Page 12 - Us Supreme Court

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 ...

Supreme Court denies ex-Trump aide Navarro's bid to halt prison sentence

The Supreme Court has refused to halt a prison sentence for former Trump White House official Peter Navarro as he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction. Navarro is due to report Tuesday to a federal prison for a four-month sentence, after being found guilty of misdemeanour charges for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. He had asked to stay free while he appealed his conviction. Navarro has maintained that he couldn't cooperate with the committee because former President Donald Trump had invoked executive privilege. Lower courts have rejected that argument, finding he couldn't prove Trump had actually invoked it. The Monday order signed by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who handles emergency applications from Washington, D.C., said he has "no basis to disagree" with the appeals court ruling, though he said the finding doesn't affect the eventual outcome of Navarro's appeal. His attorney Stanle

Fund manager who helped Byju's hide $533 mn from its lenders to be jailed

Byju's Alpha, a subsidiary controlled by Byju's lenders, filed for U.S. bankruptcy in February after the Bangalore-based startup defaulted on $1.2 billion in debt

US court denies ex-Trump White House official relief from jail sentence

An appeals court denied Trump White House official Peter Navarro's bid to stave off his jail sentence on contempt of Congress charges Thursday. Navarro has been ordered to report to a federal prison by March 19. He argued he should stay free as he appeals his conviction for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. But a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court in Washington, DC disagreed, finding his appeal wasn't likely to reverse his conviction. His attorneys did not immediately return messages seeking comment, but have previously indicated he would appeal to the Supreme Court. Navarro was the second Trump aide convicted of contempt of Congress charges. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon previously received a four-month sentence but a different judge allowed him to stay free pending appeal. Navarro was found guilty of defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House January 6 committee

Judge to hear arguments on Trump's classified documents prosecution

A federal judge will hear arguments Thursday on whether to dismiss the classified documents prosecution of Donald Trump, with his attorneys asserting that the former president was entitled to keep the sensitive records with him when he left the White House and headed to Florida. The dispute centers on the Trump team's interpretation of the Presidential Records Act, which they say gave him the authority to designate the documents as personal and maintain possession of them after his presidency. Special counsel Jack Smith's team, by contrast, says the files Trump is charged with possessing are presidential records, not personal ones, and that the statute does not apply to classified and top-secret documents like those kept at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The Presidential Records Act "does not exempt Trump from the criminal law, entitle him to unilaterally declare highly classified presidential records to be personal records, or shield him from criminal investigations let alone .

Trump wants his trial delayed until Supreme Court rules on immunity claims

Donald Trump is seeking to delay his March 25 hush money trial until the Supreme Court rules on the presidential immunity claims he raised in another of his criminal cases. The Republican former president's lawyers on Monday asked Manhattan Judge Juan Manuel Merchan to adjourn the New York criminal trial indefinitely until Trump's immunity claim in his Washington, DC, election interference case is resolved. Merchan did not immediately rule. 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 money case overlap with his time in the White House and constitute official acts. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments April 25, a month after the scheduled start of jury selection in Trump's hush money case. It is the first of his four criminal cases slated to go to trial as he closes in on the Republican presidential nomination in his quest to retak

Donald Trump ordered to pay six-figure legal fees after failed lawsuit

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been ordered to pay a six-figure legal bill to a company founded by a former British spy that he unsuccessfully sued for making what his lawyer called shocking and scandalous" false claims that harmed his reputation. A London judge, who threw out the case against Orbis Business Intelligence last month saying it was bound to fail," ordered Trump to pay legal fees of 300,000 pounds ($382,000), according to court documents released Thursday. The British court case was one of few in which Trump, who is almost sure to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was not a defendant as he faces massive legal problems back home. Trump is charged in four criminal cases and faces a civil complaint in U.S. courts. He lost a subsequent defamation case in which a jury found him liable for sexual abuse, and has been ordered to pay $355 million after a fraud verdict against his businesses. In England, he had gone on the offensive and sued Orbis, which w

Supreme Court blocks Texas law that allows police to arrest migrants

Texas' plan to arrest migrants who enter the US illegally is headed to the Supreme Court in a legal showdown over the federal government's authority over immigration. The high court on Monday blocked Texas' immigration law from going into effect until March 13 and asked the state to respond by March 11. The law was set to take effect Saturday, and the court's decision came just hours after the Justice Department asked it to intervene. Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed the law in December and for months has unveiled a series of escalating measures on the border that have tested the boundaries of how far a state can go keep migrants from entering the country. The law would allow state officers to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally. People who are arrested could then agree to a Texas judge's order to leave the country or face a misdemeanor charge for entering the US illegally. Migrants who don't leave after being ordered to do so could be arrested again and

Supreme Court decision likely in case about barring Trump from 2024 ballot

A Supreme Court decision could come as soon as Monday in the case about whether former President Donald Trump can be kicked off the ballot over his efforts to undo his defeat in the 2020 election. Trump is challenging a groundbreaking decision by the Colorado Supreme Court that said he is disqualified from being president again and ineligible for the state's primary, which is Tuesday. The resolution of the case on Monday, a day before Super Tuesday contests in 16 states, would remove uncertainty about whether votes for Trump, the leading Republican candidate for president, will ultimately count. Both sides had requested fast work by the court, which heard arguments less than a month ago, on Feb. 8, The Colorado court was the first to invoke a post-Civil War constitutional provision aimed at preventing those who engaged in insurrection from holding office. Trump also has since been barred from primary ballot in Illinois and Maine, though both decisions, along with Colorado's, are on

