The Courts News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Gay marriage: Judge overturns DOMA, stepping up pressure on Supreme Court

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:58:00 -0400

A US judge has struck down a 1996 federal law barring gays and lesbians from receiving federal benefits, the latest in a series of court decisions pushing the issue of same-sex marriage closer to a Supreme Court reckoning.

Supreme Court Blueford Ruling Clarifies ‘Double Jeopardy’

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:49:00 -0400

The double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment prevents "trying a person again for a crime after a verdict of not guilty."

Top Philippine judge says he didn't declare $2.4M

Fri, 25 May 2012 05:25:40 -0400

The chief justice of the Philippine Supreme Court has testified at his impeachment trial that he did not violate any laws when he failed to declare $2.4 million in bank accounts.

Constitution Check: Must gay marriage be a fundamental right in order to exist?

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:55:07 -0400

A Washington Post reporter says a potential Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage as a fundamental right could help nullify rulings in more than 30 states. Lyle Denniston explains the issue isn't as simple as it seems.

Court: Families cannot sue over loan discount fee

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:13:10 -0400

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that three families cannot sue a mortgage company for allegedly charging them a loan discount fee without giving them a lower interest rate.

Wis. Supreme Court upholds lemon law verdict

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:29:22 -0400

Car manufacturers must prove consumers intentionally thwarted refund offers to escape liability under Wisconsin's lemon law, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in upholding a $482,000 judgment against Mercedes-Benz USA LLC.

Supreme Court limits reach of 1974 real estate law

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:00:55 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supreme Court on Thursday made it harder for home buyers to sue mortgage lenders for certain overcharges at settlement, limiting the reach of a provision of a 1974 federal law on real estate settlement procedures. The Supreme Court's unanimous ruling was a defeat for three couples in Louisiana, who claimed that Quicken Loans overcharged them as much as $1,100 at their mortgage closings for a "loan discount" or "processing" fee. The borrowers claimed they received nothing for the fee. ...

High court in Ohio upholds state smoking ban

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:32:06 -0400

Ohio's statewide smoking ban is constitutional, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Wednesday.

Israeli court: Reconsider Gaza student travel ban

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:17:52 -0400

Israel's Supreme Court has ordered the military to reconsider its ban on Gaza residents studying in the West Bank.

Analysis: Drugmakers vulnerable if health law revoked

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:12:09 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical companies, which were spared some of the more sweeping regulations in President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, could come under more pressure if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down part or all of the 2010 law. Drugmakers agreed to pay about $100 billion over 10 years in excise taxes and discounts on medications under the law, but were expected to benefit overall as more than 30 million uninsured Americans get health coverage. ...

The Supreme Court Rumor Mill: Frenzied, and Wrong

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:51:30 -0400

Rumors were flying around the Capitol this week that the Supreme Court would decide the health care cases on Thursday. They were wrong.

PNG's top judge arrested in new political crisis

Thu, 24 May 2012 06:43:03 -0400

PORT MORESBY (Reuters) - Police in Papua New Guinea stormed the Supreme Court in the capital and arrested the nation's top judge on sedition charges on Thursday, in response to its ruling that the prime minister held power illegally and should step down. On the day nominations closed for June elections, police arrested Chief Justice Salamo Injia after the court ruled former leader Michael Somare should be reinstated as prime minister. ...

Sri Lanka sets up new courts to try war suspects

Thu, 24 May 2012 03:48:42 -0400

Sri Lanka is setting up new courts to accelerate cases against hundreds of Tamil rebel suspects three years after the end of the island's bloody ethnic war, a government spokesman said Thursday.

6 Va. men retracing John Marshall's 1812 journey

Wed, 23 May 2012 17:05:09 -0400

Six Virginia men attempting to recreate Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall's historic 1812 river-scouting journey have tackled the toughest part, plunging into the whitewater of the New River Gorge.

Justices' stocks at issue in Boeing-ICO appeal

Wed, 23 May 2012 17:01:34 -0400

An appeal filed in the California Supreme Court contends that two state appellate court justices owned stock in Boeing Co. while they were involved in deciding whether to reverse a multimillion-dollar award against the firm.

