Page 12 - Us Supreme Court

Trump faces prospect of additional sanctions in hush money trial case

Donald Trump faces the prospect of additional sanctions in his hush money trial as he returns to court on Thursday for another contempt hearing followed by testimony from a lawyer who represented two women who have said they had sexual encounters with the former president. The testimony from attorney Keith Davidson is seen as a vital building block for the prosecution's case that Trump and his allies schemed to bury unflattering stories in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. He is one of multiple key players expected to be called to the stand in advance of prosecutors' star witness, Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and personal fixer. Prosecutors are seeking USD 1,000 fines for each of four comments by Trump that they say violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses, jurors and others closely connected to the case. Such a penalty would be on top of a USD 9,000 fine that Judge Juan M. Merchan imposed on Tuesday related to nine separate gag order ...

Arizona's Democrats get enough votes to repeal 19th century abortion ban

Democrats in the Arizona Legislature made a final push Wednesday to repeal the state's long-dormant ban on nearly all abortions, which a court said can be enforced. Voting wasn't complete but the Senate had the 16 votes it needed to advance the bill. Fourteen Democrats in the Senate were joined by two Republican votes in favour of repealing the bill, which narrowly cleared the Arizona House last week and is expected to be signed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. The near-total ban, which predates Arizona's statehood, permits abortions only to save the patient's life and provides no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest. In a ruling last month, the Arizona Supreme Court suggested doctors could be prosecuted under the 1864 law, which says that anyone who assists in an abortion can be sentenced to two to five years in prison. If the repeal bill is signed, a 2022 statute banning the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy would become Arizona's prevailing abortion law. Still, there

Harvey Weinstein appears in court after New York rape conviction overturned

Harvey Weinstein arrived at a Manhattan courthouse Wednesday, his first appearance since his 2020 rape conviction was overturned by an appeals court last week. Weinstein, wearing a navy blue suit, was seated in a wheelchair pushed by a court officer as he entered the preliminary hearing in Manhattan that is expected to include discussion of evidence, scheduling and other matters, according to Weinstein's attorney, Arthur Aidala. Aidala said Weinstein was attending the hearing despite the 72-year-old having been hospitalized since shortly after his return to the city jail system Friday from an upstate prison. He has said Weinstein, who has cardiac issues and diabetes, was undergoing unspecified tests because of his health issues. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has said it is determined to retry the case against Weinstein. Legal experts say that may be a long road and come down to whether the women he's accused of assaulting are willing to testify again. One of the .

US SC rejects Elon Musk's appeal over tweets that must be approved by Tesla

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Elon Musk over a settlement with securities regulators that requires him to get approval in advance of some tweets that relate to Tesla, the electric vehicle company he leads. The justices did not comment in leaving in place lower-court rulings against Musk, who complained that the requirement amounts to prior restraint on his speech in violation of the First Amendment. The case stems from tweets Musk posted in 2018 in which he claimed he had secured funding to take Tesla private. The tweets caused the company's share price to jump and led to a temporary halt in trading. The settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission included a requirement that his tweets be approved first by a Tesla attorney. It also called for Musk and Tesla to pay civil fines over the tweets in which Musk said he had funding secured to take Tesla private at $420 per share. The funding wasn't secured, and Tesla remains public. The SEC's initial ...

Planning for potential transition underway as Biden admin kicks it off

President Joe Biden's administration on Friday formally began planning for a potential presidential transition, aiming to ensure continuity of government no matter the outcome of November's general election. Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, sent memos to all executive departments and agencies, directing them to name a point person for transition planning by May 3. It's the routine first step in congressionally mandated preparedness for presidential transitions. Next week, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients who also chaired Biden's 2020 transition effort will lead the first meeting of the White House Transition Coordinating Council, which consists of senior White House policy, national security and management officials, as required by the Presidential Transition Act. The act provides federal support for major party candidates to prepare to govern so that they can have personnel in place to take policy actions on their first day in ...

'No one above the law, not even the president,' says US Supreme Court

On the left and right, Supreme Court justices seem to agree on a basic truth about the American system of government: No one is above the law, not even the president. The law applies equally to all persons, including a person who happens for a period of time to occupy the Presidency, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in 2020. Less than a year earlier, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, then a federal trial judge, wrote, Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings. But former President Donald Trump and his legal team are putting that foundational belief to the test on Thursday when the high court takes up Trump's bid to avoid prosecution over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. Trump's lawyers argue that former presidents are entitled to absolute immunity for their official acts. Otherwise, they say, politically motivated prosecutions of former occupants of the Oval Office would bec

After firing 7, Starbucks takes on federal labour agency before US SC

After Starbucks fired seven workers who were trying to unionize their Tennessee store, a US government agency obtained a court order forcing the company to rehire them. Now, Starbucks wants the Supreme Court to curb the government's power in such cases. On Tuesday, justices are scheduled to hear Starbucks' case against the National Labour Relations Board, the federal agency that protects the right of employees to organise. If the court sides with Starbucks, it could make it tougher for the NLRB to step in when it alleges corporate interference in unionization efforts. The hearing comes even as the animosity between Starbucks and Workers United, the union organising its workers, has begun to fade. The two sides announced in February that they would restart talks with the aim of reaching contract agreements this year. Starbucks and union representatives planned to meet Tuesday for their first bargaining session in nearly a year. Workers at 420 company-owned US Starbucks stores have ..

