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☆ US Supreme Court sidesteps 'acquitted conduct' cases for now
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( John Kruzel | Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The justices turned away appeals in cases that would have given them an opportunity to prohibit the consideration of "acquitted conduct" in sentencing decisions in criminal cases. Sentencing Commission, a bipartisan panel responsible for crafting U.S. criminal sentencing policy, before addressing the issue. The commission in January proposed amending federal sentencing guidelines to prohibit judges from considering a defendant's acquitted conduct with only narrow exceptions. Numerous criminal defendants have asked the justices to revisit a 1997 Supreme Court ruling that said a jury's verdict of acquittal does not prevent a sentencing judge from considering conduct underlying an acquitted charge. Some current and former Supreme Court justices have questioned whether judges should be permitted to extend a defendant's prison sentence based on acquitted conduct.

Persons: Sonia Sotomayor, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, John Kruzel, Nate Raymond, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, U.S . Sentencing, U.S . Justice Department, Liberal, Constitution's, National Association of Criminal Defense, Thomson Locations: Boston

☆ Factbox: A look at the US Supreme Court's major rulings this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | Zach Warren | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Here is a look at some of the rulings issued by the court this term. STUDENT LOANSThe justices on June 30 blocked President Joe Biden's plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt. The court elected not to further roll back protections contained in the Voting Rights Act as it had done in two major rulings in the past decade. The ruling against Republican state legislators stemmed from a legal fight over their map of North Carolina's 14 U.S. House districts. The court ruled that state prosecutors had not shown that he was aware of the "threatening nature" of his statements.

Persons: Kevin Lamarque, Constitution's, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump, Biden, Joseph Percoco, Andrew Cuomo, Louis Ciminelli, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, REUTERS, Harvard University, University of North, Harvard, UNC, Black, Republican, U.S . House, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Biden, Democratic, Postal Service, New, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, University of North Carolina, Alabama, U.S, Idaho, Texas, Louisiana, Washington, Colorado

The liberal justices, including Biden's appointee Ketanji Brown Jackson, found themselves in the role of the dissenting minority in some of the nine-month term's biggest cases. The conservative justices invoked the "major questions" doctrine, a muscular judicial approach that gives judges broad discretion to invalidate executive agency actions of "vast economic and political significance" unless Congress clearly authorized them. In those cases, the conservative justices were unified in the majority and the liberal justices dissented. In that case, the liberal justices were joined by one conservative justice, Trump appointee Brett Kavanaugh, in dissenting on the new test. The justices on Friday agreed to decide whether a 1994 federal law that bars people under domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms violates the Constitution's Second Amendment.

Persons: Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M, Gorsuch, Brett M, Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, John G, Roberts, Jr, Samuel A, Alito, Elena Kagan, Read, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump's, Erwin Chemerinsky, Trump's, Chemerinsky, Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Roe, Wade, Jackson, Justice Jackson, Adam Feldman, Biden's, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: Supreme, U.S, Republican, Harvard University, University of North, University of California Berkeley Law School, U.S . Environmental, Alabama, Senate, Consumer, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, WASHINGTON, University of North Carolina, U.S, Texas

☆ US Supreme Court won't scrutinize Mississippi curb on voting by felons
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( John Kruzel | Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The state's felon disenfranchisement policy has been shown to have a disproportionate impact on Black Mississippians, nearly 29,000 of whom were disenfranchised between 1994 and 2017, according to court filings. Black Mississippians account for 36% of the state's voting age population but 59% of those who have been disfranchised for life due to a felony conviction. The 1890 version had removed crimes thought to be "white crimes" and added those thought to be "Black crimes," with the aim of discriminating against Black voters, according to court records. Eight crimes listed in the 1890 version of the provision - bribery, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, perjury, forgery, embezzlement and bigamy - remain as disqualifying offenses today. A key question in the case was whether the process of amending Mississippi's felon disenfranchisement provision purged the discriminatory intent behind the 1890 version and brought the law into compliance constitutional race-based voter protections.

