Supreme Court Watch
Court Watch
Supreme Court Surprise: Abortion On Fall Agenda
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court has repeatedly passed up chances to step into disputes over abortion rights. So it was a surprise Monday when the justices put an abortion case involving New Hampshire's parental notification law on the agenda for next term. The case may go before a court that does not include Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, the only remaining member of the 1973 court that decided Roe v. Wade.
Weighty issues await the Supreme Court
WASHINGTON -- Highly anticipated decisions on medical marijuana, Ten Commandments displays and Internet sharing of movies and music are still to come in the final weeks of the Supreme Court term. And then there's perhaps the biggest story of all — whether the court gets its first opening in a decade. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, 80, has been the focus of retirement speculation since he announced in October that he had thyroid cancer.
Court Turns Aside Mexican's Appeal of Death Sentence In Dispute Involving Foreigners' Rights
The Supreme Court on Monday turned aside an appeal by a Mexican citizen on death row in Texas who contended he and 50 other Mexicans should have their death sentences overturned because they were improperly denied legal help from their consulates in violation of international law.
Twice convicted killer executed in Missouri after split vote by U.S. Supreme Court
BONNE TERRE, Mo. -- A twice-convicted murderer who strangled a 9-year-old girl in St. Louis in 1986 was executed early Wednesday after a split vote by the U.S. Supreme Court. Vernon Brown, 51, was pronounced dead at 2:25 a.m. at the Eastern Reception Diagnostic and Correctional Center, nearly 2 1/2 hours after his execution was scheduled. The execution was delayed when U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued a temporary stay shortly after midnight. But on a 5-4 vote, the court later lifted that stay and denied the stay.
Court Won't Revive Race Riot Lawsuit
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to revive a lawsuit filed by hundreds of people affected by a 1921 race riot that reduced the city's then-thriving black community of Greenwood to ashes. The refusal, which came without comment, left intact the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that it was too late for victims and their descendants to sue the city and the state of Oklahoma.
Court: Ban On Out-Of-State Wine Shipments Unconstitutional
WASHINGTON -- Wine lovers can't be barred from shipping home bottles purchased from out-of-state vineyards they visit in person or on the Internet, the Supreme Court said Monday in a decision toasted by the wine industry. The 5-4 ruling struck down laws in New York and Michigan as discriminatory because they allow in-state wineries, but not out-of-state businesses, to ship directly to consumers. It means that as many as 24 states that currently bar out-of-state shipments will have to revise their laws so wineries are treated equally.
Court urged to protect reporters from jail time in CIA leak case
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court has been asked to throw out contempt orders against two journalists who refused to reveal sources in the leak of an undercover CIA officer's identity. Lawyers for Time magazine's Matthew Cooper and The New York Times' Judith Miller want the justices to clarify protections reporters have in keeping sources confidential. The Supreme Court will decide next fall whether to consider the cases.
Posted by Editor at May 24, 2005 12:43 AM
