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246 entries in 'Legal News Highlight' |
2025/10/02
Newsom signs bill granting Uber, Lyft drivers the right to unionize
2025/09/29
Government shutdown nears, congressional leaders to meet at White House
2025/09/25
Former FBI Director Comey indicted on charges of making false statement
2025/08/04
Judge orders temporary halt to construction at Florida’s detention center
2025/06/10
Getty Images and Stability AI clash in UK copyright trial testing AI's future
2025/05/21
Justice Dept. moves to cancel police reform settlements reached with Minneapolis
2025/03/15
Under threat from Trump, Columbia University agrees to policy changes
2025/01/24
Trump suspends US foreign assistance for 90 days pending reviews
2025/01/03
Trump’s sentencing is set for Jan. 10. Here’s what could happen next
2024/12/16
TikTok asks Supreme Court to temporarily block law that could ban site in U.S.
2024/06/27
Israel’s high court orders the army to draft ultra-Orthodox men
2024/06/13
Unanimous Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion medication
2024/06/07
Three Americans in alleged coup attempt appear in Congo military court
2024/04/22
Supreme Court will weigh banning homeless people from sleeping outside
2024/03/15
Court upholds mandatory prison terms for some low-level drug dealers
2024/03/01
Supreme Court casts doubt on GOP-led states’ efforts to regulate social media
2024/02/02
UN court rejects most of Ukraine’s terror financing case against Russia
2024/01/05
Trump asks US Supreme Court to overturn Colorado ruling
2023/12/26
Britain cracks down on protests in threat to democratic norms
2023/10/30
Court strikes down new law giving participants right to change venue
2023/06/28
Supreme Court rules for nursing home patient’s family
2023/06/26
Yale student who reported rape can be sued for defamation
2023/06/06
Court upholds judge’s finding that Tesla acquisition of Solar City was fair
2023/01/06
South Carolina Supreme Court strikes down state abortion ban
2022/11/03
Indiana Democrats pin legislative gains on abortion debate
2022/08/26
Lobster fishing union drops lawsuit about new whale closure
2021/08/27
Maryland’s highest court reviewing teen sniper’s life term
2021/08/18
Announcing the Launch of NY Immigration Law Firm
2021/05/02
Judges hear arguments over Census’ contentious privacy tool
2021/04/28
Slain girl’s grandmother wants caseworkers deemed ‘reckless’
2021/03/04
State ordered to submit plan for mental health services
2021/01/21
Justice: Technology helped Nebraska courts face pandemic
2021/01/11
Louisiana Supreme Court has a new chief justice, John Weimer
2020/09/24
Lawyer: Case of Black inmate set to die reveals racial bias
2020/08/01
Court overturns Boston Marathon bomber’s death sentence
2020/07/20
Ohio court to hear arguments in appeal over judge shot video
2020/07/15
Apple wins big EU court case over $15 billion in taxes
2020/06/03
Wisconsin Supreme Court agrees to hear voter purge case
2020/01/22
Bangladesh court orders 231 factories closed to save river
2019/12/22
Court: Airline’s workers can’t sue as class in pay dispute
2019/04/07
South Korean court orders easing of decades-old abortion ban
2019/02/22
Court upholds car rental tax imposed in Maricopa County
2019/02/16
Wisconsin court: Judge's Facebook friendship could show bias
2019/01/19
Lawyer: Incapacitated woman who gave birth not in coma
2019/01/03
Appeals court sides with Trump in transgender military case
2018/12/21
Human rights court rules against Greece in Sharia law case
2018/12/12
Thai court extends detention of refugee sought by Bahrain
2018/10/27
Bomb suspect set for Florida court appearance
2018/09/29
UN court asked to probe Venezuela; leader defiant in speech
2018/08/12
Court, regulators clash over uranium project in South Dakota
2018/08/05
Oklahoma lawsuit against opioid makers back in state court
2018/07/05
1-year-old goes to court to get reunited with family
2018/06/08
