SCOTUS rules against Muslims who sued over FBI spying, holds state secrets privilege applies

A federal law that allows a remedy for those illegally subjected to electronic surveillance does not displace the common-law state secrets privilege, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday.

Mar 4, 2022 12:10 PM CST

Sotomayor and Gorsuch dissent in SCOTUS decision blocking information about secret CIA jail

Mar 3, 2022 1:28 PM CST

Assistant city attorney who backed Putin on TV is fired, partly for ‘poor fit’

An assistant city attorney in Milwaukee was fired Monday after supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Russian-controlled Russia Today TV.

Mar 2, 2022 9:20 AM CST

Do we need to rethink how we handle classified leaks?

As the 50th anniversary of the Pentagon Papers case approached, First Amendment scholars Lee Bollinger and Geoffrey Stone knew they wanted to mark the occasion somehow.

Jul 7, 2021 9:00 AM CDT

ABA files amicus brief in Guantanamo detainee’s case

A Yemeni citizen who allegedly maintained contact with several affiliates of Al Qaeda and two associated terrorist organizations until he was brought to Guantanamo Bay in 2004 is entitled to due process in the hearing challenging his detention, the ABA told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday.

Jul 6, 2021 12:00 PM CDT

US lawyer in Hong Kong is convicted for trying to stop beating by man who turned out to be cop

An American corporate lawyer in Hong Kong is planning to appeal after his assault conviction last week for intervening when a man attacked a commuter.

Jun 28, 2021 9:22 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Senate confirms Biden appellate judge; how SCOTUS justices supplemented their 2020 income

Senate confirms Biden’s first appellate judge On Monday, the U.S. Senate confirmed U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Jackson is President Joe Biden’s first affirmed appellate judge and will replace Merrick Garland, who is now the U.S. attorney…

Jun 15, 2021 3:41 PM CDT

SCOTUS will hear case involving FBI surveillance of Muslim community and state secrets privilege

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider the government’s ability to invoke the state secrets privilege to defeat a lawsuit accusing the FBI of illegally spying on the Muslim community.

Jun 7, 2021 12:06 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: ABA president comments on Law Day rule-of-law theme; virtual grand juries upheld

ABA president notes significance of Law Day theme ABA President Patricia Lee Refo said this year’s Law Day theme—“Advancing the Rule of Law Now”—is particularly significant considering last year’s events. “The rule of law means no one is above the law, and no one is beneath it,” she said in…

Apr 30, 2021 3:00 PM CDT

Detainee’s quest for information on secret CIA interrogation site will get Supreme Court review

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether the state-secrets privilege protects information about a secret CIA jail in Poland in a lawsuit by a suspected terrorist.

Apr 26, 2021 3:10 PM CDT

Sotomayor and Gorsuch warn that misinformation and intolerance can threaten democracy

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil M. Gorsuch warned of threats to U.S. democracy during a prerecorded Zoom event released Wednesday to promote civics information.

Apr 15, 2021 9:43 AM CDT

Trump impeachment brief cites First Amendment, says call to fight referred to quest for election security

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers maintain that he was exercising his First Amendment rights, rather than inciting a riot, when he spoke to a crowd before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Feb 2, 2021 2:35 PM CST

ABA president condemns mob assault on Capitol as Rep. Gohmert asks SCOTUS to stop Pence

ABA President Patricia Lee Refo issued a statement Wednesday condemning “in the strongest terms” the assault on the U.S. Capitol by protesters supporting President Donald Trump.

Jan 6, 2021 3:36 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: 2 death-row inmates test positive for COVID-19; US attorney in Missouri will resign

2 federal inmates test positive for COVID-19 ahead of January executions Cory Johnson and Dustin John Higgs, two federal prisoners who are scheduled to be executed on Jan. 14 and Jan. 15, respectively, have tested positive for COVID-19. In their announcement Friday, Johnson’s lawyers asked federal authorities to strike their…

Dec 18, 2020 4:10 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Trump pardons Michael Flynn; lawyer suspended for cyberattack knowledge

Trump pardons former national security adviser Flynn President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he has pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the Russia probe and then sought to withdraw the plea. The Department of Justice moved to drop the case,…

Nov 25, 2020 4:00 PM CST