Recent Updates
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Egyptian lawyer, journalist released after prison sentence
Criminal Law News 08/09/2016Egyptian authorities have released two prominent human rights activists who had been jailed for over a year for demonstrating against police brutality. Lawyer Mahienour el-Masry and journalist Youssef Shabaan were freed Saturday after serving 15 mont...
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Kansas court upholds death sentence for sheriff's killing
Criminal Law News 07/23/2016The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday upheld the death sentence imposed against a man who fatally shot a sheriff during a 2005 drug raid. Kansas hasn't executed anyone in more than 50 years, and Friday's decision in Scott Cheever's case is only the seco...
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Senate confirms district court judge for New Jersey
Criminal Law News 07/05/2016The Senate has confirmed President Barack Obama's nominee for the U.S. District Court for the district of New Jersey. The vote was 92-5 on Wednesday for Brian Martinotti, who has served as a judge on the Superior Court of New Jersey since 2002. Obama...
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Court upholds net neutrality rules on equal internet access
Criminal Law News 06/14/2016A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the government's "net neutrality" rules that require internet providers to treat all web traffic equally. The 2-1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is a win for the Ob...
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British court gives 22 life sentences to pedophile
Criminal Law News 06/05/2016A court in Britain has sentenced a former schoolteacher to 22 life sentences for child abuse after using his position teaching English in Malaysia to gain access to victims. Judge Peter Rook sentenced 30-year-old freelance photographer Richard Huckle...
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Bahrain court more than doubles opposition leader's sentence
Criminal Law News 05/31/2016A Bahraini appeals court on Monday more than doubled the prison term for the country's top Shiite opposition figure in a ruling that his political bloc blasted as "unacceptable and provocative." Sheikh Ali Salman now faces nine years behind bars, up ...
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Spanish court seeks arrest of Putin-linked Russians
Criminal Law News 05/08/2016A Spanish judge wants two senior Russian officials with links to the Kremlin arrested so they can be questioned in court about suspected money laundering and criminal association. National court judge Jose de la Mata Amaya has issued international ar...
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Tribunal: India, Italy should agree on Italian marine's bail
Criminal Law News 05/06/2016India and Italy should work toward an agreement to allow an Italian marine to return home while an arbitration process continues in the fatally shootings of two Indian fishermen in 2012, a tribunal said Tuesday. The two countries should present their...
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Teen changes plea to guilty in deaths of mother, stepfather
Criminal Law News 03/08/2016A northern Wisconsin woman changed her plea to guilty Friday in the slaying of her mother and stepfather in a deal that has prosecutors recommending a 40-year prison sentence. Ashlee Martinson, who was 17 at the time of the March 2015 killings, faces...
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Ohio's top court declines to change rules on plea deals
Criminal Law News 01/17/2016Ohio's top court decided Thursday to continue allowing defendants to plead to lesser crimes that don't bear much resemblance to the facts of the original charge. Some trial court judges argued that such pleas undermine public confidence in the courts...
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High court seems skeptical of mandatory public union fees
Criminal Law News 01/14/2016The Supreme Court appears ready to deliver a major setback to American unions as it considers scrapping a four-decade precedent that lets public-sector labor organizations collect fees from workers who decline to join. During more than an hour of ora...
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Court won’t hear case over grant to Planned Parenthood
Criminal Law News 11/14/2015The Supreme Court has rejected an anti-abortion group’s bid to force disclosure of confidential Planned Parenthood and federal government records about a contract for family planning services in New Hampshire. The justices on Monday let stand a rulin...