Swedish court: Ghana international to be jailed, deported
2018/06/06
Congressional Dems take Trump to court over foreign favors
2018/03/19
Courts weighing numerous challenges to political boundaries
2018/03/04
Court rules in favor of fired transgender funeral director
2018/03/02
Organized labor case goes in front of Supreme Court
2018/02/20
Maldives court delays reinstating pro-opposition lawmakers
2018/01/12
Warrant dropped for professor who spoke Hawaiian in court
2017/11/14
Feds head to court to seek dismissal of Twin Metals lawsuit
2017/11/11
Trump choosing white men as judges, highest rate in decades
2017/10/30
Illinois to require veterans courts across the state in 2018
2017/10/28
Court asked to decide whether to limit electronics searches
2017/10/25
Ohio court won't hear case in seizure of exotic animals
2017/10/22
Court weighing whether graffiti mecca was protected by law
2017/09/30
Supreme Court refuses to hear Kentucky foster care case
2017/07/12
Hearing In San Diego Unified Suit Against The College Board
2017/05/06
Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman returns to court in drug case
2017/05/01
Supreme Court says cities can sue banks under anti-bias law
2017/04/20
Supreme Court bans Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia
2017/04/05
Baldwin's Supreme Court nominee fight is early flashpoint
2017/01/20
Court ponders mass murderer Breivik's prison conditions
2016/12/07
UK Supreme Court hears landmark challenge to Brexit plans
2016/11/20
French court restores far-right candidate's ties to father
2016/09/24
Court gives fertilizer dealers a reprieve from policy change
2016/09/24
Court asks judges to respond to Louisiana sheriff's claims
2016/08/11
Court again says New Jersey can't legalize sports betting
2016/08/11
Egyptian lawyer, journalist released after prison sentence
2016/07/22
Arkansas court denies request for new execution law hearing
2016/06/25
Senate confirms district court judge for New Jersey
2016/03/29
Supreme Court's future hangs in the balance in 2016
2016/03/23
Ole Miss ex-student pleads guilty to tying noose on statue
2016/01/20
Florida asks court to deny inmate's execution-delay request
2015/11/19
Rick Perry indictment goes before Texas' top criminal court
2015/11/01
High court rejects ex-stockbroker's appeal in fraud case
2015/07/14
Court: New health law doesn't infringe on religious freedom
2014/12/04
Egyptian court sentences 188 people to death
2014/11/18
Gay marriage issue squarely before high court
2014/11/11
Kansas watches high court justice on gay marriage
2014/10/20
Appeals court reinstates Texas voter ID law
2014/08/29
Top India court says coal allocations were illegal
2014/06/25
Court rejects appeal of gay jury selection case
2014/04/17
Oklahoma gay-marriage case before US appeals court
2014/04/15
SC Supreme Court hears appeal in fatal dog attack
2014/04/08
Lawmaker Yee due back in court for arraignment
2014/03/17
Court: Tenn. Must Recognize 3 Same-Sex Marriages
2014/03/14
French court blocks secret recordings of Sarkozy
2014/02/24
Moscow court sends 7 to prison for protest rally
2013/11/25
Wind energy firm pleads guilty to eagle deaths
2012/02/27
BP 'ready for long court battle over Gulf spill'
2012/02/24
Costner sculpture dispute heads to SD high court
2012/02/23
Court seems split on double jeopardy question
2012/02/02
Providence mayor warns of possible bankruptcy
2012/01/30
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Files Class Action
2012/01/26
Hustler targeted for printing photos of dead woman
2012/01/25
In Vt., an attorney general's losses raise doubts
2012/01/18
Amazon Hit With Class Action Over Zappos Data Breach
2012/01/01
MT court restores corporate campaign spending ban
2011/12/31
Del. court says ex-HP CEO can't keep letter secret
2011/12/30
Appeals court upholds sentence of former deputy
2011/12/19
Operative gets prison for bilking NYC mayor
2011/12/19
Court schedules week of health care arguments
