Recent Updates
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Human rights group accuses Guatemalan courts of delays
Politics 11/20/2017An international human rights group says Guatemalan courts are foot- dragging on high-profile cases and threatening the work of the country's prosecutors and a U.N. anti-corruption commission.Human Rights Watch analyzed eight major cases that have bo...
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Steve Mostyn, Houston attorney and major Dem donor, dies
Politics 11/20/2017Steve Mostyn, a prominent Houston trial attorney and a top Democratic Party donor, has died. He was 46.In a statement, his family confirmed Thursday his death on Wednesday "after a sudden onset and battle with a mental health issue.""Steve was a belo...
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Challenge filed in court to Australian gay marriage ballot
Politics 08/17/2017Gay-rights advocates filed a court challenge Thursday to the government's unusual plan to canvass Australians' opinion on gay marriage next month, while a retired judge said he would boycott the survey as unacceptable.The mail ballot is not binding, ...
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Mental health court established for offenders on probation
Politics 08/17/2017A specialized court has been established in Pinal County to give defendants with mental problems an alternative path and keep them out of the criminal justice system.Presiding Judge Stephen McCarville signed an administrative order last month calling...
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Court likely to question if Trump's travel ban discriminates
Politics 05/17/2017For the second time in a week, government lawyers will try to persuade a federal appeals court to reinstate President Donald Trump's revised travel ban — and once again, they can expect plenty of questions Monday about whether it was designed to disc...
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Conservatives fault Arkansas court for halting executions
Politics 04/23/2017Arkansas' attempt to carry out its first execution in nearly 12 years wasn't thwarted by the type of liberal activist judge Republicans regularly bemoan here, but instead by a state Supreme Court that's been the focus of expensive campaigns by conser...
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Political fights over Supreme Court seats nothing new
Politics 04/03/2017Wondering when Supreme Court nominations became so politically contentious? Only about 222 years ago — when the Senate voted down George Washington's choice for chief justice. "We are in an era of extreme partisan energy right now. In such a moment, ...
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Court: Florida Docs Allowed to Ask Patients About Guns
Politics 02/24/2017A federal appeals court has cleared the way for Florida doctors to talk with patients about whether they own guns.The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that key provisions of a 2011 law that restricted such speech violate the First Am...
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Court appeals temporarily delay Texas execution
Politics 01/30/2017Texas prison officials temporarily delayed the scheduled Thursday night execution of a man convicted of a fatal robbery at a Dallas-area sandwich shop while the U.S. Supreme Court considered multiple appeals to keep him from lethal injection.Terry Ed...
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ICC prosecutor: African states leaving court is 'regression'
Politics 12/08/2016The International Criminal Court's prosecutor said Tuesday that it is a "regression" for African nations — including her home country of Gambia — to quit the court and said the continent should work with her office to end impunity for atrocities.Spea...
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ICC prosecutors: US forces may have committed war crimes
Politics 11/23/2016U.S. troops and CIA agents could face investigation and possible charges by the International Criminal Court after its chief prosecutor said in a report that they may have committed war crimes by torturing detainees in Afghanistan."Members of US arme...
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Appeals court orders judge to expunge woman's convictions
Politics 09/21/2016A state appeals court has overruled a western Indiana judge and ordered him to expunge a woman's convictions despite his disgust for her crimes.The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 last week that Jay Circuit Judge Brian Hutchison must expunge the c...