Persons: Roy Harness, Kamal Karriem, Constitution's, Harness, Karriem, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Black, Constitution, Harness, The, Circuit, Thomson Locations: Civil, Mississippi, U.S, The New Orleans

☆ US Supreme Court to weigh legality of domestic-violence gun curbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( John Kruzel | Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The case involves a Texas man charged with illegal gun possession while subject to a domestic violence restraining order after assaulting his girlfriend. The 1994 law at issue in the current case prohibited a person subject to a domestic violence restraining order from possessing a firearm. Circuit Court of Appeals in February declaring the law unconstitutional in a ruling that applied to Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the Supreme Court on behalf of Biden's administration that the 5th Circuit's ruling was "profoundly mistaken." Twenty-three states, mostly Democratic-led, urged the Supreme Court to hear the dispute, as did groups advocating for the prevention of gun violence and domestic abuse.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Zackey, Rahimi, Elizabeth Prelogar, Prelogar, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, New York, New, Circuit, Appeals, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Texas, United States, New York, Kennedale, Arlington , Texas, New Orleans, Texas , Louisiana, Mississippi

☆ U.S. Supreme Court won't weigh gender dysphoria's status under disability law
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( John Kruzel | Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday turned away a dispute involving a transgender woman whose former jailers housed her with men and delayed her hormone treatment in a case that asked whether gender dysphoria is a disability under federal law. At issue was whether gender dysphoria, a condition involving distress resulting from a discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their assigned sex at birth, qualifies as a disability under a landmark 1990 federal law called the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The jail classified Williams as male because she "maintains the male genitalia with which she was born," according to 2021 court records. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the judge's ruling, finding that gender dysphoria is protected under the ADA. Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kesha Williams, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Williams, Sheriff Stacey Kincaid, Jesse Helms, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Disabilities, Conservative, Adult, Republican, Circuit, ADA, Lawyers, Virginia, Thomson Locations: Fairfax County , Virginia, Fairfax, U.S, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Richmond , Virginia, West Virginia, New York

June 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, effectively prohibiting affirmative action policies long used to raise the number of Black, Hispanic and other underrepresented minority students on campuses. "Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause," Roberts wrote, referring to the constitutional provision. Affirmative action had withstood Supreme Court scrutiny for decades, most recently in a 2016 ruling involving a white student, backed by Blum, who sued the University of Texas after being rejected for admission. Jackson did not participate in the Harvard case because of her past affiliation with the university. The ruling did not explicitly say it was overruling landmark precedent upholding affirmative action.

Persons: Constitution's, Edward Blum, Roe, Wade, John Roberts, Roberts, Blum, Donald Trump, Trump, Thursday's, Joe Biden's, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Sotomayor, Peter Hans, Hans, Clarence Thomas, Bollinger, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Harvard University, University of North, Harvard, UNC, Fair, Universities, University of Texas, Republican, America, Liberal, Jackson, Asian, Civil, University of North Carolina, Thomson Locations: University of North Carolina, U.S, States, Black, America, New York

[1/3] Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson listens to U.S. According to legal scholar Adam Feldman, who tracks court data, Jackson spoke more during oral arguments than any of the other current justices during their first terms. "She's just showed up from day one," said Terry Maroney, a Vanderbilt Law School professor who studies judicial decision-making and behavior. "She knows what she's doing, she's not shy, she's posing uncomfortable hypotheticals - and she's not afraid to do those things even if it's causing discomfort." Last year, rulings powered by the conservative justices ended recognition of a constitutional right to abortion and widened gun rights.

Persons: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Frantz, Jackson, Lorie Smith, Smith, Santa Claus, Kristen Waggoner, Joe Biden, Adam Feldman, She's, Terry Maroney, she's, Stephen Breyer, Kent Greenfield, Greenfield, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Roman Martinez, John Roberts, Jackson's, Neil Gorsuch, Martinez, " Maroney, Andrew Chung, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S . Senate, U.S, Supreme, Capitol, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Democratic, Vanderbilt Law, Environmental Protection Agency, Boston College, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Colorado, United States, California, New York, Washington

He was found guilty in a 2017 trial of stalking Whalen and sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison as he pursued his First Amendment appeal. The Colorado stalking law did not require proof of a speaker's subjective intent to intimidate. Whalen has described the messages from Counterman, which came to her over a two-year span beginning in 2014, as life-threatening and life-altering. Among Counterman's communications to Whalen were messages that read: "Was that you in the white Jeep?" His appeal was rejected by the Colorado Court of Appeals.