2011/12/11
Appeals court allows Albany hospital merger
2011/12/02
Farmers Insurance Settles Class Action Lawsuit
2011/11/21
Accused White House shooter to appear in DC court
2011/11/17
NY federal appeals court reverses Bruno conviction
2011/11/15
Justices unlikely to have last word on health care
2011/11/11
Govt asks justices to stay out of immigration case
2011/11/09
Calif high court hears debate over worker breaks
2011/11/03
Police investigate Texas judge over video beating
2011/10/24
Baker Donelson law firm acquires Houston practice
2011/10/24
Federman & Sherwood Announces Class Action Lawsuit
2011/10/20
Senate rejects GOP effort on terrorist trials
2011/10/18
Top Europe court bans stem cell technique patents
2011/10/15
Court mulls trial in absentia for Hariri case
2011/10/11
FDIC backs ban on banks trading for own profit
2011/10/11
Kentucky man sues Facebook over tracking cookie
2011/10/05
European court rules against Soros in trading case
2011/10/03
High court appears to favor Ala. death row inmate
2011/10/03
Court refuses to hear Maryland gun case
2011/09/20
Idaho inmates settle lawsuit over prison violence
2011/09/06
Ex-Va attorney convicted in law firm embezzlement
2011/08/30
Court approves Harry and David reorganization plan
2011/08/30
BofA sued over $1.75 billion mortgage trust
2011/08/26
No choking charges for Wis. Supreme Court justice
2011/08/19
Former U.S. attorney Lampton dies at 60
2011/08/15
Tech blogger won't be charged in Apple iPhone case
2011/08/15
White House criticizes court's health care ruling
2011/08/10
Ariz. governor on deadline for immigration appeal
2011/08/01
Court upholds Chinese journalist's jail sentence
2011/07/26
Calif Supreme Court rules on illegal local taxes
2011/07/05
Bill revision could mean money for NJ drug company
2011/07/04
Mich. man sues, wants Chevron stock at '04 price
2011/07/03
Law school enrollment in Missouri lags as legal jobs dry up
2011/06/24
N.Y. governor signs gay marriage into law
2011/06/13
Court won't hear restitution claim in Ponzi case
2011/06/10
Toyota class action suit to start with Utah case
2011/06/07
Court: No shield law for message boards posters
2011/06/02
NJ mom accused of starving child pleads not guilty
2011/05/29
Court: Sex-offender list is not cruel punishment
2011/05/23
Not guilty plea entered for teen in NJ webcam case
2011/05/18
Ala. chief justice warns more court layoffs coming
2011/05/10
Court in Va. to hear US health care law challenges
2011/05/10
Pa. lawmaker faces hearing on gun-related charge
2011/05/09
Judge dismisses EA from NCAA antitrust lawsuit
2011/05/06
Court puts Carl Lewis back on NJ primary ballot
2011/05/03
NH Senate rejects changes to anti-bullying law
2011/05/02
Firm hired by GOP ends work on gay marriage ban
2011/05/02
Bachmann uses Holocaust to illustrate tax point
2011/05/02
Court sides with Wyoming in dispute with Montana
2011/04/28
Kan. House debates forcing lawsuit over casino
2011/04/28
US envoy says rights talks with China yield little
2011/04/06
2 charged with insider trading involving law firms
2011/02/23
Court turns down campaign disclosure challenge
2011/01/31
Reno court accepts deal for model in arch crash
2011/01/18
High court denies man's gun arrest appeal
2010/12/30
Mich. court ruling would nix water discharge plan
2010/11/28
Judge denies class action in cigarette lawsuits
2010/11/28
Ruling on Wal-Mart class-action case may have broader impact
2010/11/28
Conn. high court to hear immigrant benefits case
2010/11/27
Supreme Court: drugs can be forced on defendant
2010/11/02
WA voters say no to state income tax Initiative 1098
2010/10/07
Genzyme board rejects Sanofi $69-a-share offer
2010/08/03
Murder conviction of mom reversed in California
2010/07/12
Judicial Vacancies Slow the Wheels of Justice
2010/02/25
Law firm probes Skipton ceiling contract clause
2010/02/16
Montgomery law firm files suit against Toyota
2010/02/12
The money question: At many law firms, these prices are in-SANE!
