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178 entries in 'Legal Business Articles'

2024/05/01 Retrial of Harvey Weinstein unlikely to occur soon, if ever, experts say
2024/04/08 Elon Musk will be investigated over fake news and obstruction in Brazil
2024/04/04 Retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy has memoir coming
2024/04/02 The Man Charged in an Illinois Attack That Left 4 Dead Is Due Back in Court
2024/03/25 Former Georgia insurance commissioner John Oxendine pleads guilty
2024/03/19 A Supreme Court ruling in a social media case could set standards
2024/03/12 Trump wants N.Y. hush money trial to wait for Supreme Court immunity ruling
2024/03/01 Supreme Court casts doubt on GOP-led states’ efforts to regulate social media
2024/02/20 Ken Paxton petitions to stop Dallas woman from getting an abortion
2024/02/13 Trump arrives in federal court in Florida for classified docs case
2024/01/26 Man sentenced to death for arson attack at Japanese anime studio that killed 36
2024/01/17 Court in Thailand acquits protesters who occupied Bangkok airports in 2008
2023/12/08 Hunter Biden is indicted on 9 tax charges in a special counsel investigation
2023/12/04 Opening statements begin in Jonathan Majors assault trial in New York
2023/11/02 Donald Trump Jr. takes the witness stand in fraud trial
2023/09/26 Writers’ union reaches tentative deal with Hollywood studios to end strike
2023/09/05 New Supreme Court Fellows Begin Term
2023/07/31 Musk threatens to sue researchers who documented the rise in hateful tweets
2023/07/21 Judge upholds the $5 million jury verdict against Trump
2023/05/15 Supreme Court won’t put Illinois gun law on hold
2023/05/04 Delaware Senate confirms two Supreme Court nominees
2023/04/21 Supreme Court hears mail carrier’s religious tolerance case
2023/04/14 Supreme Court asked to preserve abortion pill access rules
2023/03/30 Add value to your neglected assets - Life Insurance Policy Review
2022/09/28 Appeals ruling leaves Trump fate in defamation suit in flux
2022/09/14 Alabama must disclose status of nitrogen hypoxia executions
2022/08/26 Lobster fishing union drops lawsuit about new whale closure
2022/08/11 Federal horserace authority rules again blocked in 2 states
2022/08/07 Probation for woman who wiped up blood after killing spouse
2022/08/02 Family loses Supreme Court bid to extend boy’s life support
2022/07/13 Court reinstates ban on lobster gear to protect right whales
2022/06/07 Wisconsin Supreme Court says COVID records can be released
2022/05/10 California governor backs plan to pay for some abortions
2022/03/25 Naturopathic doctor sentenced for selling misbranded drugs
2021/04/08 NYC corruption case prompts dismissal of 90 drug convictions
2021/03/22 Israel revokes permit of Palestinian foreign minister
2021/03/15 Colorado court: Speed-reading bills violates constitution
2021/03/11 High court orders full disability for worker whose lost limb
2021/02/25 Anchorage companies, man fined for clean air violations
2021/01/17 Appeals court OKs convictions in college basketball scandal
2021/01/05 Republicans condemn 'scheme' to undo election for Trump
2020/12/29 Hong Kongers charged in China plead guilty, relatives told
2020/12/12 Supreme Court rejects Republican attack on Biden victory
2020/11/20 US government executes man convicted of killing Texas teen
2020/11/14 Republicans face court setbacks, Trump law firm steps down
2020/11/06 Election 2020 Today: No winner yet, Trump’s court threat
2020/11/02 Legal armies ready if cloudy election outcome heads to court
2020/10/24 Trump, Biden lawyer up, brace for White House legal battle
2020/10/21 Despite rhetoric, GOP has supported packing state courts
2020/10/03 Virus spreads on panel handling Supreme Court nomination
2020/09/01 Appeals court keeps Flynn case alive, won’t order dismissal
2020/08/27 1st Black woman confirmed to be justice on NJ high court
2020/08/25 California justices toss death penalty for Scott Peterson
2020/08/01 British woman in Malaysia court for trial in husband's death
2020/06/27 Supreme Court doesn’t wade into Texas mail-in voting battle
