Palin Probe to Proceed; Report Expected Tomorrow

The Alaska Supreme Court refused today to call a halt to the “Troopergate” ethics investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president. That sets the stage for the state legislature to release tomorrow, as planned, its investigative report about whether Palin abused her power as governor by…

Oct 10, 2008 12:40 AM CDT

U of Utah Gets $2.5M US Grant to Promote Independent Iraq Judiciary

The law school at the University of Utah has been awarded a $2.5 million one-year grant from the U.S. State Department to help forge an independent judiciary in Iraq, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. “We can’t reform the Iraqi system, but we can inform the reformers of the system. We’re…

Oct 9, 2008 11:54 PM CDT

Lawsuits, Disciplinary Complaints Over Indiana Defendant’s Delayed Release

An Indiana judge is facing potential discipline after court commissioner under his supervision delayed the release of a convicted rapist apparently cleared by DNA evidence. Although former Master Commissioner Nancy Broyles held a hearing in March 2005 to consider DNA evidence in the case of Harold David Buntin, it wasn’t…

Oct 9, 2008 5:31 PM CDT

Sharpton, 7 Others, Convicted in Protest of NYPD Sean Bell Shooting

New York police officers who fired 50 shots at an unarmed African-American man leaving his bachelor party in 2006 weren’t convicted of any crime, although the gunshots killed Sean Bell. But eight individuals, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, were, after protesting three detectives’ acquittal in the Sean Bell case earlier…

Oct 9, 2008 4:49 PM CDT

Whales Plaintiffs May Face Long Odds in High Court, Prof Says

A Georgetown law professor says environmental plaintiffs have not fared well in the U.S. Supreme Court when citing the National Environmental Policy Act, and plaintiffs who claim Navy sonar harms whales may be no different. The professor, Lisa Heinzerling, told the New York Times that plaintiffs have lost all 15…

Oct 9, 2008 4:01 PM CDT

Group Accuses Three Law Schools of Bias Against Whites

A group that opposes affirmative action is claiming that three law schools discriminate against whites. The law schools named are the University of Nebraska, the University of Arizona and Arizona State, TaxProf Blog reports, citing reports in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The latest report by the Center for Equal…

Oct 9, 2008 3:24 PM CDT

Appeals Court Blocks Release of 17 Guantanamo Detainees

A federal appeals court has blocked a judge’s order requiring the release of 17 Chinese Muslims at Guantanamo into the United States. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a temporary stay yesterday, according to the New York Times and Washington Post. The Justice Department had opposed…

Oct 9, 2008 10:40 AM CDT

Judge Axes Evidence in Sen. Stevens Case, Due to Prosecutor Errors

The judge in the corruption case against Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, has eliminated some evidence due to Brady violations. Because prosecutors didn’t turn over exculpatory evidence to the defense, as required, two sets of evidence will be excluded. They are: business records related to potential testimony by a construction foreman…

Oct 9, 2008 12:11 AM CDT

Does Kentucky Have Power to Regulate Internet Gambling?

A court order that requires domain names for 141 websites that offer online gambling to be turned over to government officials should be reversed, counsel for the defendants and trade associations argued yesterday in an unusual Kentucky case. The domain names have been treated by the court as though they’re…

Oct 8, 2008 11:20 PM CDT

‘Raging Drug War’ in Mexico Worsens

A “raging drug war” between Mexican authorities and traffickers has resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 people there so far this year, as violent gangs seek to intimidate with brutal killings of both government officials and competitors who block their illegal trade. The recent murder, by hooded assassins,…

Oct 8, 2008 6:47 PM CDT

Supreme Court Hears Whales Case Today

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in a case that pits the preservation of whales against the president’s powers in wartime. The administration contends the president has the power to override environmental laws cited by a federal appeals court in a ruling requiring the Navy to limit its…

Oct 8, 2008 3:46 PM CDT