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Georgia prosecutors leading the criminal election interference case against former President Donald J. Trump and 18 of his allies notched a victory on Friday when a judge rejected an effort by Mark Meadows, Mr. Trump’s former White House chief of staff, to move his case from state court to federal court. But removal to federal court would have given him key advantages, including a jury pool that was more favorable to Mr. Trump. Conducting a trial in federal court would have also increased the likelihood that the United States Supreme Court, a third of whose members were nominated by Mr. Trump, would ultimately get involved in the case. The setback for Mr. Meadows came in the first of many rulings that are expected for the defendants who are seeking to have their cases moved out of state court. Mr. Trump has not filed for a removal to federal court, but he is widely expected to do so.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Mark Meadows, Trump’s, Meadows, ” Organizations: White House, Mr, United States Supreme Locations: Georgia

A banner reading: "Abortion Out of the Penal Code" hangs from a building during International Women's Day, at the Zocalo Square in Mexico City, Mexico March 8, 2023. The ruling set a significant legal precedent and paved the way for the federal health system to begin providing abortion services and broaden access dramatically. But Mexican abortion rights advocates say the ruling's promise of expanding abortion access will not become a reality overnight and could depend on the political and legislative will of the federal government. Aside from safeguarding abortion patients and providers from prosecution, the ruling will have limited impact on access until the federal public health system starts providing abortion services. Xochitl Galvez, the senator chosen to represent the main opposition coalition, has broken from her center-right party’s anti-abortion platform to support abortion rights.

Persons: Quetzalli, Maria Antonieta Alcalde, IPAS, Alcalde, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Claudia Sheinbaum, Xochitl Galvez, Veronica Cruz, Roe, Wade, Isabel Fulda, Gabriella Borter, Stephen Eisenhammer, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, Mexico City, Regeneration, Mexico's, United States Supreme, Thomson Locations: Mexico City, Mexico, MEXICO, Coahuila, Latin America, Caribbean, America, United States, Guanajuato, U.S

☆ Ohio special election could determine future of abortion rights in the state
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

If it passes, a super-majority of voters would be required to approve a November referendum that seeks to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution. Political groups on both sides of the abortion issue have poured millions of dollars into the state ahead of the vote. Ballot initiatives have become powerful tools for abortion rights activists in states where abortion opponents, usually Republicans, control the legislature or hold the governor's office. Voters in Kansas and Kentucky, both solidly conservative states, rejected measures last year that would have declared that their state constitutions do not protect abortion rights. Abortion rights opponents have called the November referendum extreme, claiming its vague language would allow minors to get abortions and gender-affirming surgery without parental consent.

Persons: Wade, Megan Jelinger, Mike DeWine, Jen Miller, Richard Uihlein, Susan B, Anthony Pro, Joseph Ax, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: United States Supreme, Women's Health Organization, REUTERS, Republican, U.S, Supreme, League of Women Voters, Ohio Republicans, Illinois Republican, America, The, Fund, Tides Foundation, Thomson Locations: Ohio, Columbus , Ohio, Dobbs, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, California

WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Monday sued Texas over floating barriers installed by the state in the Rio Grande river to block migrants crossing from Mexico. "This floating barrier poses threats to navigation and public safety and presents humanitarian concerns." The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas, seeks "to remove all structures and obstructions, including a floating barrier and all infrastructure related to the floating barrier, in the Rio Grande," according to the court filing. In recent months, National Guard troops have strung up razor wire to block migrants from crossing the Rio Grande. The number of migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally has dropped since Biden implemented a restrictive new asylum policy in May.

