federal court
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Federal Judge Orders USPS Facilities to be Swept for Undelivered Ballots in Key Battleground States
The late stages of the election have been a dark, dark comedy of Republican officials trying to steal the election and the—admittedly occasional—federal court going “Um, the fuck are you doing?” In the latest, and hopefully final act of this play, a federal court ordered the United States Postal Service to sweep its facilities for…
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100 Percent That Block: Lawsuit Against Lizzo for 'Truth Hurts' Dismissed by California Judge
You tried to break her heart? Oh, that breaks my heart. The lawsuit against Grammy-winning musician Lizzo for her hit song “Truth Hurts” has been dismissed by a California federal judge. The Hollywood Reporter writes that on Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee accepted Lizzo’s dismissal of the suit by Justin and Jeremiah…
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A Federal Court Rules Records in 64-Year-Old Lynching Trial to Remain Sealed
Lynching is one of the great stains on America’s legacy. Black bodies were regularly brutalized for the entertainment of the white masses, and justice was rarely ever served in these cases. In 1946, one of the last mass lynchings to occur went to trial and resulted in no one being indicted. The New York Times…
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Deborah Batts, The Nation's First Openly LGBTQ Federal Judge, Has Died at 72
It’s always sad news when we lose one of our pioneers, especially in a month dedicated towards celebrating them. CNN reports that Deborah Batts has passed away at the age of 72. Batts was the first-ever openly LGBTQ federal judge in the nation’s history. In 1994, she was sworn into the US District Court for…
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R. Kelly Charged With Taking Bribes For a Fake ID to Marry Aaliyah When She Was 15
Robert “R.” Kelly’s illegal chickens are absolutely coming home to roost. According to the New York Times, the 52-year-old singer has been charged for bribing an Illinois government employee in 1994 so that he could obtain a fake I.D. in order to marry Aaliyah Haughton (identified in the indictment as Jane Doe #1), who was…
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Blow Struck: Federal Judge Blocks Mississippi’s ‘Hearbeat’ Abortion Law
Down goes Frazier—at least, for now, when it comes to Mississippi’s new so-called heartbeat law, which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. I n a strongly worded ruling Friday, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction barring enforcement of the law that makes abortion illegal after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can…
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Senate OKs Trump’s Latest Federal Judge Pick Despite Dem Fears About Where She Stands on Brown and Roe
The Senate Thursday confirmed Wendy Vitter, Donald Trump’s nominee to sit on the federal bench in New Orleans, despite strong objections from Democrats about her stance on Roe and Brown, respectively, the nation’s landmark pro-choice and school desegregation laws. By a virtual party-line vote of 52-45 (with just one Republican, Maine’s Sen. Susan Collins, joining…
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Drivers, Rejoice! That Parking Ticket Just May Be a Violation of Constitutional Proportions
In towns and cities across the U.S., one may hear a cheer go up among drivers long plagued by the scourge of parking tickets after a federal appeals court ruled that parking enforcement’s use of chalk to mark tires (and time) to issue parking tickets is a violation of Fourth Amendment bans on unreasonable searches.…