Recent Updates
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Appellate court rules against mine company’s Arizona project
Court Watch 05/12/2022A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a judge’s ruling overturning a federal agency’s approval of Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals Inc.’s plan for a new open-pit copper mine in southeastern Arizona.The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Ap...
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Groups seek to stop gold mine exploratory drilling in Idaho
Court Watch 04/02/2022Environmental groups are renewing efforts to stop exploratory drilling by a Canadian mining company hoping to build a gold mine in Idaho west of Yellowstone National Park.The Idaho Conservation League and Greater Yellowstone Coalition, in documents f...
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Kansas AG asking judge to dismiss redistricting lawsuits
Court Watch 03/09/2022Attorney General Derek Schmidt is asking a Wyandotte County judge to dismiss two lawsuits filed over new Kansas congressional district lines enacted by Republican lawmakers. Schmidt’s request Monday came three days after the Kansas Supreme Cour...
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Gangs control who eats at Mississippi jail, monitor says
Court Watch 02/23/2022Gangs inside a Mississippi jail often determine whether other inmates receive meals, a court-appointed monitor testified in a federal court hearing. Elizabeth Simpson testified Tuesday that staffing shortages are so severe at Hinds County’s Ray...
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Myanmar seeks to have Rohingya case thrown out of UN court
Court Watch 02/21/2022Lawyers for Myanmar’s military rulers on Monday sought to have a case at the United Nations’ top court that accuses the Southeast Asian nation of genocide against the Rohingya ethnic minority dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Public hea...
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VMI to change honor system said to expel Blacks more often
Court Watch 02/10/2022The Virginia Military Institute says it will change its student-run honor court to make it more fair to cadets as part of a response to a state-ordered investigation into racism and sexism at the school.VMI detailed the reforms in a progress report F...
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Court: Mask rule OK at Iowa schools with disabled students
Court Watch 02/05/2022A federal appeals court on Tuesday allowed the state of Iowa to enforce a law that prevents local schools from imposing mask mandates, except for schools attended by students whose disabilities make them more vulnerable to severe illness if they get ...
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Palin COVID-19 tests delay libel trial against NY Times
Court Watch 01/26/2022An unvaccinated former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin tested positive for COVID-19 Monday, forcing a postponement of a trial in her libel lawsuit against The New York Times. The Republican’s positive test was announced in court just as jury selection ...
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Judge sides with Alaska attorney who alleged wrongful firing
Court Watch 01/21/2022A U.S. judge sided Thursday with an attorney who alleged she was wrongly fired by the state of Alaska over political opinions expressed on a personal blog. U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick ruled that Elizabeth Bakalar’s December 2018 firi...
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Some Michigan counties pause jury trials amid COVID surge
Court Watch 01/18/2022Jury trials have been paused in some western Michigan counties due to a surge in coronavirus cases, court officials said Monday. Chief Judge Mark Trusock said all jury trials in Kent County 17th Circuit Court, based in Grand Rapids, were on hold unti...
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Partisan letters cost long-serving Alaska magistrate his job
Court Watch 01/11/2022The longest serving magistrate in Alaska is no longer on the bench after writing letters to the editor critical of the Republican party. Former Seward Magistrate George Peck wrote four letters to the editor of the Anchorage Daily News, the latest in ...
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Cobb County jury trials paused as COVID-19 spreads
Court Watch 01/08/2022As COVID-19 cases continue rising across the state of Georgia, the court system in one of its counties has decided to pause jury trials. Cobb County Superior Court Judge Robert D. Leonard issued an order Monday to cancel trial jurors through Jan. 21,...