2020/06/20 New Mexico high court rules on privacy for banking records
2020/06/10 UConn student fugitive in court on murder charge, police say
2020/06/04 Supreme Court upholds Puerto Rico financial oversight board
2020/05/24 Netanyahu heads to court as 1st sitting Israeli PM on trial
2020/05/11 Called to order: Supreme Court holds 1st arguments by phone
2020/04/26 Supreme Court sides with government in immigration case
2020/04/09 Justice delayed: Virus crisis upends courts system across US
2020/04/07 Poland chamber penalizing judges must be suspended
2020/04/01 Wisconsin moves forward with election despite virus concerns
2020/03/17 Supreme Court postpones arguments because of virus outbreak
2020/03/13 Australian highest court to rule on Cardinal’s appeal later
2020/02/05 Missouri county sued over jail time for unpaid court costs
2020/01/30 Wood County commissioner reprimanded by Supreme Court
2020/01/28 Man Stirs the Pot by Lighting Joint in Court
2020/01/22 Court takes another look at Native American adoption law
2020/01/17 German court may reject appeal to remove anti-Semitic relic
2020/01/12 WikiLeaks' Assange in UK court fighting extradition to USA
2020/01/11 US courts rule for border walls both public and private
2020/01/09 Court reverses $35M verdict against Jehovah’s Witnesses
2019/12/24 US heads to court to build Trump border wall in Texas
2019/12/22 Activists cheer victory in landmark Dutch climate case
2019/12/14 Court Will Hear Trump's Pleas to Keep Financial Records Private
2019/12/08 Supreme Court leaves Kentucky’s ultrasound law in place
2019/11/24 Justices question Alaska $500-a-year contribution limit
2019/11/14 Trump wants Supreme Court to block subpoena for his taxes
2019/10/25 Samsung heir Lee appears in court for corruption retrial
2019/10/21 Wikileaks founder Julian Assange loses bid to delay hearing
2019/10/06 Court seems ready to require unanimous juries as term opens
2019/10/01 EU court: ‘Active consent’ required for cookie storage
2019/09/29 Transgender woman in Supreme Court case 'happy being me'
2019/09/29 Kings coach Walton focused on team, not lawsuit
2019/09/24 Egypt court asks religious figure to weigh in on sentences
2019/09/21 Dutch Supreme Court asked to clarify euthanasia case
2019/09/10 New Orleans judges seek review of court fees conflict ruling
2019/08/28 ‘Coward’: Epstein accusers pour out their anger in court
2019/08/20 Activist loses UK court case on police facial recognition
2019/08/12 Cosby lawyers ask appeals court to toss #MeToo conviction
2019/08/10 Suspect in Norway mosque attack bruised but smiling in court
2019/08/04 Supreme Court rebuffs Alabama officer charged with murder
2019/07/13 Public unions see only modest decline after court ruling
2019/07/01 The Latest: Trump considers executive order on census query
2019/06/25 High court strikes down ‘scandalous’ part of trademark law
2019/06/23 Census, redistricting top remaining Supreme Court cases
2019/06/21 EU court says Poland's Supreme Court reforms unlawful
2019/05/24 South Africa's Zuma must wait 3 months for court decision
2019/05/21 Russian court extends arrest for American accused of spying
2019/05/16 Feds: US Supreme Court should turn down 'Bridgegate' appeal
2019/05/06 Court records: Illinois father led police to son's body
2019/04/21 Myanmar court rejects appeal of jailed Reuters reporters
2019/04/15 6 appear in court on charges they sent mosque attack images
2019/04/14 Texas’ high court keeps execution drug supplier secret
2019/04/08 South Korean court orders easing of decades-old abortion ban
2019/04/04 Texas bans clergy from executions after Supreme Court ruling
2019/03/15 Court reinstates late Aaron Hernandez's murder conviction
2019/03/11 Ohio Republicans defending state congressional map in court
2019/03/10 Court rejects Ghosn’s request to attend Nissan board meeting
2018/12/27 Cunningham to step down from Kentucky Supreme Court
2018/12/10 Mexico president blasts 'stratospheric' supreme court wages
2018/12/06 Supreme Court to hear closely watched double jeopardy case
2018/10/29 Group asks court to reject Arkansas justice's ad lawsuit
2018/09/27 Bill Cosby's day of reckoning arrives in court