2010/02/08
Private equity firms brace for tax battle
2010/01/31
First class-action lawsuit filed against Toyota
2009/12/28
Judge names Houston attorney to monitor company
2009/12/18
Ky. League of Cities audit goes to law enforcement
2009/10/26
NH judge refuses to dismiss poetry program lawsuit
2009/04/27
Judge waives waiting period for gay Iowa couple
2009/04/24
Judge in LA orders green card cases reopened
2009/04/21
US Supreme Court to rule on animal cruelty law
2009/02/26
Christian Boot Camp Accused of Abusing Kids
2009/02/20
Microsoft Dodges Class Action For Now
2009/01/26
FBI: Long Island investment firm boss surrenders
2009/01/05
Grocery Wholesaler in Federal Antitrust Action
2008/12/24
Court reinstates clean air rule during EPA fix
2008/11/23
Singapore rules Journal in contempt of court
2008/11/13
High court to rule when judges must bow out
2008/11/05
Court: Payday lending law violated constitution
2008/10/30
Alinghi, rivals call on BMW Oracle to drop lawsuit
2008/10/28
Hot-button social issues highlight state ballots
2008/08/28
Attorney Need Not Deliver Subpoenaed Transcript
2008/08/27
Citibank Stole From 53,000 Customers
2008/08/22
Court says Guantanamo documents should be released
2008/08/21
Urban League Challenges Illinois School Funding
2008/08/13
Steve Wynn Sues Soft-Core Porn King
2008/08/12
DuPont Loses Bid to Enforce Supply Contract
2008/08/11
DC Circuit dismisses Fannie Mae shareholder suit
2008/08/08
Texas executes second foreign national since ICJ order
2008/08/06
Female Football Player Claims Discrimination
2008/07/09
Anheuser-Bush Invokes Cuban Embargo To Fight Buyout
2008/07/08
Refco CEO Bennett Gets 16 Years
2008/07/03
DC police launch voluntary handgun search program
2008/06/20
Federal court issues stay in SC execution
2008/06/09
FTC Appeals D.C. Circuit Order In Rambus Case
2008/06/02
Hungarian Gypsies Lose Bid For Asylum In U.S.
2008/05/28
Harry Potter & The Librarian's Lawsuit
2008/05/07
Monopoly Alleged In Crane Certification
2008/05/06
Texas Judge Sets Execution for Mexican National
2008/05/02
Illegal Imimrants Sue Employer, Employer Sues Back
2008/04/23
Officers Denied Immunity For Arresting Protester
2008/04/22
Federal judge dismisses Katrina fraud claim
2008/04/10
Class Says Blockbuster Invades Privacy
2008/04/09
Two Attorneys Emerge in Detroit Mayor Case
2008/04/09
Discovery Across Borders
2008/04/07
Appeals court may let NSA lawsuits proceed
2008/04/04
Climate Work Heating Up at Law Firms
2008/04/03
Justices Weigh Definitions of Competency
2008/04/01
Expert Testimony Issues on the Rise
2008/03/28
DOJ to Continue Crackdown on Political Corruption
2008/03/27
Nebraska legislature rejects death penalty ban
2008/03/26
SEC Proposes "Naked" Short Selling Anti-Fraud Rule
2008/03/19
Cyclist Landis Appeals Arbitration Court Ruling
2008/03/14
Jackson Lawyer: Neverland Auction Off
2008/03/13
NewsScandal-hit Spitzer faces wait for law firm role
2008/03/09
MobiTV, HowardForums avoid legal skirmish
2008/03/07
Judge KOs Challenge to Internet Bet Law
2008/03/07
Bush: 'US Must Not Let Down Its Guard'
2008/03/06
Judge Wants to Resolve Indian Lands Case
2008/03/05
Swiss Bank Drops Wikileaks Lawsuit
2008/03/05
Judge Wants Shipwreck Evidence Worked On
2008/03/04
Lawsuit Dropped in Pain Doctor Case
2008/03/04
Ciolli Sues Yale Law Students in AutoAdmit Scandal
2008/03/03
Lawyer in Bribery Case Says Witness Lied
2008/03/03
Supreme Court May Re-examine What Is "Indecent"
2008/03/03
Court may opt to pay fees from Bible suit
2008/02/28
eBay Settles Patent Dispute With MercExchange
2008/02/27
Court Denies Altria Motions To Dimiss Claims
2008/02/25
A Law Firm Puts Its Chefs on Trial
2008/02/25
Former partner suing Dorsey & Whitney law firm
2008/02/25
Supreme Court to hear car search, tribal land cases
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Newsom signs bill granting Uber, Lyft drivers the right to unionize
Legal News Highlight |
2025/10/02 20:32
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More than 800,000 drivers for ride-hailing companies in California will soon be able to join a union and bargain collectively for better wages and benefits under a measure signed Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Supporters said the new law will open a path for the largest expansion of private sector collective bargaining rights in the state’s history. The legislation is a significant compromise in the yearslong battle between labor unions and tech companies.
