Recent Updates

  • British lawyer Karim Khan sworn in as ICC’s chief prosecutor

    British lawyer Karim Khan sworn in as ICC’s chief prosecutor

    U.S. Court Watch 06/16/2021

    British lawyer Karim Khan was sworn in Wednesday as the new chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, pledging to reach out to nations that are not members of the court in his quest to end impunity for atrocities and to try to hold trial...

  • Justices consider Harvard case on race in college admissions

    Justices consider Harvard case on race in college admissions

    U.S. Court Watch 06/14/2021

    With abortion and guns already on the agenda, the conservative-dominated Supreme Court is considering adding a third blockbuster issue — whether to ban consideration of race in college admissions. The justices could say as soon as Monday whethe...

  • Court nixes South Carolina’s lifelong sex offender registry

    Court nixes South Carolina’s lifelong sex offender registry

    U.S. Court Watch 06/09/2021

    South Carolina’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a state law requiring sex offenders to register for life, without prior judicial review, is unconstitutional. In a unanimous ruling, justices wrote that “requirement that sex offender...

  • Supreme Court ruling gives immigrant facing deportation hope

    Supreme Court ruling gives immigrant facing deportation hope

    U.S. Court Watch 06/01/2021

    A Guatemalan man who lived in a Massachusetts church for more than three years to avoid deportation said Tuesday he’s hopeful a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision boosts his efforts to remain in the country. Lucio Perez’s lawyer, Glenn Fo...

  • Planned Parenthood sues to block South Carolina abortion ban

    Planned Parenthood sues to block South Carolina abortion ban

    U.S. Court Watch 02/18/2021

    Planned Parenthood was filing a lawsuit Thursday against a bill that would ban most abortions in South Carolina, effectively stopping the measure from going into effect even as the governor was scheduled to sign it into law at a public statehouse cer...

  • Court weighs challenge to Colorado discrimination law

    Court weighs challenge to Colorado discrimination law

    U.S. Court Watch 11/17/2020

    A Colorado web designer should not have to create wedding websites for same-sex couples under the state's anti-discrimination law because it would amount to forced speech that violates her religious beliefs, a lawyer told an appeals court Monday.Kris...

  • New Mexico high court rules on privacy for banking records

    New Mexico high court rules on privacy for banking records

    U.S. Court Watch 06/20/2020

    Prosecutors can obtain a person’s banking records using a warrantless grand jury subpoena without violating the individual’s right to privacy under New Mexico’s Constitution, the state Supreme Court has ruled.In a unanimous decision...

  • UConn student fugitive in court on murder charge, police say

    UConn student fugitive in court on murder charge, police say

    U.S. Court Watch 06/12/2020

    A University of Connecticut student, who police say used a machete to kill a man, fatally shot a high school acquaintance, and then spent six days as a fugitive,  will be arraigned Friday on murder and other charges, authorities said.Peter Manfr...

  • Supreme Court upholds Puerto Rico financial oversight board

    Supreme Court upholds Puerto Rico financial oversight board

    U.S. Court Watch 06/01/2020

    The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the oversight board established by Congress to help Puerto Rico out of a devastating financial crisis that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak, recent earthquakes and damage from Hurricane Maria in 2017...

  • Lesotho's PM fails to show in court to face murder charge

    Lesotho's PM fails to show in court to face murder charge

    U.S. Court Watch 02/17/2020

    Lesotho’s prime minister failed to show up in court on Friday to be charged with murder in the killing of his estranged wife, and police said he might have gone to neighboring South Africa for an undisclosed ailment.Prime Minister Thomas Thaban...

  • US court dismisses suit by youths over climate change

    US court dismisses suit by youths over climate change

    U.S. Court Watch 01/17/2020

    A federal appeals court on Friday dismissed a lawsuit by 21 young people who claimed the U.S. government’s climate policies and reliance on fossil fuels harms them, jeopardizes their future and violates their constitutional rights, potentially ...

  • Lawyers: Immigration court system is ‘red tape gone crazy’

    Lawyers: Immigration court system is ‘red tape gone crazy’

    U.S. Court Watch 01/15/2020

    Tucked in a windowless room of Chicago’s immigration court, one of the nation’s largest legal advocacy groups for immigrants runs a free help desk. Their pace is dizzying. Most days, there’s a line outside the door, with some cases ...