2018/09/23 Supreme Court upholds hospital 'charity care' tax exemption
2018/09/09 Pipeline company found guilty in 2015 California oil spill
2018/08/13 Court: EPA violated law on harmful pesticide, orders ban
2018/07/26 Sex predator law challenged by Cosby to get court review
2018/07/15 India's top court calls for new law to curb mob violence
2018/07/03 California high court: Yelp can't be ordered to remove posts
2018/04/17 Supreme Court hearing case about online sales tax collection
2018/04/16 Supreme Court rejects anti-abortion pastor's appeal on noise
2018/04/13 Zuckerberg Flubs Details of Facebook Privacy Commitments
2018/04/05 Superior SEO for superior results, Attorney Website Design
2018/03/10 Former Trump campaign aide Nunberg at court for grand jury
2018/02/06 Greek court postpones decision in Turkish extradition case
2018/02/05 Court: Lawsuit alleging coerced confessions can go to trial
2017/12/22 State high court won't hear Mateen Cleaves sex assault case
2017/12/14 Ohio high court shields full autopsy reports in slaying of 8
2017/11/14 Free Speech Is Starting to Dominate the US Supreme Court's Agenda
2017/11/11 High court to hear appeal in Newtown school shooting case
2017/11/09 Florida man back at Supreme Court with 1st Amendment case
2017/10/24 Businesses ask Supreme Court to take gay rights case
2017/10/17 NC high court reviews death penalty of man who beheaded wife
2017/10/03 Ohio taxpayers lose right to take disputes to high court
2017/09/13 France: Court finds topless photos violated royal’s privacy
2017/08/07 Challenge filed in court to Australian gay marriage ballot
2017/06/01 East Timor court drops premier's libel case against media
2017/05/31 Doctor arrested at Trump hotel on gun charges due in court
2017/05/04 Indiana high court rejects appeal in malnourished teen case
2017/05/01 4th Arkansas inmate executed in 8 days lurches on gurney
2017/04/01 Political fights over Supreme Court seats nothing new
2017/03/31 High Court Struggles Over Hospital Pension Dispute
2017/02/26 US Supreme Court refuses appeals from 3 on Texas death row
2017/01/11 Supreme Court temporarily blocks new NC districts, elections
2017/01/02 Circus operator agrees to plea deal in tent collapse
2016/11/21 Ohio sheriff accused of drug theft changing not guilty plea
2016/09/15 Appeals court orders judge to expunge woman's convictions
2016/09/07 Mexico's Supreme Court overturns state anti-corruption laws
2016/08/28 Egypt court releases lawyer who defied president
2016/07/11 Candidate filing begins Monday for appeals court seat
2016/07/11 Court denies hospital's bid to perform brain death test
2016/07/01 Obama rebukes Poland over paralysis of constitutional court
2016/05/11 El Salvador court takes up case on ex-president's finances
2016/05/09 Court in Russia-annexed Crimea bans Tatar assembly
2016/05/08 Court: Slipknot bassist's child born after he died can sue
2016/04/26 Court in Russia-annexed Crimea bans Tatar assembly
2015/11/16 Riley Williams & Piatt, LLC - Indiana Insurance Bad Faith Attorneys
2015/11/06 Mississippi Supreme Court narrowly grants same-sex divorce
2015/11/02 Chinese woman pleads guilty in college test-taking scheme
2015/09/17 Charleston church suspect's friend charged with lying to FBI
2015/08/04 Republicans reject governor's pick for Va. Supreme Court
2015/07/20 Wife says Chinese rights lawyer being denied legal counsel
2015/07/06 Legal public nudity; cattle rustling; sheriff pays tax
2015/07/05 Bryant tells court it should affirm same-sex marriage ruling
2015/06/03 Supreme Court to hear Texas Senate districts case
2015/03/23 Battle flag at center of Supreme Court free speech case
2015/03/12 Court scraps Dutch data retention law, cites privacy concern
2014/02/20 Supreme Court affirms pipeline value decision
2014/02/03 7 now guilty in Pendleton contractor bribery case
2014/01/27 Lawmakers push back against Washington high court
2007/03/26 Investors Continue to Challenge Dean Food
2007/03/19 Recall of pet food hits close to home
2007/02/14 Downtown Los Angeles Revival Going Strong
2006/11/09 BP Settles Suit Over 2 Refinery Deaths
2006/11/06 Employee of U.S. Military Contractor Pleads Guilty