California is the second state where Uber and Lyft drivers can unionize as independent contractors. Massachusetts voters passed a ballot referendum in November allowing unionization, while drivers in Illinois and Minnesota are pushing for similar rights.
Newsom announced the signing at an unrelated news conference at University of California, Berkeley. The new law will give drivers “dignity and a say about their future,” he said.
The new law is part of an agreement made in September between Newsom, state lawmakers and the Service Employees International Union, along with rideshare companies Uber and Lyft. In exchange, Newsom also signed a measure supported by Uber and Lyft to significantly cut the companies’ insurance requirements for accidents caused by underinsured drivers.
Uber and Lyft fares in California are consistently higher than in other parts of the U.S. because of insurance requirements, the companies say. Uber has said that nearly one-third of every ride fare in the state goes toward paying for state-mandated insurance.
Labor unions and tech companies have fought for years over drivers’ rights. In July of last year, the California Supreme Court ruled that app-based ride-hailing and delivery services like Uber and Lyft can continue treating their drivers as independent contractors not entitled to benefits like overtime pay, paid sick leave and unemployment insurance. A 2019 law mandated that Uber and Lyft provide drivers with benefits, but voters reversed it at the ballot in 2020.
The collective bargaining measure now allows rideshare workers in California to join a union while still being classified as independent contractors and requires gig companies to bargain in good faith. The new law doesn’t apply to drivers for delivery apps like DoorDash.
The insurance measure will reduce the coverage requirement for accidents caused by uninsured or underinsured drivers from $1 million to $60,000 per individual and $300,000 per accident.
The two measures “together represent a compromise that lowers costs for riders while creating stronger voices for drivers —demonstrating how industry, labor, and lawmakers can work together to deliver real solutions,” Ramona Prieto, head of public policy for California at Uber, said in a statement.
Rideshare Drivers United, a Los Angeles-based advocacy group of 20,000 drivers, said the collective bargaining law isn’t strong enough to give workers a fair contract. The group wanted to require the companies to report its data on pay to the state.
New York City drivers’ pay increased after the city started requiring the companies to report how much an average driver earns, the group said.
“Drivers really need the backing of the state to ensure that not only is a wage proposal actually going to help drivers, but that there is progress in drivers’ pay over the years,” said Nicole Moore, president of Rideshare Drivers United.
Other drivers said the legislation will provide more job safety and benefits.
Many who support unionization said they have faced a slew of issues, including being “deactivated” from their apps without an explanation or fair appeals process when a passenger complains.
“Drivers have had no way to fight back against the gig companies taking more and more of the passenger fare, or to challenge unfair deactivations that cost us our livelihoods,” Ana Barragan, a gig driver from Los Angeles, said in a statement. “We’ve worked long hours, faced disrespect, and had no voice, just silence on the other end of the app. But now, with the right to organize a strong, democratic union, I feel hope.”
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Government shutdown nears, congressional leaders to meet at White House
Legal News Highlight |
2025/09/29 12:53
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Democratic and Republican congressional leaders are heading to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday in a late effort to avoid a government shutdown, but both sides have shown hardly any willingness to budge from their entrenched positions.