Persons: Greg Abbott's, Vanita Gupta, Jaime Esparza, Abbott, Joe Biden, Biden, Eric Beech, Kanishka Singh, Tyler Clifford, Tim Ahmann, Bill Berkrot, Sonali Paul Organizations: U.S . Justice, Monday, Texas, Texas Republican, Lone Star, Western District of, Western, Democratic, Fox News, Biden, United States Supreme, National Guard, Thomson Locations: Rio, Mexico . Texas, Eagle, , Texas, Texas, U.S, Western District, Western District of Texas, Rio Grande, Mexico

☆ Alabama lawmakers clash over Black voters as redistricting deadline looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case have already vowed to challenge either map in court, saying both would still violate the law. In 2022, a three-judge panel in a federal district court invalidated the current map as unlawful. Black Democratic lawmakers have called the maps a slap in the face to Black voters - and to the courts. "It is an embarrassment," said Juandalynn Givan, a Jefferson County legislator, adding that the Republican plan amounted to dropping "an F-bomb on the United States Supreme Court." "There certainly are places in the country where a 42% Black district would elect a Black-preferred candidate," Li said.

Persons: Scott Douglas, Terri Sewell, Juandalynn Givan, Michael Li, New York University's, Li, Joseph Ax, Josephine Walker, Scott Malone, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Republican, U.S, Supreme, Republicans, U.S . House, Senate, Greater Birmingham Ministries, Democratic U.S ., Lawmakers, Black Democratic, United States Supreme, New York, Center for Justice, Black, Democratic, Thomson Locations: U.S, Alabama's, Alabama, Black, Jefferson County, New, New York

Two weeks ago, the United States Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, declaring that the race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were unlawful. Today, three people whose lives were changed by affirmative action discuss the complicated feelings they have about the policy.

Organizations: United States Supreme, Harvard, University of North Locations: University of North Carolina

☆ Ohio Moves Closer to Ballot Issue That Would Protect Abortion Rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Kate Zernike | More About Kate Zernike | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights said on Wednesday that it had collected roughly 710,000 signatures across all of the state’s 88 counties over the last 12 weeks. Under state law, the coalition needed 413,466 to qualify for the ballot. Supporters of abortion rights are turning to ballot measures in the aftermath of the ruling last year by the United States Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, which for 50 years had guaranteed a right to abortion in the federal Constitution. They are betting on polls showing that public opinion increasingly supports some right to abortion, and opposes the bans and stricter laws that conservative state legislatures have enacted since the court’s decision. Voters in six states, including conservative ones such as Kentucky and Kansas, voted to protect or establish a right to abortion in their constitutions in last year’s elections, and abortion rights advocates in about 10 other states are considering similar plans.

Persons: Ohio, Roe, Wade Organizations: Ohioans United, Reproductive Rights, United States Locations: state’s, Kentucky, Kansas

☆ Supreme Court allows military academies to continue race-based admissions, citing 'potentially distinct interests'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But the court exempted military academies from the decision, citing "potentially distinct interests." But there's one key exception: the nation's military academies. "This opinion also does not address the issue, in light of the potentially distinct interests that military academies may present." The court also cited the amicus curae filed by the federal government in the case, which argued that affirmative action "further compelling interests at our Nation's military academies." "The United States thus has a vital interest in ensuring that the Nation's service academies and civilian universities retain the ability to achieve those educational benefits by considering race."

Persons: Sotomayor, —, John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor's Organizations: Service, United States Supreme, Air Force Academy, Harvard University, University of North, United States Armed Forces, Harvard, Training Corps, Defense Department Locations: University of North Carolina, United States

In the context of higher education, affirmative action typically refers to admissions policies aimed at increasing the number of Black, Hispanic and other minority students on campus. The goal of race-conscious admissions policies is to increase student diversity in order to enhance the educational experience for all students. Schools also employ recruitment programs and scholarship opportunities intended to boost diversity, but the Supreme Court litigation was focused on admissions. The Supreme Court decided two cases brought by Students for Fair Admissions, a group headed by Edward Blum, a conservative legal strategist who has spent years fighting affirmative action. HOW HAS THE SUPREME COURT RULED IN THE PAST?

