Public Interest

Proposed lactation-room legislation should cover all courthouses, ABA president urges

ABA President Bob Carlson sent a letter to the congressional sponsors of the Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2019, expressing the association's support for the legislation–with a caveat.

Mar 29, 2019 3:40 PM CDT

Facebook ad algorithms made housing bias worse, HUD lawsuit says

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday it is suing Facebook for violating the Fair Housing Act by allowing advertisers to limit housing ads based on race, gender and other characteristics.

Mar 29, 2019 1:19 PM CDT

SCOTUS blocks execution of man denied Buddhist adviser; decision was different in Muslim case

On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the execution of a Texas inmate who wasn’t allowed to bring his Buddhist spiritual adviser into the execution chamber with him.

Mar 29, 2019 9:30 AM CDT

Under AG Barr, phone surveillance program began in ‘92 without legal review, IG finds

There is no evidence that the U.S. Department of Justice ever fully addressed legal questions surrounding the bulk collection of phone records in 1992 by the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to a report from the Office of the Inspector General released Thursday.

Mar 28, 2019 5:04 PM CDT

Congolese warlord convicted of war crimes with the help of ABA ROLI

Last month, after years of efforts, the warlord Marcel Habarugira Rangira, lieutenant colonel of the Congolese armed forces, was convicted of war crimes before a military tribunal in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mireille Kahatwa Amani was one of the chief attorneys from the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative who worked to convict him.

Mar 28, 2019 2:47 PM CDT

Neo-Nazi who plowed car into crowd in Charlottesville, killing paralegal, pleads guilty to hate crimes

The neo-Nazi who killed a paralegal after plowing his car into a crowd of racism protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, pleaded guilty to federal hate crimes Wednesday after Attorney General William Barr agreed to drop the only charge carrying the death penalty. James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, pleaded guilty…

Mar 28, 2019 9:30 AM CDT

Trump acts as private citizen when blocking Twitter followers, DOJ lawyer argues in appeal

A U.S. Justice Department lawyer argued Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s Twitter account is more like a private residence than a public forum where his followers are protected by the First Amendment.

Mar 27, 2019 1:24 PM CDT

Black legal aid lawyer says officer detained him after mistaking him for suspect in court

Corrected: A black lawyer with the Maryland Legal Aid said he has started carrying his business card with him after a sheriff’s deputy at the courthouse mistook him for a client and detained him. Attorney Rashad James said he has filed a complaint with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office over…

Mar 27, 2019 10:07 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: Partisan gerrymandering has returned to the Supreme Court

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in what could be the two most important cases of the term—both involving the question of whether federal courts can hear challenges to partisan gerrymandering and, if so, when the practice violates the Constitution.

Mar 27, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Federal judge rules for cheerleader kicked off squad over Snapchat F-word post

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled on behalf of a high school cheerleader who was kicked of the junior varsity squad for using the F-word—multiple times—in a Snapchat post after a tryout disappointment. U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo ruled that the Mahanoy Area School District violated the student’s…

Mar 26, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

Mueller’s report is in; what happens now?

Updated: Special counsel Robert Mueller submitted his report to Attorney General William Barr on Friday afternoon. But how much will become public?

Mar 22, 2019 4:50 PM CDT

At a loss for translators, immigration courts dial up unreliable interpreter services

Migrants often speak languages that are little known in the U.S. (except maybe in New York City): k-iche from Central America, urdu from Pakistan, Creole from Haiti. American immigration judges have a hard time finding enough interpreters to show up in courtrooms.

Mar 22, 2019 12:51 PM CDT

Unvaccinated teen’s suit claims classroom ban violates his religious rights

An unvaccinated Kentucky teen barred from playing in a basketball playoff during a chickenpox outbreak and then banned from the classroom has filed a suit claiming a violation of his religious rights. The 18-year-old Catholic high school senior, Jerome Kunkel, claims a First Amendment violation in a suit filed with…

Mar 21, 2019 7:30 AM CDT

Justice Thomas breaks 3-year silence in oral arguments

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas surprised courtroom observers when he asked a question during oral arguments Wednesday in a case alleging repeated prosecutor bias in jury selection. Thomas asked about the race of jurors eliminated by the defense, report the Washington Post, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters…

Mar 20, 2019 3:03 PM CDT

Are unanimous juries required in state criminal cases? SCOTUS will consider overruling precedent

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether to overrule a 1972 case that allowed nonunanimous verdicts in state criminal trials. The court agreed to decide whether the Sixth Amendment requires unanimity in the case of Louisiana inmate Evangelisto Ramos, who was sentenced to life in prison after…

Mar 18, 2019 3:00 PM CDT