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High court won't hear challenge to Vermont campaign law
Court Watch |
2015/01/13 13:26
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The Supreme Court won't hear a challenge to part of Vermont's campaign finance laws that impose contribution limits on political action committees.
The justices on Monday declined to hear an appeal from the Vermont Right to Life Committee, an anti-abortion group. The group argued that Vermont's campaign finance registration, reporting and disclosure requirements for PACs were too broad and unconstitutional.
The group argued that a subcommittee it created should not be subject to Vermont's $2,000 limit on contributions to PACs because the subcommittee does not give money directly to candidates and makes only independent expenditures.
But a federal judge rejected those arguments, finding that there was no clear accounting between the two committees. A federal appeals court agreed. |
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Court won't hear free speech challenge to metals dealers law
Court Watch |
2015/01/13 13:20
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The Supreme Court won't consider the constitutionality of an Ohio law that bars precious metals dealers from advertising without a license.
The justices on Monday declined to take up an appeal from Liberty Coins, a gold and silver dealer that claims the law violates the free speech rights of businesses.
Ohio officials say the 1996 law was enacted to protect consumers from theft and help police track down stolen wedding rings, gold bracelets and other items resold at stores that buy gold and silver merchandise.
A federal judge in 2012 ruled the law unconstitutional because the state failed to prove the license requirement was effective in curbing theft, fraud and terrorism. But the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling last year.
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Idaho gay marriage fight appealed to Supreme Court
Court Watch |
2015/01/05 16:32
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Idaho's governor and attorney general have filed separate petitions to the U.S. Supreme Court, fighting against gay marriage and arguing that the state's case has national consequences.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Idaho since an October ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has struck down bans across the West.
Attorney General Lawrence Wasden's filing Friday states that the issue is a matter of a state's right to define marriage without the federal government's involvement.
"This case presents the Court with the opportunity to resolve a divisive split on a question of nationwide importance: Whether the United States Constitution now prohibits states from maintaining the traditional definition of civil marriage, i.e., between one man and one woman," Wasden said in the petition.
Gov. Butch Otter's petition, filed Tuesday, states that the high court should review Idaho's case alone or in addition to a pending case involving the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the right of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee to decide whether to allow gay marriage. |
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Post reporter charged in Iran after day in court
Court Watch |
2014/12/08 14:49
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A Washington Post reporter detained in Iran for more than four months was formally charged Saturday after a day-long proceeding in a Tehran courtroom, the newspaper reported.
Jason Rezaian, the newspaper's bureau chief in Tehran since 2012, appeared in court almost five months after he was arrested July 22. The charges were the first against him since the arrest, the Post said. He is an Iranian-American who holds dual citizenship.
The newspaper, quoting a source familiar with the case, said the nature of the charges against him were not immediately clear to those not present in the courtroom. The State Department has repeatedly raised the subject of Rezaian and other Americans jailed in Iran during talks with the government about a deal to curb Iran's nuclear capacity and ease international sanctions.
The State Department tweeted early Sunday that Secretary of State John Kerry was "disappointed and concerned" with the latest developments and called on the Iranian government to drop any charges against Rezaian "and release him so he can be reunited with his family."
His detention has been extended to mid-January in recent days because the investigation is continuing, the Post said. |
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Court reinstates whistleblower case at nuke site
Court Watch |
2014/11/11 15:18
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An appeals court reinstated a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation who claims he was fired by a subcontractor after raising safety issues at the nation's most polluted nuclear weapons production site.
In its ruling Friday, the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals also said plaintiff Walt Tamosaitis is entitled to a jury trial.
The appeals court ruled that a lower court wrongly dismissed the case against the primary subcontractor on construction of a Hanford vitrification plant intended to deal with the most dangerous wastes, the Tri-City Herald reported.
"We are anxious to get into court as soon as we can," Tamosaitis' attorney, Jack Sheridan said.
Hanford, located near Richland, Washington, for decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons and now contains the nation's largest collection of radioactive wastes.
The lawsuit will continue with only URS Energy and Construction as a defendant. The 9th Circuit ruled that it had been appropriate to dismiss the U.S. Department of Energy from the lawsuit.
It's the first time a court of appeals has confirmed that whistleblowers are entitled to a jury trial, Sheridan said.
"It puts them on equal footing with other victims of discrimination," he said.
Tamosaitis contends the subcontractor removed him as the research and technology manager of the unfinished $12.2 billion vitrification plant project after he said more time was needed to resolve complex technical issues. Construction on the plant has since stopped because of technical and safety issues. |
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