Persons: Evelyn Hockstein, Edward Blum, Bakke, Lewis Powell, Powell, Blum, Joseph Ax, Will Dunham, Colleen Jenkins, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: United States, Harvard University, University of North, REUTERS, U.S, Supreme, Colleges, Schools, National Association for College, Fair, Asian, University of California, Civil, University of, University of Texas, University of Michigan, Thomson Locations: University of North Carolina, Washington , U.S, Arizona , California, Florida , Idaho , Michigan , Nebraska , New Hampshire , Oklahoma, Washington, New York

☆ ‘Students will suffer’: Harvard and UNC students, alumni react to 'disappointing' Supreme Court ruling rejecting affirmative action in admissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Jennifer Liu | In Jljenniferliu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that affirmative action policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina that consider a student's race for college admissions are unconstitutional. The court's decision is not surprising but "disappointing" nonetheless, says Julian Taylor, a rising junior and member of the Affirmative Action Coalition at UNC Chapel Hill. The CEO and founder of the sustainability brand Blueland has been vocal about the importance of maintaining affirmative action policies at top colleges. Research has shown that the removal of affirmative action has led to declines in minority admissions at universities. Overturning 40-plus years of affirmative action in colleges

Persons: Edward Blum, Blum, Julian Taylor, Brown, Taylor, John Roberts, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, Sarah Paiji Yoo, wouldn't, Claudine Gay Organizations: U.S, Supreme, of Harvard College, University of North, Harvard, Fair, UNC, United States, Affirmative, Coalition, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Affirmative, Chapel, ACT, Harvard Business School, CNBC Locations: University of North Carolina, Washington ,, Chapel Hill

☆ Ketanji Brown Jackson accuses Clarence Thomas of having 'an obsession with race consciousness' and relying on 'many more straw men' than can be listed in his affirmative action opinion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ketanji Brown Jackson said Clarence Thomas's opinion showed "an obsession with race consciousness." In his own 57 page long concurring opinion, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas — a staunch conservative appointed by Republican President George H.W. "Worse still, Justice Jackson uses her broad observations about statistical relationships between race and select measures of health, wealth, and well-being to label all blacks as victims. "Given our history, the origin of persistent race-linked gaps should be no mystery," Jackson wrote. "Justice Thomas ignites too many more straw men to list, or fully extinguish, here," Jackson wrote.

Persons: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Clarence Thomas's, —, Clarence Thomas —, George H.W, Bush —, Joe Biden, Thomas, Jackson Organizations: Service, United States Supreme, Republican, University of North Locations: University of North Carolina

☆ Justice Sonia Sotomayor says Supreme Court is 'entrenching racial inequality in education' by striking down affirmative action
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in higher education on Thursday. In her 68-page dissent, she argued that the court is "entrenching racial inequality in education." In striking down affirmative action, Sotomayor argued, the court is cementing "a superficial rule of colorblindness" in an "endemically segregated society." She goes on to argue that the court's decision is "grounded in the illusion that racial inequality was a problem of a different generation." "Entrenched racial inequality remains a reality today," wrote Sotomayor.

Persons: Sonia Sotomayor, —, Sonia Sotomayor —, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson —, Sotomayor, Robert Blum, Donald Trump Organizations: Service, United States Supreme, of Education, Fair, Harvard University, University of North Locations: America, Brown, University of North Carolina

☆ Here are key things to know as Supreme Court nears decision on Biden's student loan forgiveness
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The United States Supreme Court Building Geoff Livingston | Moment | Getty Images1. You'll be able to read the ruling on the Supreme Court's website, likely some time in the morning of decision day. A top Education Department official recently warned that resuming student loan bills without Biden's loan cancellation could trigger a historic rise in delinquencies and defaults. They said the decreased revenue for MOHELA, or the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, could leave the agency unable to meet its financial obligations to Missouri. Student loan borrowers gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 27, 2023, the night before the court hears two cases on student loan forgiveness.

Persons: Geoff Livingston, Mark Kantrowitz, Kantrowitz, You'll, Biden, Elizabeth Prelogar, Prelogar, they'd, Mark, servicers, Amy Coney Barrett, James A, Campbell, Barrett wasn't, you've, Annie Nova Organizations: United States Supreme, Supreme, Department, Republican, GOP, South Carolina –, Job, Network Foundation, Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, CNBC, U.S Locations: delinquencies, — Arkansas, Iowa , Kansas , Missouri , Nebraska, South Carolina, Missouri, Nebraska

During his arraignment, Mr. Trump is expected to be advised of his rights, and a judge will assess whether he has legal representation. The case against Mr. Trump is the second criminal prosecution against the former president this year. Mr. Trump was already arraigned in April in a New York courthouse on state charges that he falsified business records. In the case that has brought him to Miami, Mr. Trump has been charged with 37 counts of unauthorized retention of national security information. After the court appearance, Mr. Trump is expected to fly to Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., to give remarks defending himself in the evening.

