Supreme Court

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Executions Drop to 13-Year Low
Executions Drop to 13-Year Low
Dec 19, 2007 12:14 PM CST

Executions Drop to 13-Year Low

42 people put to death in '07; further decline could follow Court ruling

(Newser) - With the Supreme Court set to hear arguments Jan. 7 about lethal-injection procedures, figures show that US states executed just 42 people this year, a 13-year low. The case before the court has prompted states using lethal injection to execute inmates to stay pending executions; on Monday, New Jersey became...

Texas Couple Fights to Save Their Orgies

Swingers sue after suburb in Dallas shuts down sexy get-togethers

(Newser) - Swingers Jim Trulock and Julie Norris think they should be allowed to have sex in the privacy of their own home—with 100 of their closest friends. Unfortunately, the Dallas suburb they live in disagrees, Newsweek reports. Trulock and Norris have twice been charged with running a sex club after...

Inmates Can Seek Early Release in Crack Cases

Panel applies new guidelines retroactively

(Newser) - Nearly 20,000 inmates now in jail on crack cocaine offenses can seek to have their sentences reduced, a federal sentencing panel ruled today. The panel decided to apply retroactively more lenient sentencing guidelines for crack convictions that went into effect last month. The move will have the "most...

Recent Cases Showcase New Judicial Leeway

Black, Vick decisions illustrate turn from sentencing guidelines

(Newser) - More federal judges are giving themselves wiggle room when it comes to once-strict sentencing guidelines, as evidenced by three recent high-profile court cases. The three—involving Conrad Black, Michael Vick, and a crack cocaine case that made it to the Supreme Court—illustrate how a spate of high-court rulings have...

Supremes: Judges Can Shorten Crack Sentences

Court sides with judicial discretion

(Newser) - The Supreme Court ruled today that federal judges can use discretion to order shorter prison sentences in crack cocaine crimes, to lessen a disparity with sentencing for powdered cocaine. It was a win for civil rights advocates, who have long argued that sentencing guidelines call for longer terms in crimes...

India Allows Female Workers Behind Bar

Court lifts 93-year-old ban on women serving alcohol

(Newser) - Women in India who want to work as bartenders are popping corks after the country's supreme court this week overturned a law banning women from serving alcohol. The decision was a major victory for both gender equity and the Institute of Bar Operations and Management, which has already reported rising...

Philly Boots Scouts Over Gays
Philly Boots Scouts Over Gays
Dec 6, 2007 2:25 PM CST

Philly Boots Scouts Over Gays

City won't give anti-homosexual group $1 lease on city property

(Newser) - Philadelphia will evict the Boy Scouts from a municipal building known as the group’s birthplace, citing its exclusion of gay members, the New York Times reports. The city requires renters to put nondiscriminatory language into leases; the BSA has fought the stipulation at the building where it's held the...

Supreme Court Weighs Third Gitmo Case

Watershed verdict on detainees rights will help define Bush legacy

(Newser) - The White House is in the hot seat today as the Supreme Court begins hearing arguments on the rights of Guantanamo Bay inmates to judicial review. Detainee cases were also considered by the court in 2004 and 2006—both rulings went against the administration—but the decision in this case,...

Supreme Court Gets First-Ever Wall Calendar

Birthdays, key decisions won't go begging for legal eagles in '08

(Newser) - The Supreme Court may not come knocking at your door over the holidays, but the stars of the judicial branch have their very own calendar for sale, the Washingtonian reports. Legal Times court reporter Tony Mauro is to thank for the effort, which will help ensure that law junkies and...

Supreme Court Will Hear Landmark Gun Case

Hearing will be first on the topic in 68 years

(Newser) - The Supreme Court agreed today to hear its first case on the meaning of the Second Amendment in 68 years. At question is the scope of the “right to bear arms”: A circuit court ruled last year that it applied to individuals' guns, but the city of Washington argued...

Supreme Court Stops Another Execution

Justices halt lethal injection in Florida to review constitutionality

(Newser) - The Supreme Court today halted the execution of Florida man convicted of killing a child in 1991—another sign the court wants executions halted as it considers the constitutionality of lethal injection. Mark Dean Schwab was scheduled to die at 6 p.m., but he will now wait until the...

Musharraf Says Edict Protects Elections

General reiterates refusal to lift emergency, jibes back at Bhutto

(Newser) - Pervez Musharraf defended his 10-day-old emergency rule today, rejecting the US demand to lift it quickly and saying the edict is meant to protect elections. In a Times interview, Pakistan’s president said, “I don’t know, I don’t know” when asked the duration of the suspension of...

Ex-Ill. Governor Must Report to Federal Prison

Justice Stevens denies Ryan's last-ditch bid to remain free on bail

(Newser) - George Ryan will report to prison tomorrow after Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens today refused the ex-Illinois governor's request to stay free on bail while fighting a corruption conviction. Ryan, 73, will begin serving his 6½-year sentence in a Wisconsin prison, the Chicago Tribune reports. He was convicted...

Bush May Shut Gitmo, Give Detainees Rights

Move designed to undercut US Supreme Court case, analysts say

(Newser) - Plans are quietly circulating to grant Gitmo prisoners more rights, the New York Times reports, and perhaps shut the prison down. Unnamed officials say one scheme has Washington sending a third of prisoners home, and bringing the rest to the US, some to face trials with federal judges and lawyers....

Judge Draws Ire for Shelving Capital Trial

Six other states can't fund them; issue may be bigger than injection

(Newser) - Judge Hilton Fuller has drawn ire for shelving a Georgia death penalty case, but other states are hitting the same snag: low funds for capital court costs, the New York Times reports. Georgia can’t afford the $1.2 million to defend Brian Nichols, charged with killing four in a...

Justices Stay Execution, Signaling Moratorium

Lower courts will defer until 2008 review

(Newser) - The Supreme Court delivered an eleventh-hour stay for a prisoner slated to die by lethal injection last night, giving what the New York Times calls a "nearly indisputable indication" that a majority of justices are willing to block all executions until they rule on a death penalty case next...

Court Blocks Another Execution
Court Blocks Another Execution
Oct 30, 2007 10:38 PM CDT

Court Blocks Another Execution

Supreme Court decision may halt all lethal injections for months

(Newser) - The Supreme Court tonight stayed the execution of a Mississippi murderer just before he was scheduled to die by lethal injection, a decision that will likely bring a temporary halt to such executions nationwide, the New York Times reports. The fate of this prisoner and others won't be decided until...

Supremes Will Rule on Exxon Valdez Appeal

Record damage award in 1989 disaster washes up in Washington

(Newser) - The Supreme Court will end more than a decade of legal battles over the Exxon Valdez oil spill and review a ruling that awarded a record $2.5 billion in punitive damages in the case. Exxon is hoping the court will throw out or reduce the amount awarded in the...

A Death Penalty Moratorium?
A Death Penalty Moratorium?
Oct 19, 2007 9:19 PM CDT

A Death Penalty Moratorium?

Not so fast: the Supreme Court is sending mixed messages

(Newser) - Is there a stay on all US executions? The Supreme Court has recently granted 2 and refused to nix a third, as more inmates challenge lethal injection. “The states are getting the message,” says one expert, while another mentions “moratorium mojo” on his blog. But critics warn...

Supreme Court Halts Another Lethal Injection

Stay of execution for Virginia man could signal moratorium

(Newser) - The Supreme Court issued a stay of execution yesterday for Christopher Scott Emmett, four hours before the Virginia inmate was scheduled to die. Observers say the move signals a de facto moratorium on executions, as the court considers the legality of lethal injection. One expert called it “the most...

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