Retrial of Harvey Weinstein unlikely to occur soon, if ever, experts say
Legal Business Articles | 2024/05/01 16:34

A retrial in New York of disgraced former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein won’t be coming to a courtroom anytime soon, if ever, legal experts said on a day when one of two women considered crucial to his rape trial said she wasn’t sure she would testify again.

A ruling Thursday by the New York Court of Appeals voided the 2020 conviction of the onetime Hollywood power broker who prosecutors say forced young actors to submit to his prurient desires by dangling his ability to make or break the their careers.

On Saturday, Weinstein was in custody in a Manhattan hospital where he was undergoing multiple tests, attorney Arthur Aidala said. He was returned Friday to New York City jails from a state prison 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Albany. He remains behind bars because he was also convicted in a similar case in California.

“He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health wise,” Aidala said.

The appeals court in a 4-3 decision vacated a 23-year jail sentence and ordered a retrial of Weinstein, saying the trial judge erred by letting three women testify about allegations that were not part of the charges and by permitting questions about Weinstein’s history of “bad behavior” if he testified. He did not. He was convicted of forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant and of third-degree rape for an attack on an aspiring actor in 2013.

Several lawyers said in interviews Friday that it would be a long road to reach a new trial for the 72-year-old ailing movie mogul and magnet for the #MeToo movement who remains behind bars, and it was doubtful that one could start before next year, if at all.

“I think there won’t be a trial in the end,” said Joshua Naftalis, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor now in private practice. “I don’t think he wants to go through another trial, and I don’t think the state wants to try him again.”

Naftalis said both sides may seek a resolution such as a plea that will eliminate the need to put his accusers through the trauma of a second trial.

Aidala said Saturday that he plans to tell a judge at a Manhattan court appearance Wednesday that he believes a trial could occur anytime after Labor Day.

With the scaled-down case ordered by the appeals court, Aidala predicted that it could be finished in a week and his client would be exonerated.

Deborah Tuerkheimer, a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and former assistant district attorney in Manhattan, said whether there is a second trial will “hinge on the preferences of the women who would have to testify again and endure the ordeal of a retrial.”

“I think ultimately this will come down to whether they feel it’s something they want to do, are able to do,” she said.

Jane Manning, director of the nonprofit Women’s Equal Justice, which provides advocacy services to sexual assault survivors, agreed “the biggest question is whether the two women are willing to testify again.”

If they are, then Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “will absolutely retry the case,” said Manning, who prosecuted sex crimes when she was in the Queens district attorney’s office in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Tama Kudman, a West Palm Beach, Florida, criminal defense lawyer who also practices in New Jersey and New York, said prosecutors will likely soon have conversations with key witnesses for a retrial.

Elon Musk will be investigated over fake news and obstruction in Brazil
Legal Business Articles | 2024/04/08 16:00

A crusading Brazilian Supreme Court justice included Elon Musk as a target in an ongoing investigation over the dissemination of fake news and opened a separate investigation late Sunday into the executive for alleged obstruction.

In his decision, Justice Alexandre de Moraes noted that Musk on Saturday began waging a public “disinformation campaign” regarding the top court’s actions, and that Musk continued the following day — most notably with comments that his social media company X would cease to comply with the court’s orders to block certain accounts.

“The flagrant conduct of obstruction of Brazilian justice, incitement of crime, the public threat of disobedience of court orders and future lack of cooperation from the platform are facts that disrespect the sovereignty of Brazil,” de Moraes wrote.

Musk will be investigated for alleged intentional criminal instrumentalization of X as part of an investigation into a network of people known as digital militias who allegedly spread defamatory fake news and threats against Supreme Court justices, according to the text of the decision. The new investigation will look into whether Musk engaged in obstruction, criminal organization and incitement.

Musk has not commented on X about the latest development as of late Sunday.

Brazil’s political right has long characterized de Moraes as overstepping his bounds to clamp down on free speech and engage in political persecution. In the digital militias investigation, lawmakers from former President Jair Bolsonaro’s circle have been imprisoned and his supporters’ homes raided. Bolsonaro himself became a target of the investigation in 2021.

De Moraes’ defenders have said his decisions, although extraordinary, are legally sound and necessary to purge social media of fake news as well as extinguish threats to Brazilian democracy — notoriously underscored by the Jan. 8, 2023, uprising in Brazil’s capital that resembled the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection in the U.S. Capitol.

On Saturday, Musk — a self-declared free speech absolutist — wrote on X that the platform would lift all restrictions on blocked accounts and predicted that the move was likely to dry up revenue in Brazil and force the company to shutter its local office.

“But principles matter more than profit,” he wrote.

He later instructed users in Brazil to download a VPN to retain access if X was shut down and wrote that X would publish all of de Moraes’ demands, claiming they violate Brazilian law. Musk had not published de Moraes’ demands as of late Sunday and prominent blocked accounts remained so, indicating X had yet to act based on Musk’s previous pledges.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy has memoir coming
Legal Business Articles | 2024/04/04 15:58

Retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy has a two-volume memoir coming out this fall, tracking his life from growing up in California to his 30 years on the court, when he cast key votes on landmark cases ranging from abortion to gay marriage to campaign finance.