Donald Trump's immunity gambit at Supreme Court: A delay is still victory

The dynamic underscores the power the court and its three Trump-appointed members have over his fate

US court rejects last-minute bid to halt Donald Trump's hush money trial

A New York appeals court judge on Friday rejected a last-minute bid by Donald Trump to halt his hush money criminal trial over defense complaints that jury selection was unfairly rushed. Justice Marsha Michael issued the ruling just minutes after a brief hearing. The arguments in the mid-level appeals court came hours after the jury selection process concluded in Trump's criminal trial, which is currently taking place roughly two miles south. The ruling will allow opening arguments to take place as soon as Monday in Trump's criminal trial.

Jury chosen in Trump's hush-money case, and other trial takeaways

Trump, who faces three other criminal prosecutions, denies wrongdoing and claims the cases are part of a political 'which hunt' against him

Donald Trump hush money trial: Jury selection encounters setbacks

Jury selection in Donald Trump 's hush money case encountered setbacks Thursday as two previously sworn-in jurors were excused one after backtracking on whether she could be impartial and fair and the other over concerns that he may not have been truthful about whether he had ever been accused or convicted of a crime. Seven jurors were sworn in on Tuesday, but with the excusal of two of them, lawyers now need to pick 13 others including six alternates to serve on the panel that will decide the first-ever criminal case against a former U.S. president. Prosecutors on Thursday also asked Judge Juan M. Merchan to sanction Trump over seven more social media posts they say violate a gag order that bars Trump from attacking witnesses. The prosecution on Monday sought a $3,000 fine against Trump over three Truth Social posts. Questioning of a second wave of prospective jurors began mid-morning. Over half of the group of 96 people was excused after saying they couldn't serve. Trump has

Judge declines to delay Trump's trial over complaints of pretrial publicity

The judge in Donald Trump's hush money criminal case on Friday turned down the former president's request to postpone his trial because of publicity about the case. It's the latest in a string of delay denials that Trump has gotten from various courts this week as he fights to stave off the trial's start Monday with jury selection. Among other things, Trump's lawyers had argued that the jury pool was deluged with what the defense saw as exceptionally prejudicial news coverage of the case. The defense argued that was a reason to hold off the case indefinitely. Judge Juan M. Merchan said that idea was not tenable. Trump appears to take the position that his situation and this case are unique and that the pre-trial publicity will never subside. However, this view does not align with reality, the judge wrote. He said questioning of prospective jurors would address any concerns about their ability to be fair and impartial. Prosecutors had objected to Trump's request, saying that the .

Prosecutors urge SC to reject Trump's immunity claims in 2020 election case

Special counsel Jack Smith's team urged the Supreme Court on Monday night to reject former President Donald Trump's claim that he is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The brief from prosecutors was submitted just over two weeks before the justices take up the legally untested question of whether an ex-president is shielded from criminal charges for official actions taken in the White House. A President's alleged criminal scheme to use his official powers to overturn the presidential election and thwart the peaceful transfer of power frustrates core constitutional provisions that protect democracy, they wrote. The outcome of the April 25 arguments is expected to help determine whether Trump faces trial this year in a four-count indictment that accuses him of conspiring to block the peaceful transfer of power after losing the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump has argued that former presiden

Billionaire Joe Lewis gets no prison time at sentencing for insider trading

British billionaire Joe Lewis, whose family trust owns the Tottenham Hotspur soccer club, will not spend any time in prison after pleading guilty to insider trading and conspiracy charges in New York, a federal judge said. Judge G.L. Clarke cited Lewis' decision to promptly come to the United States to face charges and his failing health, along with a lifetime of good works, in ruling that Lewis will face three years on probation and a $5 million fine rather than time behind bars. Lewis, 87, was wearing an eye patch and one of his hands shook steadily throughout the one-hour proceeding in a federal court in Manhattan. He has remained in the United States since last July. Before he was sentenced, Lewis spoke briefly, saying he learned growing up in England during World War II how precious life is and decided to devote much of his life to finding a cure for horrendous diseases. Your honor, I'm here today because I made a terrible mistake. I'm ashamed, he said. Lewis said he hoped to