Persons: Elena Kagan, Billy Counterman's, Coles Whalen, Kagan, John Elwood, Elwood, Counterman, messaged Whalen, Whalen, Joe Biden's, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Counterman, Facebook, Colorado, of Appeals, Thomson Locations: Colorado, Denver, Colorado's

WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit by a group of congressional Democrats who had sought details about a government lease for a Washington hotel concerning when it was owned by former President Donald Trump. The court's action came after the lawmakers voluntarily dropped the case earlier this month. The justices had previously agreed to hear a bid by President Joe Biden's administration to block the lawsuit. The lawmakers sought information about a 2013 lease of the Old Post Office building to the Republican former president's company to convert it into a hotel. RELATED CONTENT: L1N37C1HQ "U.S. Supreme Court to hear dispute over Democratic bid for Trump hotel documents"Reporting by John KruzelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden's, John Kruzel Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Monday, Democratic, General Services Administration, GSA, Post, Republican, Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, Department, Trump, Thomson Locations: Washington

The justices, in a 5-4 decision, overturned a lower court's ruling involving a user who sued after a scammer stole money from his account. The lower court had let a proposed class action lawsuit proceed while Coinbase pressed its appeal contending that the claims belong in arbitration. The justices dismissed a second case that Coinbase had asked it to review. It makes sense that lower court litigation should be paused while an appellate court decides whether a case belongs in court at all." In both cases, federal judges had refused to force the claims into arbitration, as the company argued the user agreements required.

Persons: Coinbase, Brett Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh, irretrievably, Clarence Thomas, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, Katherine Minarik, Minarik, Abraham Bielski, duping, Andrew Chung, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Conservative, Liberal, Circuit, Thomson Locations: California, dogecoin, San Francisco, New York, Washington

More than 30% of households on the Navajo reservation currently lack running water, according to the tribe. "The 1868 treaty reserved necessary water to accomplish the purpose of the Navajo Reservation," Kavanaugh wrote in the ruling. "But the treaty did not require the United States to take affirmative steps to secure water for the Tribe." Circuit Court of Appeals that had given a green light to the Navajo Nation's lawsuit against the U.S. Interior Department and others seeking to prod the government to develop a plan to secure water for the tribe.

Persons: Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, Andrew Chung, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Supreme, Conservative, U.S ., San, Circuit, U.S . Interior Department, of, Thomson Locations: Navajo, United States, U.S . Civil, Colorado, Arizona , New Mexico, Utah, San Francisco, Texas, New York, Washington

Against this backdrop, the court is again poised to decide cases with the potential to reshape key areas of law and impact life for millions of Americans. The court began its term in October and typically finishes by the end of June each year. The Supreme Court already has ruled in two major race-related cases. In the student admissions cases, the challengers - a group founded by anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum - accused the two schools of discriminating against white and Asian American applicants. The justices also are due to decide the legality of President Joe Biden's plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Clarence Thomas, Edward Blum, Joe Biden's, Lorie Smith's, Andrew Chung, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Harvard University, University of North, Republican, Harvard, UNC, Colorado, U.S . Postal Service, Thomson Locations: University of North Carolina, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas , Iowa , Kansas , Missouri , Nebraska, South Carolina, Louisiana, U.S, Colorado, North Carolina, New York, Washington

The 8-1 ruling, written by liberal Justice Elena Kagan, upheld a lower court's decision to allow the Justice Department to toss a lawsuit against a UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N) unit by a former employee named Jesse Polansky who accused it of wrongdoing. Polansky had sought to bar the department from dismissing whistleblower lawsuits filed under the False Claims Act in instances in which the government initially declined to exercise its right to take over the cases. Whistleblower cases brought under the False Claims Act resulted in $48.2 billion in recoveries from 1987 to 2021, according to Justice Department data. The Justice Department sought dismissal of Polansky's lawsuit in 2019, citing concerns including the "tremendous" burden of requests for the government to produce documents. The Supreme Court on June 1 ruled in another whistleblowers case involving the False Claims Act.

Persons: Department's, Elena Kagan, Jesse Polansky, Polansky, Polansky's, Kagan, Clarence Thomas, Donald Trump's, Nate Raymond, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Justice Department, Circuit, Health Resources, Conservative, Department, U.S . Chamber, Commerce, Republican, The Justice, Thomson Locations: Philadelphia, Boston, Washington

The justices turned away an appeal by Bradley Hester of a lower court's ruling that upheld Cullman County, Alabama's cash bail system. Hester was required to remain in jail following a misdemeanor arrest because he could not afford to make a $1,000 bail payment. Hester joined a lawsuit against Cullman County Sheriff Matthew Gentry and other officials in 2017 following his arrest and detention for possessing drug paraphernalia. A federal judge in Alabama in 2018 temporarily blocked Cullman County's bail practices, ruling that Hester was likely to prevail on his claim that the county's "discriminatory bail practices deprive indigent criminal defendants in Cullman County of equal protection of the law." Circuit Court of Appeals panel in 2022 reversed that ruling, prompting Hester's appeal to the Supreme Court.