If government funding legislation isn’t passed by Congress and signed by Trump on Tuesday night, many government offices across the nation will be temporarily shuttered and nonexempt federal employees will be furloughed, adding to the strain on workers and the nation’s economy.
Trump, ahead of the meeting, made it clear he had no intention to negotiate on Democrats’ current terms.
“They’re going to have to do some things because their ideas are not very good ones,” the president said Monday.
Republicans are daring Democrats to vote against legislation that would keep government funding mostly at current levels, but Democrats have held firm. They’re using one of their few points of leverage to demand Congress take up legislation to extend health care benefits.
“We finally got our meeting. We hope they’re serious about getting something real done on health care,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said as he departed the Capitol for the White House.
Trump has shown little interest in entertaining Democrats’ demands on health care, even as he agreed to hold a sit-down meeting Monday with Schumer, along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. The Republican president has said repeatedly he fully expects the government to enter a shutdown this week.
“If it has to shut down, it’ll have to shut down,” Trump said Friday. “But they’re the ones that are shutting down government.”
The Trump administration has tried to pressure Democratic lawmakers into backing away from their demands, warning that federal employees could be permanently laid off in a funding lapse.
“Chuck Schumer said a few months ago that a government shutdown would be chaotic, harmful and painful. He’s right, and that’s why we shouldn’t do it,” Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Still, Democrats argued Trump’s agreement to hold a meeting shows he’s feeling the pressure to negotiate. They say that because Republicans control the White House and Congress, Americans will mostly blame them for any government shutdown.
Democrats are pushing for an extension to Affordable Care Act tax credits that have subsidized health insurance for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic. The credits, which are designed to expand coverage for low- and middle-income people, are set to expire at the end of the year.
At a Monday news conference, Jeffries, a New York Democrat, called health care cuts a “five-alarm fire” that is rippling across communities nationwide.
“We’re not going to simply go along to get along with a Republican bill that continues to gut the health care of everyday Americans who are already living with this Trump economy, where costs aren’t going down but they’re going up,” he said.
The pandemic-era ACA subsidies are set to expire in a matter of months if Congress fails to act.
Some Republicans are open to extending the tax credits but want changes. Thune said Sunday that the program is “desperately in need of reform” and Republicans want to address “waste, fraud and abuse.” He has pressed Democrats to vote for the funding bill and take up the debate on tax credits later.
It remains to be seen whether the White House meeting will help or hurt the chances for a resolution. Negotiations between Trump and Democratic congressional leaders have rarely gone well, and Trump has had little contact with the opposing party during his second term.
The most recent negotiation in August between Schumer and the president to speed the pace of Senate confirmation votes for administration officials ended with Trump telling Schumer to “go to hell” in a social media post. |
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Former FBI Director Comey indicted on charges of making false statement
Legal News Highlight |
2025/09/25 12:54
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Former FBI Director James Comey was charged Thursday with crimes connected to his Senate testimony in 2020 about an investigation, a major strike against a high-profile figure who has long been the target of President Donald Trump’s anger.
“No one is above the law,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said.
The indictment accuses Comey of making a false statement to Congress and obstruction of a criminal proceeding. He declared his innocence Thursday night and said, “Let’s have a trial.”
“My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump,” Comey said in a video posted to Substack.
Comey, who was FBI director from 2013 to 2017, was fired by Trump during the president’s first term amid the government’s probe into allegations of ties between Russian officials and Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Trump mentioned Comey last weekend in a social media post in which he complained that no charges had been filed against him yet.
Prosecutors led by special counsel Robert Mueller did not establish that Trump or his associates criminally colluded with Russia in 2016, but they found that Trump’s campaign had welcomed Moscow’s assistance.
Trump and his supporters have called the investigation a “hoax” despite multiple government reviews showing Moscow interfered on behalf of the campaign.
The indictment against Comey accuses him of having lied to a Senate committee when he said he never authorized anyone to serve as an anonymous source to a reporter about an investigation.