Court: Gore-Tex heiress can't adopt ex-husband

Wed, 23 May 2012 16:16:42 -0400

WILMINGTON, Del (Reuters) - F. Scott Fitzgerald observed that the rich are different, but that does not mean an heiress can adopt her 65-year-old ex-husband to increase her family's claim to a billion dollar inheritance. Delaware's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the unconventional adoption did not entitle the man to inherit a share of the Gore-Tex waterproof fabric fortune. Heirs to the founders of W.L. Gore & Associates Inc of Newark, Delaware, have fought for years over how to divide their stake in the privately held company, which has $3 billion in annual revenue. ...

Here’s a basic explanation of the Commerce Clause

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:39:05 -0400

Why do we care about the Commerce Clause in the Constitution? A simple explanation from Bloomberg’s Greg Stohr that appears in Newsweek explains how the clause could settle next month’s Supreme Court decision on health care.

Edwards verdict could become part of Citizens United backlash

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:57:16 -0400

If 12 North Carolina jurors decide that former vice presidential nominee John Edwards is guilty of campaign fraud, it could be widely seen as part of a growing rumble of populist discontent with the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling, which made it easier for interest groups to raise money to influence campaigns.

Court grants NH nuclear plant some tax exemptions

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:19:28 -0400

The owners of the Seabrook power plant cannot get tax exemptions on facilities that operate only in emergencies, though it can claim them on systems that run regularly, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday.

Court to give Assange extradition ruling May 30

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:54:09 -0400

Britain's Supreme Court said on Wednesday it will give its judgement in the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's long-running fight against extradition to Sweden on May 30.

Why health care could determine the next president

Wed, 23 May 2012 09:00:40 -0400

As the June deadline nears for the Supreme Court’s decision on health care, two recent reports show how the decision could have a direct effect on President Barack Obama’s election.

Obama’s Church Face-Off

Wed, 23 May 2012 04:45:00 -0400

The Supreme Court could sidestep its own precedent and strike down the administration’s requirement that health-insurance plans cover birth control. By Michelle Goldberg.

Parents of Frenchwoman Cassez confident Mexico will free her

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:01:57 -0400

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The parents of a Frenchwoman imprisoned in Mexico for kidnapping said on Tuesday they are optimistic the Supreme Court will free her after reviewing the case that has caused a diplomatic rift between France and Mexico. Florence Cassez, 37, has maintained she is innocent since her arrest in 2005, but the Mexican government has defended the conviction that sentenced her to 60 years in prison. ...

Court grants NextEra some tax exemptions

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:17:47 -0400

NextEra Energy Inc. cannot file for tax exemptions on facilities that operate only in emergencies, though it can claim them on systems that run regularly, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday.

Panelists: Health Care Law’s Innovations Taking Hold Despite Supreme Court Case

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:28:19 -0400

Despite uncertainty about the coming U.S. Supreme Court decision on its constitutionality, the 2010 health care law already has triggered a long-term transformation in the way U.S. health care is delivered and paid for, a panel of specialists said on Tuesday.

Correction: Supreme Court-Illinois Redistricting

Tue, 22 May 2012 12:34:18 -0400

In a May 21 story about an Illinois redistricting lawsuit, The Associated Press erroneously reported the proportion of the state's population that is Hispanic. The Hispanic population is 15.8 percent, not 32.5 percent.

Nepal government seeks more time to draw up new constitution

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:46:32 -0400

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepali politicians on Tuesday proposed to ignore a Supreme Court deadline giving them until Sunday to draw up a new constitution for the Himalayan republic, saying they needed more time to agree on the boundaries and names of new states. The new constitution is widely seen as crucial to helping end instability that has plagued Nepal since the end of a Maoist-led civil war in 2006 and the subsequent overthrow of the monarchy. ...

What's Your Verdict: 14 Years Old and Life Without Parole?

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:02:34 -0400

The Supreme Court has already rejected the death penalty for juvenile offenders, but what about life without parole? Justices are considering two cases: One involves Evan Miller, who beat a neighbor and then set his trailer on fire so that the man burned to death....

New challenge to partisan gerrymanders thwarted

Tue, 22 May 2012 09:30:38 -0400

Acting swiftly, the Supreme Court has scuttled the latest constitutional challenge to the “partisan gerrymander” – drawing new legislative election boundaries to try to shape the fortunes of the two major parties at the polls.

Papua New Guinea court calls for Somare's return

Mon, 21 May 2012 20:49:58 -0400

Papua New Guinea's veteran leader Sir Michael Somare Tuesday described a Supreme Court decision calling for him to be reinstated over Prime Minister Peter O'Neill as a "triumphant day".