Persons: Bradley Hester, Hester, Matthew Gentry, Cullman, John Kruzel, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S, Supreme, . Constitution, Circuit, Thomson Locations: ., Cullman County, Alabama

☆ Voting Rights Act survives at US Supreme Court but more challenges loom
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( John Kruzel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Election law expert Ned Foley of Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law called the ruling "a hugely important development for both the Voting Rights Act and the Supreme Court more broadly." The decision requires Alabama to draw a second U.S. House of Representatives district where Black voters comprise a majority or close to it. The Voting Rights Act was passed at a time when Southern states including Alabama enforced policies blocking Black people from casting ballots. Nearly six decades later, the Supreme Court continues to hear cases involving Black voters suing over electoral maps they argue diminish their influence. Thursday's ruling centered upon Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a provision aimed at countering measures that result in racial bias in voting even absent racist intent.

Persons: John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Ned Foley, Roberts, Kavanaugh, Foley, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Terri Sewell, Marc Elias, Elias, Brennan, Alabama, Deuel Ross, Ross, Gotell Faulks, Faulks, John Kruzel, Moira Warburton, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Conservative, Republican, Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law, Alabama, U.S . House, Representatives, Black House Democrat, Democratic, Black voters, Black, Brennan Center for Justice, New York, American Civil Liberties, Thomson Locations: Alabama, U.S, Black, Louisiana, Constitution's, Montgomery, Jackson, Baton Rouge

The lower court ordered Alabama to configure a second House district where Black voters could hold a majority or close to it. Conservative states and groups had previously succeeded in prodding the Supreme Court to limit the Voting Rights Act's scope. In the ruling on Thursday, two consolidated cases before the Supreme Court involved challenges brought by Black voters and advocacy groups accusing the state of violating Section 2. Alabama then appealed to the Supreme Court. In a major 2019 ruling, the Supreme Court barred federal judges from curbing the practice, known as partisan gerrymandering.

Persons: Michael A, McCoy, John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Roberts, Abha Khanna, Khanna, Joe Biden's, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: Selma Fire, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, U.S, Supreme, Black, Republican, Supreme Court, . House, Conservative, Republicans, U.S . House, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Selma, Selma , Alabama, U.S, Alabama, Black, Arizona, Constitution's, Washington

Jack Daniel's Properties Inc is owned by Louisville, Kentucky-based Brown-Forman Corp (BFb.N). The dispute pitted the whiskey brand's trademark rights against legal protections for creative expression - in this case a send-up by Phoenix-based VIP Products of Jack Daniel's Old No. Jack Daniel's spokesperson Svend Jansen said the company was pleased with the decision. "Jack Daniel's is a brand recognized for quality and craftsmanship, and when friends around the world see the label, they know it stands for something they can count on. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020 ruled in favor of VIP Products on two grounds.

Persons: Jack, Read, Jack Daniel's, Elena Kagan, Brown, Kagan, Svend Jansen, Jansen, Ginger Rogers, Ginger, Fred, Federico Fellini, Fred Astaire, Rogers, infringer, Joe Biden's, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, VIP Products, Inc, Forman Corp, VIP, Rogers, New, Circuit, Appeals, Hollywood, Thomson Locations: Washington, WASHINGTON, Louisville , Kentucky, Phoenix, Tennessee, New York, San Francisco

[1/2] U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas poses during a group portrait at the Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., October 7, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - Conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, under scrutiny following revelations that he did not disclose luxury trips paid for by a billionaire Dallas businessman, has received an extension to file his mandatory annual financial disclosure, the court said on Wednesday. Some congressional Democrats have proposed imposing new ethics standards on the Supreme Court following reporting on conduct by some of the justices, in particular Thomas. Supreme Court justices are not bound like other federal judges by a code of conduct that includes avoidance even of the "appearance of impropriety." The three conservative justices appointed by former President Donald Trump drew additional income as law professors.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Evelyn Hockstein WASHINGTON, Samuel Alito, Thomas, Harlan Crow, Crow, Frederick Douglass, Neil Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Sonia Sotomayor, Sotomayor, John Roberts, Donald Trump, Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, George Mason University's Antonin Scalia, Amy Coney Barrett, Roberts, Andrew Chung, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, REUTERS, Conservative U.S, Judicial Conference, Politico, Liberal, Vogue, Random, Charter Communications, Texas, University of Notre Dame Law School, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Dallas, Crow, Colorado, New York, Washington

☆ Supreme Court ruling could chill labor strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( John Kruzel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Angela Cornell, a Cornell Law School labor law professor, called it "another decision that undermines the capacity of unions to function." MORE STRIKESThe ruling comes at a time of increasing strikes called by U.S. labor unions. Some experts pointed out that the ruling largely preserved the existing legal scaffolding for deciding labor law preemption cases of this kind. The Supreme Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has dealt setbacks to organized labor in key cases in recent years. Brudney said Thursday's ruling "was not comparable to that broader trendline" of decisions weakening labor unions.