Simon & Schuster announced Tuesday that Kennedy’s “Life and Law: The Early Years” and “Life and Law: The Court Years” will be published Oct. 1, as a boxed set and in individual editions, each around 320 pages. Kennedy was widely regarded as a moderate conservative who wrote the majority opinion on such closely divided cases as Obergefell v. Hodges, which found a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, and Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which allowed corporations and other outside entities to spend unlimited money on election campaigns.

“In ‘Life and Law,’ he explains the why’s and how’s of judging,” Simon & Schuster’s announcement reads in part.

“The second volume is filled with moving portraits of Justices O’Connor, Rehnquist, Scalia and Ginsburg that go along with the account of how Kennedy decided his views in the landmark cases. But it is the first volume about his youth in Sacramento and his decade as a practicing lawyer that explains the judicial giant. Readers will see the child who turns into the man, who shaped America as much as any Washington figure in the 21st century.”

Kennedy, 87, noted in the preface to the first volume that his memoirs proved more expansive than originally planned.

“It was my intent (my right hand is raised to swear it so) to recount my earlier years in a summary way. But something happened on the way to the pencil,” he wrote. “More and more of my recollections turned to how our society and its mindset changed in fascinating ways from the ’40s and ’50s to the ’60s and then again in the ’70s. This seemed relevant to the dynamics that influenced me and our larger society.”

“As each day passes, we should strive to learn more about who we are and whom we should strive to become,” he added. “Writing a memoir is a formal way to do this.”

Kennedy was an associate justice from 1988-2018 and his arrival and departure proved equally newsworthy.

He was appointed to the court by President Ronald Reagan, but only after the Senate had voted down Reagan’s first choice, Robert Bork, and after the second choice, Douglas Ginsburg, withdrew amid reports he had smoked marijuana. When Kennedy announced in 2018 that he was stepping down, President Donald Trump nominated a former Kennedy law clerk, Brett Kavanaugh, who was narrowly approved by the Senate after contentious confirmation hearings that included allegations Kavanaugh had assaulted a high school acquaintance, Christine Blasey Ford.

Kennedy’s book will arrive soon after Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s memoir “Lovely One,” which comes out Sept. 3.

The Man Charged in an Illinois Attack That Left 4 Dead Is Due Back in Court
Legal Business Articles | 2024/04/02 16:27

A northern Illinois man charged with killing four people and injuring seven others by stabbing, beating and driving over them is expected back in court on Tuesday.

A judge in the city of Rockford is expected to consider prosecutors' request that Christian Soto remain jailed pending trial. The 22-year-old appeared briefly in court on Thursday, a day after the attacks in Rockford and his arrest. His defense asked for more time to prepare for the hearing.

The Winnebago County Public Defender's office, listed as Soto's representative in court documents, has not returned messages from The Associated Press seeking comment on his behalf.

The Winnebago County coroner on Thursday identified those killed as 63-year-old Romona Schupbach; 23-year-old Jacob Schupbach; 49-year-old Jay Larson; and 15-year-old Jenna Newcomb.

Authorities last week described a series of frenzied attacks within minutes at multiple addresses in a Rockford neighborhood, but said they had not determined a motive.

Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley said Soto told police after his arrest that he had smoked marijuana with Jacob Schupbach and believed the drugs “were laced with an unknown narcotic" that made him paranoid.

Authorities have said Soto first stabbed Schupbach and his mother then violently attacked other people in the area and inside other homes. They said he beat, stabbed and used a truck to run over Larson, who was working as a mail carrier; wounded three people inside one home; and beat Newcomb, her sister and a friend with a baseball bat inside another home.

Authorities said Winnebago County sheriff deputies arrested Soto as he fled from another home where he had stabbed a woman and had been slowed down by a man driving by who stopped to intervene.

Former Georgia insurance commissioner John Oxendine pleads guilty
Legal Business Articles | 2024/03/25 11:44

A former Georgia insurance commissioner who made a failed Republican run for governor has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud.

John W. Oxendine of Johns Creek entered the guilty plea Friday in federal court in Atlanta. The 61-year-old had been indicted in May 2022 on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The crime is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but Oxendine is likely to be sentenced to less. Federal sentencing guidelines discussed in the plea agreement suggest prosecutors will recommend Oxendine be imprisoned between 4 years, 3 months, and 5 years, 3 months, depending on what U.S. District Judge Steve Jones decides at a sentencing hearing set for July 12. Jones could also fine Oxendine and order him to serve supervised release.