Donald Trump to stay on Illinois ballot as he appeals January 6 ban

The decision removes the possibility of a fresh showdown threatening Trump's appearance on a primary ballot, for now

SC sets April arguments over whether Trump can be prosecuted for 2020 polls

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to decide whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges he interfered with the 2020 election, calling into question whether his case could go to trial before the November election. While the court set a course for a quick resolution, it maintained a hold on preparations for a trial focused on Trump's efforts to overturn his election loss. The court will hear arguments in late April, with a decision likely no later than the end of June. That timetable is much faster than usual, but assuming the justices deny Trump's immunity bid, it's not clear whether a trial can be scheduled and concluded before the November election. Early voting in some states will begin in September. The court's decision to intervene in a second major Trump case this term, along with the dispute over whether he is barred from being president again because of his actions following the 2020 election, underscores the direct role the justices will have in th

Hunter Biden set to appear for closed-door interview with Republicans

Hunter Biden is set to appear on Wednesday on Capitol Hill for a closed-door deposition with lawmakers, a critical moment for Republicans as their impeachment inquiry into his father and their family's business affairs teeters on the brink of collapse. The deposition will mark a decisive point for the 14-month Republican investigation into the Biden family, which has centred on Hunter Biden and his overseas work for clients in Ukraine, China, Romania and other countries. Republicans have long questioned whether those business dealings involved corruption and influence peddling by President Joe Biden, particularly when he was vice president. Yet after conducting dozens of interviews and obtaining more than 100,000 pages of documents, Republicans have yet to produce direct evidence of misconduct by the president. Meanwhile, an FBI informant who alleged a bribery scheme involving the Bidens a claim Republicans had cited repeatedly to justify their probe is facing charges from federal

Supreme Court battles with GOP-led states' efforts to regulate social media

The Supreme Court wrestled Monday with state laws that could affect how Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube and other social media platforms regulate content posted by their users. The cases are among several this term in which the justices could set standards for free speech in the digital age. In nearly four hours of arguments, several justices questioned aspects of laws adopted by Republican-dominated legislatures and signed by Republican governors in Florida and Texas in 2021. But they seemed wary of a broad ruling, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett warning of land mines she and her colleagues need to avoid in resolving the two cases. While the details vary, both laws aimed to address conservative complaints that the social media companies were liberal-leaning and censored users based on their viewpoints, especially on the political right. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas appeared most ready to embrace arguments made by lawyers for the states. Alito complained about the term ...

Federal judge dismisses Disney's free speech lawsuit against DeSantis

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Disney's free speech lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, leaving the company's remaining hopes of regaining control of the district that governs Walt Disney World to a separate state court challenge. US District Judge Allen Winsor in Tallahassee said in his decision that Disney lacked standing in its First Amendment lawsuit against the Republican governor, the secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and DeSantis' appointees to the Disney World governing district. The separate lawsuit is still pending in state court in Orlando. Disney had argued that legislation signed by DeSantis and passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature that transferred control of the Disney World governing district from Disney supporters to DeSantis appointees was in retaliation for the company publicly opposing the state's so-called don't say gay law. That 2022 law banned classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in .

Alabama can proceed with US' first execution by nitrogen gas: US top court

The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Alabama can proceed with using nitrogen gas to put a man to death, refusing to block what would be the nation's first execution by a new method since 1982. The state says the method will be humane, but critics call it cruel and experimental. The decision clears the way for the state to carry out the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith a 58-year-old convicted killer whose 2022 lethal injection was called off at the last minute because authorities couldn't connect an IV line this time by using nitrogen gas. Smith's attorneys had waged an unsuccessful legal battle to halt the execution, arguing that Alabama was trying to make him the test subject for an experimental execution method. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who along with two other liberal justices dissented, wrote: "Having failed to kill Smith on its first attempt, Alabama has selected him as its 'guinea pig' to test a method of execution never attempted before. The world is ...

SC allows agents to cut razor wire Texas installed on US-Mexico border

A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed Border Patrol agents to cut razor wire that Texas installed on the US-Mexico border, while a lawsuit over the wire continues. The justices, by a 5-4 vote, granted an emergency appeal from the Biden administration, which has been in an escalating standoff at the border with Texas and had objected to an appellate ruling in favor of the state. The concertina wire along roughly 48 kilometers of the Rio Grande near the border city of Eagle Pass is part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's broader fight with the administration over immigration enforcement. Abbott also has authorised installing floating barriers in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass and allowed troopers to arrest and jail thousands of migrants on trespassing charges. The administration also is challenging those actions in federal court. A federal appeals court last month forced federal agents to stop cutting the concertina wire. Large numbers of migrants have crossed at Eagle Pass in recent ..

Maine judge delays decision on removing Trump from ballot until SC rules

A Maine judge on Wednesday paused an election official's decision on former President Donald Trump's ballot status to allow time for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on a similar case in Colorado. Trump's lawyers appealed in state court when Secretary of State Shenna Bellows removed the Republican front-runner from the presidential primary ballot but then asked the judge to pause proceedings to allow the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the Colorado case, which could render the lawsuit moot. Superior Court Michaela Murphy denied Trump's request to stay the proceedings, but she sent the case back to the secretary of state with instructions to await the outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court case before issuing a new ruling withdrawing, modifying or upholding her original decision. In her decision, the judge said that the issues raised in the Maine case mirror the issues raised in the Colorado case before the U.S. Supreme Court. She wrote that her decision minimizes any potentially destabilizin