Persons: Amy Coney Barrett, Angela Cornell, Cornell, Kenneth Dau, Schmidt, Benjamin Sachs, Sachs, Dan Altchek, Saul Ewing, Altchek, James Brudney, Brudney, Anne Marie Lofaso, Lofaso, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Taiheiyo Cement Corp, Cornell Law School, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Harvard Law, Glacier, Inc, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, National Labor Relations, U.S . Bureau of Labor Statistics, Fordham University Law, West Virginia University College of Law, Thomson Locations: Japan, Washington, Philadelphia, California

Glacier Northwest is a unit of Japan-based Taiheiyo Cement Corp. (5233.T)Glacier Northwest filed a lawsuit in Washington state court accusing the union of intentional property destruction during a 2017 strike. The Washington state Supreme Court in 2021 ruled that the company's claims were preempted by a statute called the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), saying the company's loss of concrete was incidental to a strike that could be considered arguably protected under federal labor law. The Supreme Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has leaned toward curbing the power of labor unions in rulings in recent years. Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien said the Supreme Court had "again voted in favor of corporations over working people." While the Supreme Court has found that labor unions can be sued in state court for violent or threatening conduct, the union had argued, this narrow exception should not be expanded to permit property damage claims brought under state law.

Persons: Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Noel Francisco, Sean O'Brien, O'Brien, Joe Biden's, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Glacier Northwest Inc, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, National Labor Relations, Taiheiyo Cement Corp, Conservative, Liberal, Teamsters, Thomson Locations: Washington, Japan, California

WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday gave a boost to whistleblowers in their bid to revive lawsuits accusing pharmacy operators of knowingly overbilling government health insurance programs for prescription drugs at taxpayers' expense. Whistleblower advocacy groups as well as a number of states had said a Supreme Court ruling against the whistleblowers would make it easier for fraudsters to evade accountability for filing false claims to the government and risked undermining state-administered Medicaid programs. They also said both companies knew they were defrauding the government and worked to conceal their pricing practices. President Joe Biden's administration backed the whistleblowers in their appeal to the Supreme Court. Lawyers for the administration urged the justices to reverse the 7th Circuit, saying the ruling undermined the False Claims Act.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Thomas Proctor, Tracy Schutte, Michael Yarberry, SuperValu, Joe Biden's, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Safeway Inc, Albertsons Companies Inc, SuperValu Inc, United Natural Foods Inc, Government, Conservative, Safeway, Circuit, Lawyers, Thomson Locations: Chicago

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) in its bid to revive patents on its cholesterol-lowering drug Repatha over a legal challenge by French rival Sanofi SA (SASY.PA). Amgen sought to patent a group of antibodies that help reduce so-called "bad" cholesterol. In 2014, Amgen sued Sanofi and Regeneron for patent infringement over their rival drug Praluent, which works by a similar mechanism as Repatha. The justices said that Supreme Court precedent weighed against Amgen. President Joe Biden's administration, arguing in support of Sanofi, told the justices that Amgen had not disclosed the information needed to make to make its patents valid.

WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a bid by South Carolina officials to revive a Republican-crafted voting map that a lower court said had unconstitutionally "exiled" 30,000 Black voters from a closely contested congressional district. In this case, the Republican legislators were accused of racial gerrymandering to reduce the influence of black voters. South Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature adopted a new voting map last year following the 2020 U.S. census. The Republican map resulted in a 1st congressional district with a larger percentage of white, Republican-leaning voters. The judges – all three appointed by Democratic presidents – ruled that no elections can take place in the 1st district until it has been redrawn, prompting the South Carolina Republican officials to appeal to the Supreme Court.

☆ Man arrested after killing 7 pedestrians with car in Brownsville, Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 7 (Reuters) - At least seven people were killed and several others were injured on Sunday when a car ran into pedestrians in Brownsville, Texas, and a male suspect was in custody, local television stations reported. The crash occurred at 8:30 a.m. local time near Ozanam Center, a shelter for migrants and homeless, said CBS 4 and NBC 23 affiliates, citing Lieutenant Martin Sandoval of the Brownsville Police Department. Some migrants were among the dead, Sandoval said in an on-camera interview with Fox News. A number of people were injured in the crash as well but there was no immediate further details. A second video of the aftermath appears to show victims lying on the ground, some bloodied and writhing, while others lay motionless.

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