Oxendine also agreed to pay nearly $700,000 in restitution to health insurers who lost money in the scheme, the plea document states. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the money laundering charge as part of the plea.

“John Oxendine, as the former statewide insurance commissioner, knew the importance of honest dealings between doctors and insurance companies,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a statement. “But for personal profit he willfully conspired with a physician to order hundreds of unnecessary lab tests, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Prosecutors say Oxendine conspired with Dr. Jeffrey Gallups to pressure other physicians who practiced with Gallups to order unnecessary medical tests from Next Health, a lab in Texas. Prosecutors said Oxendine pushed the plan in a September 2015 presentation to doctors who worked for Gallups’ practice.

The lab company, Oxendine and Gallups agreed the company would pay Gallups a kickback of 50% of the profit on the tests, Oxendine’s indictment said. Next Health paid $260,000 in kickbacks through Oxendine’s insurance consulting company, prosecutors said. Oxendine paid a $150,000 charitable contribution and $70,000 in attorney’s fees on Gallups,’ behalf, prosecutors said, keeping $40,000 for himself. Some patients were also charged, getting bills of up to $18,000 for the tests, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Oxendine told Gallups to lie and say the payments from Oxendine were loans when a compliance officer at Gallups’ company asked about them. Oxendine told Gallups to repeat the same lie when questioned by federal agents, prosecutors said. And they said Oxendine falsely said he didn’t work with the lab company or get money from Next Health when interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

A Supreme Court ruling in a social media case could set standards
Legal Business Articles | 2024/03/19 11:14

In a busy term that could set standards for free speech in the digital age, the Supreme Court on Monday is taking up a dispute between Republican-led states and the Biden administration over how far the federal government can go to combat controversial social media posts on topics including COVID-19 and election security.

The justices are hearing arguments in a lawsuit filed by Louisiana, Missouri and other parties accusing officials in the Democratic administration of leaning on the social media platforms to unconstitutionally squelch conservative points of view. Lower courts have sided with the states, but the Supreme Court blocked those rulings while it considers the issue.

The high court is in the midst of a term heavy with social media issues. On Friday, the court laid out standards for when public officials can block their social media followers. Less than a month ago, the court heard arguments over Republican-passed laws in Florida and Texas that prohibit large social media companies from taking down posts because of the views they express.

The cases over state laws and the one being argued Monday are variations on the same theme, complaints that the platforms are censoring conservative viewpoints. The states argue that White House communications staffers, the surgeon general, the FBI and the U.S. cybersecurity agency are among those who coerced changes in online content on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and other media platforms.

“It’s a very, very threatening thing when the federal government uses the power and authority of the government to block people from exercising their freedom of speech,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a video her office posted online.

The administration responds that none of the actions the states complain about come close to problematic coercion. The states “still have not identified any instance in which any government official sought to coerce a platform’s editorial decisions with a threat of adverse government action,” wrote Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer. Prelogar wrote that states also can’t “point to any evidence that the government ever imposed any sanction when the platforms declined to moderate content the government had flagged — as routinely occurred.”

The companies themselves are not involved in the case.

Free speech advocates say the court should use the case to draw an appropriate line between the government’s acceptable use of the bully pulpit and coercive threats to free speech.

Trump wants N.Y. hush money trial to wait for Supreme Court immunity ruling
Legal Business Articles | 2024/03/12 14:11

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, D.C., election interference case is resolved. Merchan did not immediately rule.

Trump contends he is immune for 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 retake the White House.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment. Prosecutors are expected to respond to Trump’s delay request in court papers later this week.

Trump first raised the immunity issue in his Washington, D.C., criminal case, which involves allegations that he worked to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the violent riot by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The hush money case centers on allegations that Trump falsified his company’s internal records to hide the true nature of payments to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who helped Trump bury negative stories during his 2016 presidential campaign. Among other things, Cohen paid porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to suppress her claims of an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.

Trump’s lawyers argue that some evidence Manhattan prosecutors plan to introduce at the hush money trial, including messages he posted on social media in 2018 about money paid to Cohen, were from his time as president and constituted official acts.

Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses and not part of any cover-up.

A federal judge last year rejected Trump’s claim that allegations in the hush money indictment involved official duties, nixing his bid to move the case from state court to federal court. Had the case been moved to federal court, Trump’s lawyers could’ve tried to get the charges dismissed on the grounds that federal officials have immunity from prosecution over actions taken as part of their official duties.

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