Court blocks Texas execution

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The Supreme Court blocked the execution of Ruben Gutierrez, who was sentenced to die after 7 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday for the 1998 stabbing death of 85-year-old Escolastica Harrison in Brownsville, Tex. In a brief unsigned order released to reporters just after 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday night, the justices put Gutierrez’s execution on hold until they decide whether to take up his appeal.

Gutierrez has long maintained that he did not go into Harrison’s home on the … Read the rest

Court of Appeal Summaries (July 1 – July 5)

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Good afternoon.

Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of July 1, 2024.

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In the leading decision of the week, Binscarth Holdings LP v. Grant Anthony, the Court made new law in Ontario. It held that limited partners in a limited partnership are entitled to seek leave to commence a derivative action on behalf

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Roberts court hands major wins to Trump, conservative movement in 2023-24 term

Roberts court hands major wins to Trump, conservative movement in 2023-24 term

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Former President Donald Trump loomed large over the Supreme Court’s 2023-24 term. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee for 2024 brought two cases to the justices and fared well in both; Trump could also benefit from the decision in a third case, brought by a defendant charged in the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol.

But more broadly, the three justices that Trump nominated during his time in office cemented a 6-3 conservative majority that pushed the court further … Read the rest

Supreme Court expands time frame to sue federal agencies

Supreme Court expands time frame to sue federal agencies

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The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a North Dakota truck stop can bring a challenge to a regulation issued 13 years ago by the Federal Reserve Board. In a 6-3 vote divided along ideological lines, the justices significantly expanded plaintiffs’ ability to sue federal regulators, ruling that the statute of limitations to challenge an action by a federal agency begins to run when the plaintiff is injured by the action, even if – as happened in this case … Read the rest

Consider the wild gray squirrel, Kagan rebukes her colleagues as court overrules Chevron

Consider the wild gray squirrel, Kagan rebukes her colleagues as court overrules <em>Chevron</em>

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Something on television last night seems to have stolen the attention from the Supreme Court in its end-of-term push. But today, the justices will issue three big and newsworthy decisions, taking back the spotlight, with the end of the term now in clear sight.

At the security line to enter the courtroom, I bump into Michael Dreeben, who argued Trump v. United States on behalf of Special Counsel Jack Smith and the Justice Department. He was here on Wednesday … Read the rest

Court declines to delay Bannon’s prison sentence

Court declines to delay Bannon’s prison sentence

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The Supreme Court on Friday afternoon declined a request from Stephen Bannon, who served as an aide to former President Donald Trump, to delay the start of his four-month prison sentence while he asks the Supreme Court to review his case.

Bannon is scheduled to report to prison on Monday, July 1.

After failing to respond to a congressional subpoena, Bannon was convicted of contempt of Congress in November 2021. The House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 … Read the rest

Supreme Court limits scope of anti-bribery law

Supreme Court limits scope of anti-bribery law

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a federal anti-bribery law does not make it a crime for state and local officials to accept a gratuity for acts that they have already taken. Writing for a six-justice majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh explained that state and local governments already regulate gifts to officials, and so the federal law “does not supplement those state and local rules by subjecting 19 million state and local officials to up to 10 years in … Read the rest

Justices send expert witness question back to state court

Justices send expert witness question back to state court

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The Supreme Court on Friday sent the case of an Arizona man convicted of drug possession back to the state courts. Jason Smith argued that when an expert witness testified for the prosecution about drug analysis performed by another forensic scientist, it violated his right under the Sixth Amendment “to be confronted with the witnesses against him.”

In an opinion by Justice Elena Kagan, the court agreed with Smith that the requirements of the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause normally … Read the rest