8th Circuit Court

8th Circuit reinstates legal challenge by videographers who won’t make same-sex wedding videos

A federal appeals court on Friday reinstated a challenge to Minnesota’s anti-bias law by videographers who say they can’t be required to make same-sex wedding videos because it would violate their religious beliefs. The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Carl and Angel Larsen, owners of…

Aug 26, 2019 12:11 PM CDT

Handcuffing of second grader didn’t violate his constitutional rights, 8th Circuit says

A 7-year-old elementary school student who was handcuffed by a police officer for 20 minutes can’t sue because there was no violation of his constitutional rights, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Aug 5, 2019 11:31 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: 4th Circuit tosses emoluments suit; health insurance mandate on shaky ground

• A federal appeals court has tossed a case contending that President Donald Trump is violating the Constitution’s ban on presidents accepting emoluments from foreign states. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Richmond, Virginia, unanimously ruled that the state of Maryland and Washington, D.C., had no standing to…

Jul 10, 2019 4:46 PM CDT

8th and 10th Circuits split over female topless ban

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis has upheld a Springfield, Missouri, ordinance that bans women but not men from exposing their nipples in public. The appeals court affirmed a federal judge’s decision to toss an equal-protection challenge to the ordinance, the Springfield News-Leader reports. How Appealing…

May 8, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Suspects wrongly persuaded of their guilt to share in $28M award after Supreme Court rejects cert

The case of the wrongly imprisoned “Beatrice Six” came to a close Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a Nebraska county’s appeal of a $28.1 million judgment for a reckless investigation by its sheriff’s department. The six murder defendants served an estimated, collective 70 years in prison…

Mar 6, 2019 4:26 PM CST

State and governor can’t be sued over public defender caseloads, 8th Circuit says

Missouri and its governor have immunity in a suit claiming indigent defendants in the state aren’t receiving meaningful representation in violation of the Sixth Amendment, a federal appeals court has ruled. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis ruled Jan. 10 in a would-be class action filed…

Jan 15, 2019 1:45 PM CST

5 Arkansas justices file petition in their own court seeking to toss ethics charges against them

Five Arkansas Supreme Court justices are trying to block the state’s judicial discipline agency from sanctioning them over their quick decision to remove a judge from capital cases after he participated in death penalty protests. The five justices filed a petition with their own court on Wednesday seeking dismissal of…

Oct 18, 2018 4:23 PM CDT

PACs have freedom of speech and association, 8th Circuit says in allowing transfers between PACs

A federal appeals court has ruled that a Missouri law banning donations between political action committees violates the First Amendment. The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday, report the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Associated Press and the Constitutional Law Prof Blog. The ban “limits the donor-PAC’s…

Sep 12, 2018 8:35 AM CDT

First execution using fentanyl carried out after 8th Circuit rejects appeal

Nebraska inmate Carey Dean Moore became the first person to be executed with the drug fentanyl on Tuesday after a federal appeals court rejected a drug company’s challenge to two other drugs used in the four-drug lethal cocktail. Moore, 60, was executed for killing two cab drivers in 1997, report…

Aug 14, 2018 1:44 PM CDT

Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to law that will end medication abortions in Arkansas

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a challenge to an Arkansas law that has the effect of ending medication abortions in the state.

May 30, 2018 11:33 AM CDT

Animal park must move lemurs and tigers because of Endangered Species Act violation, court says

A former zoo in Iowa must transfer its lemurs and tigers to other facilities because of a violation by the Endangered Species Act, a federal appeals court has ruled. The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal magistrate judge’s decision to transfer the animals from the…

Apr 17, 2018 8:00 AM CDT

2 judicial nominees rated as ‘not qualified’ among group of 17 to advance to the Senate

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced to the Senate 17 judicial nominees—including two who received “not qualified” ratings from the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. U.S. News & World Report described the 17 as an “abnormally large group.” Liberal interest groups have charged that Republicans grouped together…

Jan 19, 2018 9:45 AM CST

8th Circuit nominee Grasz confirmed by the Senate despite ABA committee’s ‘not qualified’ rating

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Leonard Steven Grasz to a seat on the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Dec 12, 2017 4:29 PM CST

Grassley delays vote on controversial 8th Circuit nominee to allow review of new information

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has delayed a vote on a federal appeals court nominee who received a “not qualified” rating from the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary to allow time for review of additional information. Grassley said (PDF) follow-up materials provided this week by the nominee,…

Dec 1, 2017 1:10 PM CST

ABA president defends ratings of judicial nominees after GOP senators claim liberal bias

Updated: ABA President Hilarie Bass defended an ABA committee’s ratings of judicial nominees on Wednesday after GOP senators charged in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that liberal bias could be swaying the evaluations.

Nov 15, 2017 5:26 PM CST