Persons: Wilkie, Ferguson Jr, Donald J, Trump, Francis X, Suarez, Mr, We’re, James, John Rowley —, Todd Blanche, Christopher M, Jay I, Bratt, Julie Edelstein, Manny Morales, Morales, “, ”, that’s, ” Adam Goldman, Alan Feuer, Charlie Savage Organizations: Mr, Trump, Suarez of Miami, Republican, United States Supreme, Justice Department’s, Trump National Golf Club, Capitol, Miami police Locations: Miami, United States, New York, Florida, Bedminster, N.J, MIAMI

☆ Nine out of 10 people are biased against women, UN report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Amy Woodyatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Biased gender social norms are a major barrier to achieving gender equality, the report’s authors warn, adding that the undervaluation of women’s capabilities and rights in society constrains women’s choices and opportunities. A global backlash against women’s rights and the far-reaching consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic have worsened the issue, the report notes. “Social norms that impair women’s rights are also detrimental to society more broadly, dampening the expansion of human development. This can be a very effective way of challenging gender norms around how care work is viewed,” said Raquel Lagunas, director of UNDP’s Gender Team. “Let’s be clear: global frameworks are not working for the world’s women and girls.

Persons: ” Pedro Conceição, ”, Raquel Lagunas, ” Lagunas, General António Guterres, Guterres, ” Guterres, Roe, Wade, Poland –, “ Organizations: CNN, UN, United Nations Development Programme, “, ” United Nations, United States Locations: Afghanistan, Poland

☆ The Unexpected Women Blocking South Carolina’s Near-Total Abortion Ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Kate Zernike | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, advocates on either side presumed that the country would divide along the bright color lines: red states completely banning abortion, blue states protecting it. That prediction failed to anticipate the Sister Senators. The Sisters, as they call themselves, are the women in the South Carolina State Senate — the only women, three Republicans, one Independent and one Democrat, in a legislature that ranks 47th among states in the proportion of women. As a block, they are refusing to allow the legislature to pass a near-total ban on abortion, despite a Republican supermajority. Three times in eight months, Republican leaders in the chamber have tried to ban abortion beginning at conception.

☆ Top Senate Democrats push for new ethics rules in wake of Clarence Thomas report as Republicans defend justice
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Manu Raju | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Plus some Democrats on the panel, like Sen. Dick Blumenthal, want to go much further than Durbin in the Thomas probe – exposing divisions within the ranks. “I hope that Chief Justice Roberts reads his story this morning and understands something has to be done,” Durbin told CNN. “The reputation of the Supreme Court is at stake here. “The drip, drip, drip of these destructive disclosures is going to destroy the United States Supreme Court unless there is an effective proper investigation,” he said. “The court is responsible for their own guidelines in that regard,” Romney told CNN.

☆ Anti-abortion group asks Supreme Court to keep mifepristone restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Anti-abortion demonstrators celebrate outside the United States Supreme Court as the court rules in the Dobbs v Women's Health Organization abortion case, overturning the landmark Roe v Wade abortion decision in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2022. An anti-abortion group on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to keep restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone in place while the battle over the medication's legal status plays out. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Friday temporarily blocked those restrictions until 11:59 p.m. The anti-abortion organization also said the court should consider whether the FDA properly approved mifepristone in 2000 if it takes the case. If the lower court rulings against mifepristone ultimately stand, access to abortion could face restrictions even in some states where the procedure remains legal.