Before the charges emerged Thursday, Trump told reporters that Comey was a “bad person.” He later reveled in news of the indictment.
“He has been so bad for our Country, for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation,” Trump said on his social media platform.
Comey’s disgust for Trump was laid out in his 2018 memoir, “A Higher Loyalty.”
“This president is unethical, and untethered to truth and institutional values,” Comey wrote. “His leadership is transactional, ego driven and about personal loyalty.”
He recalled a private meeting with Trump early in his first presidency in which Trump demanded allegiance. Comey likened it to a Mafia induction.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration said it was investigating a social media post by Comey that Trump and his allies interpreted as a call for violence against the president.
In an Instagram post, Comey wrote “cool shell formation on my beach walk” under a picture of seashells that appeared to form the shapes for “86 47.” The Merriam-Webster dictionary says 86 is slang meaning “to throw out,” “get rid of” or “refuse service to.”
Comey deleted the post and said he didn’t know “some folks associate those numbers with violence.”
Comey’s daughter was a federal prosecutor for 10 years until she was fired in July by the Justice Department. Maurene Comey is suing to get her job back, saying her dismissal was unconstitutional and connected to Trump’s hostility toward her father.
“If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain,” Maurene Comey said in a note to her colleagues. “Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.”
The White House said the decision came from Justice Department officials.
Separately, James Comey’s son-in-law, Troy Edwards, resigned Thursday as a federal prosecutor, minutes after the former FBI director was indicted. |
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Judge orders temporary halt to construction at Florida’s detention center
Legal News Highlight |
2025/08/04 06:22
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A federal judge on Thursday ordered a temporary halt to construction at an immigration detention center — built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” — as attorneys argue whether it violates environmental laws.
The facility can continue to operate and hold detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but workers will be barred from adding any new filling, paving or infrastructure for the next 14 days. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued the ruling during a hearing and said she will issue a written order later Thursday.
Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe have asked Williams to issue a preliminary injunction to halt operations and further construction. The suit claims the project threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars’ worth of environmental restoration.
Plaintiffs presented witnesses Wednesday and Thursday in support of the injunction, while attorneys for the state and federal government were scheduled to present next week.
Following Thursday’s testimony, Paul Schwiep, an attorney for the environmental groups, asked Williams to issue a temporary restraining order that would at least prevent any new construction at the site while the preliminary injunction was argued.
Williams asked Florida attorney Jesse Panuccio if the state would agree to halt construction so that she wouldn’t need to issue the restraining order. She pointed out that anything built at the site would likely remain there permanently, regardless of how the case was ultimately decided.
Panuccio said he couldn’t guarantee that the state would stop all work.
This sparked an hour-long hearing about the temporary restraining order, which will be in place for the next two weeks while the still ongoing preliminary injunction hearing continues.
The crux of the plaintiffs’ argument is that the detention facility violates the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of major construction projects.
Panuccio said during the hearing that although the detention center would be holding federal detainees, the construction and operation of the facility is entirely under the state of Florida, meaning the NEPA review wouldn’t apply.
Schwiep said the purpose of the facility is for immigration enforcement, which is exclusively a federal function. He said the facility wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the federal government’s desire for a facility to hold detainees.
Williams said Thursday that the detention facility was at a minimum a joint partnership between the state and federal government.
The lawsuit in Miami against federal and state authorities is one of two legal challenges to the South Florida detention center which was built more than a month ago by the state of Florida on an isolated airstrip owned by Miami-Dade County.
A second lawsuit brought by civil rights groups says detainees’ constitutional rights are being violated since they are barred from meeting lawyers, are being held without any charges, and a federal immigration court has canceled bond hearings. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Aug. 18.
Under the 55-year-old federal environmental law, federal agencies should have examined how the detention center’s construction would impact the environment, identified ways to minimize the impact and followed other procedural rules such as allowing public comment, according to the environmental groups and the tribe.
It makes no difference that the detention center holding hundreds of detainees was built by the state of Florida since federal agencies have authority over immigration, the suit said.
