Abortion

Judge bars release of anti-abortion group’s undercover videos

A federal judge on Friday issued a preliminary injunction barring an anti-abortion group from releasing undercover videos taken at annual conferences of the National Abortion Federation. U.S. District Judge William Orrick III of San Francisco issued the injunction Friday in a lawsuit filed against the Center for Medical Progress, report…

Feb 9, 2016 8:43 AM CST

Chemerinsky: ‘Potential blockbuster’ rulings expected in June

The Supreme Court’s docket for October Term 2015 is now set. Absent extraordinary circumstances, all cases taken between now and the end of June will not be heard until next fall. The docket for this term appeared to be unusually small until the court granted review in eight additional cases…

Feb 3, 2016 8:30 AM CST

After his first decade, Alito is ‘every bit as conservative as conservatives could have dreamed’

A crowd of several hundred people gathered in the auditorium of the National Archives building in Washington, D.C., last fall to hear a conversation with a member of the U.S. Supreme Court who usually remains far from the limelight.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who was approaching his 10th anniversary on the high court, recounted a story he likes to tell about attending a speech with his wife, Martha-Ann. They went to hear a judicial colleague talk about the Volstead Act, the federal law that implemented Prohibition.

Feb 1, 2016 2:40 AM CST

Lawyers for indicted activists behind Planned Parenthood videos blame ‘runaway grand jury’

Updated: Lawyers for anti-abortion activists behind controversial videos attacking Planned Parenthood say the case is legally flawed, the New York Times reports. David Daleiden, director of the anti-abortion Center for Medical Progress, and Sandra Merritt ended up being indicted by a Houston grand jury looking into their claims of wrongdoing…

Jan 28, 2016 1:20 PM CST

Grand jury investigating Planned Parenthood instead indicts creators of undercover videos

A grand jury in Houston investigating Planned Parenthood has instead indicted two anti-abortion activists who created undercover videos in an attempt to show the group sells fetal body parts. The Harris County grand jury on Monday indicted David Daleiden, the director of the Center for Medical Progress, and one of…

Jan 26, 2016 7:23 AM CST

Chemerinsky: The best, worst and most surprising SCOTUS opinions of 2015

2015 was an amazing year in the United States Supreme Court. As the year comes to a close, I cannot resist the temptation to look back and present my “awards” for what happened in the court this year. Most important story about the Supreme Court in 2015 In October 2014-15,…

Jan 7, 2016 8:30 AM CST

As SCOTUS prepares to hear abortion case, both sides hope to sway Kennedy by using personal stories

Anthony Kennedy can expect a full-court press from both pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion advocates as the Supreme Court prepares to hear its first abortion case in almost a decade. Reuters reported on Monday that both sides have been gathering personal stories and accounts in an effort to sway the justice,…

Jan 4, 2016 11:45 AM CST

Planned Parenthood shooting suspect makes his first court appearance via video

The man accused in the mass shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was informed that he will be charged with first-degree murder when he made his first court appearance Monday afternoon via video link from jail, Reuters and the Associated Press report. Robert Lewis Dear, 57,…

Nov 30, 2015 5:10 PM CST

Northern Ireland’s abortion prohibitions violate human rights, Belfast judge rules

A judge on the Belfast High Court in Northern Ireland ruled Monday that the region’s prohibition of abortions in cases of rape, incest and fetal abnormality violates the human rights of women, Reuters reports. Judge Mark Horner upheld arguments by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission that the prohibition went…

Nov 30, 2015 12:55 PM CST

7th Circuit overturns abortion regulation; Posner says health benefit is ‘nonexistent’

The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a Wisconsin abortion law that required abortion doctors to have admission privileges at a hospital within 30 miles. Writing for the majority in the 2-1 opinion (PDF), Judge Richard Posner said the law would shut down one of the…

Nov 24, 2015 7:30 AM CST

SCOTUS to consider Virginia redistricting suit; do GOP lawmakers have standing?

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider a Virginia redistricting case challenging the state’s only congressional district with a majority-black population. The Virginia case, Wittman v. Personhuballah, was brought by Mark Elias, the general counsel to the Clinton presidential campaign, the Washington Post reports. Funding was provided by…

Nov 16, 2015 8:00 AM CST

Supreme Court will review Texas abortion law

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a Texas abortion law that imposed new requirements on abortion clinics and doctors. The court granted cert Tuesday, the New York Times, SCOTUSblog, USA Today and the Washington Post report. The case is Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole. The Texas law requires…

Nov 13, 2015 1:37 PM CST

Is SCOTUS ready to reconsider abortion rights?

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering cert petitions asking it to rule on new abortion restrictions. In one case, the Supreme Court dropped “a fairly vague hint” that it may be interested in a case challenging the viability standard established in the 1973 decision Roe v. Wade, SCOTUSblog reports. The…

Nov 13, 2015 7:27 AM CST

SCOTUS will hear challenge by nonprofits objecting to contraceptive-coverage opt-out procedure

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the opt-out procedure for religious nonprofits that don’t want to provide contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The consolidated case is the fourth time in five years that the Supreme Court will consider a legal challenge to the…

Nov 6, 2015 1:03 PM CST

Litigation is no laughing matter to your clients

Humor is the lubricant that enables us to slide through the obstacles life places in our way. That's why we say: "If I didn't laugh, I'd cry."

But for lawyers, in the serious business of helping our clients, humor is a no-no. I don't mean in your personal life. I don't mean when you're talking to a colleague. I mean in court, at depositions, in briefs—don't be funny. You'll be tempted, but don't do it.

Nov 1, 2015 2:10 AM CST