The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated an assault conviction despite evidence that jurors lied about racial bias in the case against an American Indian. The 10th Circuit, representing of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Kansas, and Oklahoma, focused on the sanctity of the jury deliberation process even when a juror stepped forward to accuse others on the panel of racial bias against American Indians.
James Ross, 71, is dying from a rare form of cancer caused by inhaling asbestos. Mandatory autopsies have been a standard requirement of asbestos settlements dating to a 1984 Washington state court rule. The rule does allow exceptions for "religious or ethical considerations,'' but Mr. Ross objects to the procedure on personal moral grounds.
After seven years of litigation, and a U.S. Supreme Court victory for the school district, the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case has been settled for payment of $45,000 to the former student.
In 2002, when the Olympic torch was making its way across Alaska, Joseph Frederick, a then 18-year-old high school, displayed a banner across the street from the high school. The banner read, "Bong Hits 4 Jesus," a phrase intended to be humorous and nonsensical. High school principal Deborah Morse lacked a sense of humor, confiscated the banner and suspended Frederick from school.
Change will be felt in courtrooms as well as the White House after elections this past Tuesday, as two chief justices and two supreme court incumbents were unseated after weeks of negative television ads and millions of dollars of fundraising.
Michigan's Supreme Court race turned into the nation's nastiest judicial campaign, according to a nonpartisan organization that monitors judicial races. Bert Brandenburg, executive director of the Justice at Stake Campaign, a bipartisan organization in Washington, D.C., that tracks state judicial elections, described the race as an "orgy of negativity."
Yesterday while the national news was fixated on the prediction of Election Day results, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case which has the potential for impacting people's lives far more than most of the ballot measures being considered today across the nation.
Wyeth v. Levine went before the Supreme Court, with the pharmaceutical giant arguing, with the support of the Bush administration, that the lawsuit should be thrown out because federal law preempts such state court claims. At issue is whether the federal government can limit lawsuits by consumers like Diana Levine who have been harmed by prescription medications.
