On Wednesday, November 25, 2020, the Florida Supreme Court refused to reinstate death penalty sentences for two men whose death sentences were vacated pursuant to a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The men, Bessman Okafor and Michael James Jackson, had been convicted of murder and sentenced to be executed prior... Read More »
On October 19, 2020, Attorney General William Barr appointed Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham as special counsel under the same federal regulations that covered special counsel Robert Mueller in the original Russia probe undertaken in May 2017. The order authorizes Mr. Durham “to investigate whether any federal official, employee or any... Read More »
In a virtual hearing on November 20, The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices homed in on a specific area of interest concerning an appeal of Bill Cosby’s prior conviction: what is the permissible legal scope of using ‘prior bad acts’ witnesses? The use of ‘prior bad act’ refers to witnesses who... Read More »
Ivanka Trump was deposed Tuesday in the Washington, DC attorney general’s lawsuit late Tuesday concerning her father’s inauguration. President Trump’s daughter, who is also said to be under consideration by the president for a preemptive pardon, sat for her deposition in the offices of the attorney general. The lawsuit concerns... Read More »
On November 23, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned a 2017 district court decision that granted the right of individual plaintiffs to challenge a Texas state decision to disqualify Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program. The overruling decision now allows Texas and Louisiana to exclude... Read More »
The Department of Justice has quietly amended current execution protocols. The amended rule was published Friday, November, 27th and will go into effect on December 24. Different states currently allow different types of executions, and with the amendment, lethal injections will no longer have to be the primary method of... Read More »
A California DMV license plate standard that bans offensive license plates has been ruled unconstitutional and a violation of the First Amendment's freedom of speech by federal judge Sallie Kim. The current standard stipulates that the DMV must approve license plates with potentially offensive language before the plates can be... Read More »
The New York Task Force on Women in the Courts issued a report in 1968 that looked at the treatment and experiences of female attorneys, litigants, and other court employees in the state. The report yielded results showing that women were denied opportunities in professional capacities, equal treatment, and justice... Read More »
It may only be early December, but President Donald Trump is already meeting with advisors in the White House to discuss preemptive pardons for his adult children Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka, along with son-in-law Jared Kushner and personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. Presidential pardons are extremely broad though not unlimited,... Read More »
Protect the children or protect the church? For years, the obvious answer to this question was ignored by the courts, U.S. bishops and the Vatican. But since the turn of this century, lawsuits have been in full swing, and a new one, filed by New York’s Attorney General against the... Read More »
San Francisco-based FinTech app ‘Beam’ promised clients above-market rates on federally insured deposits with 24/7 access to their funds, but did not return their deposits when requested, as noted in a new federal lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The banking app is now being investigated by The... Read More »
On Monday, November 23, 2020, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), ordered GM to recall and repair approximately seven million vehicles that contain Takata airbag inflators. Though GM strenuously insisted that the inflators in question do not pose a threat, they agreed to abide by NHTSA’s decision and make the... Read More »
Earlier this Thanksgiving holiday week, the District Attorney of San Francisco, Chesa Boudin, announced that homicide charges would be filed against former police officer Chris Samayoa for fatally shooting an unarmed carjacking suspect, 42-year-old Keita O'Neil. The shooting took place three years ago on December 1, 2017. Samayoa was a... Read More »
President Donald Trump announced via tweet on November 25th that he granted a full pardon to Former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn, 61, who pleaded guilty twice for lying to the FBI regarding his contact with Russia while working on Trump’s presidential campaign. Trump had said he was considering the... Read More »
The global population has relied on vaccinations for centuries. From the eradication of smallpox to the control of infectious diseases like measles and polio, vaccines have served as a powerful weapon for healthcare professionals. While the FDA has a longstanding rigorous system in place to address safety and efficacy concerns,... Read More »