Attorneys for federal and state agencies last week asked Williams to dismiss or transfer the injunction request, saying the lawsuit was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. Even though the property is owned by Miami-Dade County, Florida’s southern district is the wrong venue for the lawsuit since the detention center is located in neighboring Collier County, which is in the state’s middle district, they said.
Williams had yet to rule on that argument.
The lawsuits were being heard as Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ′ administration apparently was preparing to build a second immigration detention center at a Florida National Guard training center in north Florida. At least one contract has been awarded for what’s labeled in state records as the “North Detention Facility.” |
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Getty Images and Stability AI clash in UK copyright trial testing AI's future
Legal News Highlight |
2025/06/10 11:05
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Getty Images is facing off against artificial intelligence company Stability AI in a London courtroom for the first major copyright trial of the generative AI industry.
Opening arguments before a judge at the British High Court began on Monday. The trial could last for three weeks.
Stability, based in London, owns a widely used AI image-making tool that sparked enthusiasm for the instant creation of AI artwork and photorealistic images upon its release in August 2022. OpenAI introduced its surprise hit chatbot ChatGPT three months later.
Seattle-based Getty has argued that the development of the AI image maker, called Stable Diffusion, involved “brazen infringement” of Getty’s photography collection “on a staggering scale.”
Tech companies have long argued that “fair use” or “fair dealing” legal doctrines in the United States and United Kingdom allow them to train their AI systems on large troves of writings or images. Getty was among the first to challenge those practices when it filed copyright infringement lawsuits in the United States and the United Kingdom in early 2023.
“What Stability did was inappropriate,” Getty CEO Craig Peters told The Associated Press in 2023. He said creators of intellectual property should be asked for permission before their works are fed into AI systems rather than having to participate in an “opt-out regime.”
Getty’s legal team told the court Monday that its position is that the case isn’t a battle between the creative and technology industries and that the two can still work together in “synergistic harmony” because licensing creative works is critical to AI’s success.
“The problem is when AI companies such as Stability AI want to use those works without payment,” Getty’s trial lawyer, Lindsay Lane, said.
She said the case was about “straightforward enforcement of intellectual property rights,” including copyright, trademark and database rights.
Getty Images “recognizes that the AI industry is a force for good but that doesn’t justify those developing AI models to ride roughshod over intellectual property rights,” Lane said.
Stability AI had a “voracious appetite” for images to train its AI model, but the company was “completely indifferent to the nature of those works,” Lane said.
Stability didn’t care if images were protected by copyright, had watermarks, were not safe for work or were pornographic and just wanted to get its model to the market as soon as possible, Lane said.
“This trial is the day of reckoning for that approach,” she said.
Stability has argued that the case doesn’t belong in the United Kingdom because the training of the AI model technically happened elsewhere, on computers run by U.S. tech giant Amazon.
The judge’s decision is unlikely to give the AI industry what it most wants, which is expanded copyright exemptions for AI training, said Ben Milloy, a senior associate at UK law firm Fladgate, which is not involved in the case.
But it could “strengthen the hand of either party – rights holders or AI developers – in the context of the commercial negotiations for content licensing deals that are currently playing out worldwide,” Milloy said.
In the years after introducing its open-source technology, Stability confronted challenges in capitalizing on the popularity of the tool, battling lawsuits, misuse and other business problems.
Stable Diffusion’s roots trace back to Germany, where computer scientists at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich worked with the New York-based tech company Runway to develop the original algorithms. The university researchers credited Stability AI for providing the servers that trained the models, which require large amounts of computing power.
Stability later blamed Runway for releasing an early version of Stable Diffusion that was used to produce abusive sexual images, but also said it would have exclusive control of more recent versions of the AI model.
Stability last year announced what it described as a “significant” infusion of money from new investors including Facebook’s former president Sean Parker, who is now chair of Stability’s board. Parker also has experience in intellectual property disputes as the co-founder of online music company Napster, which temporarily shuttered in the early 2000s after the record industry and popular rock band Metallica sued over copyright violations.
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