REUTERS/Lawrence Bryant/File PhotoApril 3 (Reuters) - Planned Parenthood on Monday asked a state court judge in Utah to block a law set to take effect next month that would effectively ban abortion clinics from operating in the state. The case is before Judge Andrew Stone, who last year issued a preliminary order preventing the state from enforcing an earlier abortion ban while he hears a legal challenge by Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood argued that Stone should block the newer law for the same reason, saying it would ban 95% of abortions in the state if allowed to take effect on May 3. "As promised, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah is fighting back and doing everything in our power to make sure that Utahns can get the care they need to stay healthy," Sarah Stoez, interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, said in a statement. Twelve of the 50 U.S. states now ban abortion outright while many others prohibit it after a certain length of pregnancy, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.

☆ Supreme Court refuses appeal by lawyer jailed for contempt in $9.5 billion Chevron environmental case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider the appeal of a disbarred lawyer jailed for contempt of court after he won a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron in an environmental lawsuit in Ecuador . A group of Ecuadorians represented by Donziger filed a class-action suit against Chevron in Manhattan federal court in 1993. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit were awarded $9.5 billion from Chevron by a judge in Ecuador. Chevron then filed a legal action in Manhattan federal court and won an injunction against the enforcement of the judgment in any U.S. court. In the Chevron case, Gorsuch wrote, "However much the district court may have thought Mr. Donziger warranted punishment, the prosecution in this case broke a basic constitutional promise essential to ourliberty."

March 12 (Reuters) - A Texas man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit accusing three women of helping his ex-wife obtain abortion pills, in one of the first major legal challenges under a state abortion ban since the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Plaintiff Marcus Silva filed the lawsuit on Thursday in Galveston County, Texas, alleging that three Texas women are liable for wrongful death because they helped his ex-wife obtain abortion pills to terminate a pregnancy in July 2022. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, eliminating federal abortion rights, Texas has been one of about a dozen states that has enforced a total abortion ban. It is illegal to "aid or abet" abortions in Texas, which the lawsuit claims defendants Jackie Noyola, Amy Carpenter and Aracely Garcia did. Photos of text messages apparently between Brittni Silva, Noyola and Carpenter, attached as exhibitions in the court documents, show the women discussing Silva's pregnancy and her desire to get abortion pills in Texas.

☆ Ted Cruz shouts over Merrick Garland about the DOJ's response to protests outside Supreme Court justices' homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Ted Cruz pressed AG Merrick Garland over the DOJ's response to protests outside Supreme Court justices' homes. Cruz accused Garland and the DOJ of being politically biased. The Texas Republican condemned the protestors as rioters and extremists organizing harassment campaigns against the justices and accused Garland of inaction. Other Republicans on the committee, including Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, similarly raised concerns about DOJ's handling of the protests outside Supreme Court justices' homes last year. "It's very clear that they're trying to influence in one way or another those serving on the United States Supreme Court," Lee said.

☆ Supreme Court probe fails to find who leaked abortion ruling
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Abortion rights demonstrators protest outside the United States Supreme Court as the court rules in the Dobbs v Women's Health Organization abortion case, overturning the landmark Roe v Wade abortion decision in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2022. An investigation into the leak of a bombshell Supreme Court ruling overturning the federal constitutional right to abortion — weeks before it was officially released — failed to identify the culprit, the court said Thursday. Investigators had interviewed nearly 100 Supreme Court employees in the probe, 82 of whom had access to electronic or hard copies of the draft opinion by conservative Justice Samuel Alito. In June, just as the leak report suggested, the Supreme Court in a majority opinion penned by Alito said there was no federal right to abortion. The opinion came in a case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which challenged Mississippi's restrictive abortion law.

☆ It might be possible to fight a traffic ticket with an AI 'robot lawyer' secretly feeding you lines to your AirPods, but it could go off the rails
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

DoNotPay wants to put AI to the courtroom test, and plans to use it to advise defendants in traffic cases. Judges could alert bar associations to a rogue "robot lawyer" on the loose, legal experts said. But DoNotPay's founder Joshua Browder plans to put his app's AI "robot lawyer" to just such a test in an upcoming traffic court case in February, according to a report in the New Scientist that heralds the first AI-powered defense in court. "The traffic court judge might have questions about who's really doing the talking here." As Browder courted headlines with the bold move to take DoNotPay's "robot lawyer" to court, he also tweeted an incredible offer on Sunday.

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