Federal Judge denies Trump bid to dismiss classified documents prosecution

A federal judge refused Thursday to throw out the classified documents prosecution against Donald Trump, rejecting a defence argument that the case should be tossed because he was entitled as a former president to retain the records after he left office. Lawyers for Trump had cited a 1978 statute known as the Presidential Records Act in arguing that he was permitted to designate records from his time in office as personal and take them with him when he left the White House. Prosecutors on special counsel Jack Smith's team vigorously opposed that argument, saying the statute had no relevance in a case concerning classified documents. US District Judge Aileen Cannon sided with the government in a three-page order, writing that the indictment makes no reference to the Presidential Records Act, nor do they rely on that statute for purposes of stating an offence.

Trump's plea to delay hush-money trial until SC rules on immunity rejected

A judge Wednesday rejected Donald Trump's bid to delay his April 15 hush money criminal trial until the Supreme Court rules on the presidential immunity claims he raised in another of his criminal cases. Manhattan Judge Juan M Merchan deemed the former president's request untimely, ruling that his lawyers had myriad opportunities to raise the immunity issue before they finally did so in a March 7 court filing. Lawyers for the presumptive Republican nominee had asked to adjourn the New York trial indefinitely until Trump's immunity claim in his Washington, D C, election interference case is resolved. Merchan previously chided Trump's lawyers for missing a filing deadline, waiting until 2 weeks before jury selection to raise the immunity issue and failing to explain the reason for the late filing. Trump contends he is immune from prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office. His lawyers argue some of the evidence and alleged acts in the hush mo

US firm helping immigrants in detention to pay over $811 mn in lawsuit

A company that provides services for immigrants in federal detention was ordered Tuesday to pay more than $811 million in restitution and penalties in a lawsuit alleging it used deceptive and abusive tactics. Nexus Services must pay roughly $231 million in restitution as well as penalties of $13.8 million to New York, $7.1 million to Virginia and $3.4 million to Massachusetts, according to a judgement filed in federal court for the Western District of Virginia in Harrisonburg. The Virginia-based company, its subsidiary Libre by Nexus and its three executives must also each pay more than $111 million in civil penalties. This judgment is a victory for thousands of immigrant families who lost their life savings and were targeted and preyed on by Libre, New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. Libre exploited vulnerable immigrants and their families to pad its pockets, and that is illegal and unconscionable. James joined state attorneys general in Virginia and ...

US top court likely to preserve access to abortion medication mifepristone

The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed likely to preserve access to a medication that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the US last year, in the court's first abortion case since conservative justices overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. In nearly 90 minutes of arguments, a consensus appeared to emerge that the abortion opponents who challenged the FDA's approval of the medication, mifepristone, and subsequent actions to ease access to it, lack the legal right or standing to sue. Such a decision would leave in place the current rules that allow patients to receive the drug through the mail, without any need for an in-person visit with a doctor, and to take the medication to induce an abortion through 10 weeks of pregnancy. Should the court take the no-standing route, it would avoid the more politically sensitive aspects of the case. The high court's return to the abortion thicket is taking place in a political and regulatory landscape that was reshaped by its abortion

Texas' migrant arrest law back on hold after briefly taking effect

A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted a stay on a Texas law that gives police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the US-Mexico border illegally while a legal battle over immigration authority plays out. The Biden administration is suing to strike down the measure, arguing it's a clear violation of federal authority that would hurt international relations and create chaos in administering immigration law. The law allows any police officer in Texas to arrest migrants for illegal entry. A judge could then order them to leave the US Texas has argued it has a right to take action over what Texas authorities have called a crisis at the southern border. The battle over the Texas immigration law is one of multiple legal disputes between Texas officials and the Biden administration over how far the state can go to patrol the Texas-Mexico border and prevent illegal border crossings. Gov. Greg Abbott has described the situation at the border as an invasion of migrants.

Trump asks SC to dismiss case charging him with plotting to overturn polls

Lawyers for Donald Trump have urged the US Supreme Court to dismiss an indictment charging the former president with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election, renewing their arguments that he is immune from prosecution for official acts taken in the White House. Lower courts have already twice rejected the immunity claims, but Trump's lawyers will get a fresh chance to press their case before the Supreme Court when the justices hear arguments on April 25. The high court's decision to consider the matter has left the criminal case on hold pending the outcome of the appeal, making it unclear whether special counsel Jack Smith will be able to put the ex-president on trial before November's election. In a brief filed Tuesday, Trump's lawyers repeated many of the same arguments that judges have already turned aside, asserting that a president "cannot function, and the Presidency itself cannot retain its vital independence, if the President faces criminal prosecution for ...