7th Circuit Court

Some Jan. 6 rioters win early release, even before key Supreme Court ruling

Federal judges have begun ordering the early release pending appeal of Jan. 6 defendants who challenged their sentences even though the Supreme Court is a week away from hearing arguments on whether a key charge brought against them is legally sound.

Apr 10, 2024 10:00 AM CDT

7th Circuit nominee faces questions about motions backlog

A nominee to a federal appeals court based in Chicago defended her record as a district judge when Republican senators criticized her case backlogs during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week.

Mar 25, 2024 3:33 PM CDT

Qualified immunity shield may depend on size and publication rate of federal appeals court, new report says

Qualified immunity “protects officials too much and our rights too little,” according to a new report by the Institute for Justice based on an analysis of more than 5,500 federal appeals decisions over an 11-year period.

Feb 7, 2024 8:47 AM CST

Supreme Court again refuses to block Illinois ban on assault weapons

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday denied an emergency request to block bans on assault weapons adopted by Illinois and one of its cities.

Dec 15, 2023 9:50 AM CST

UIC law prof appeals after dismissal of civil rights lawsuit

Updated: A professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law has filed an appeal to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago after his case stemming from his use of abbreviated racial and gender slurs in an essay question in a December 2020 final exam was dismissed.

Dec 5, 2023 2:23 PM CST

Ban on approaching or recording hunters violates First Amendment, 7th Circuit says

Citing the First Amendment, a Chicago-based federal appeals court has struck down changes to a Wisconsin “hunter harassment law” that bans recording and approaching hunters.

Nov 21, 2023 9:32 AM CST

Ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines likely constitutional, 7th Circuit says

A Chicago-based federal appeals court ruled Friday that Illinois and several municipalities may enforce bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines while challenges continue in the courts.

Nov 8, 2023 9:37 AM CST

Retired Judge Posner must face suit alleging he failed to pay leader of his pro se center

Former federal appeals Judge Richard Posner must face a lawsuit alleging that he never paid a promised $120,000 annual salary to an employee who co-led a pro se center for nearly a year and a half.

Sep 27, 2023 2:36 PM CDT

6th Circuit sides with OSHA over power to set workplace safety standards

Is Congress’ delegation to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to set workplace safety standards constitutional?

Aug 24, 2023 1:07 PM CDT

Federal judge’s ‘people like you’ comments don’t require sentence reversal, 7th Circuit says

A federal judge’s comments about “people like you” weren’t the kind of inflammatory remarks that would require resentencing of a man who pleaded guilty to unlawful gun possession by a felon, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Jul 6, 2023 10:31 AM CDT

We ‘live on a pro se planet;’ 5th Circuit allows parents to sometimes represent children without lawyers

A federal appeals court is giving a pro se parent a chance to persuade a federal judge that she may represent her minor children without a lawyer in a federal lawsuit filed against a Texas school district.

Jun 6, 2023 12:39 PM CDT

Supreme Court allows enforcement of laws banning sales of assault-style weapons

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an emergency request to block bans on sales of assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines while legal challenges continue in lower courts.

May 17, 2023 2:00 PM CDT

7th Circuit rejects First Amendment challenge to Indiana fetal-remains law

A federal appeals court has rejected a First Amendment challenge to an Indiana law requiring abortion providers to dispose of fetal remains by burial or cremation or to give the remains to patients to dispose of as they please.

Nov 30, 2022 3:00 PM CST

11th Circuit rules hours after news site writes about 7-year delay

A federal appeals court ruled against a sex offender Monday, hours after a liberal political news and opinion website published an exclusive story about extraordinary delays in his case.

Oct 5, 2022 11:49 AM CDT

Strip search by transgender guard violated inmate’s religious rights, 7th Circuit says

A federal appeals court ruled Friday for a Muslim inmate in Wisconsin who claimed that his religious rights were violated by strip searches conducted by a transgender prison guard.

Sep 21, 2022 3:42 PM CDT