Latest Courts News

Manson follower Leslie Van Houten should be paroled, California appeals court rules
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California appeals court said Tuesday that Leslie Van Houten, who participated in two killings at the direction of cult leader Charles Manson in 1969, should be let out of prison on parole. The appellate court’s ruling reverses an earlier decision by Gov....

South Carolina gas station owner makes 1st court appearance on murder charge in teen's death
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina gas station owner accused of chasing a 14-year-old boy from his store and fatally shooting him in the back made his first court appearance Tuesday on a murder charge in the death. Rick Chow thought the boy had shoplifted four bottles of water...

Ruling clears way for Purdue Pharma to settle opioid claims, protect Sacklers from lawsuits
A federal appeals court cleared the way for the maker of OxyContin to settle thousands of legal claims tied to the opioid epidemic while shielding the wealthy owners of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family, from future lawsuits. Under the plan approved Tuesday by the 2nd U.S. Circuit...

Nevada fight over leaky irrigation canal and groundwater more complicated than appears on surface
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Water conflicts are nothing new to the arid West, where myriad users long have vied for their share of the precious resource from California's Central Valley to the Colorado and Missouri rivers. But few have waded into the legal question playing out in rural...

Most in US say don't ban race in college admissions but its role should be small: AP-NORC poll
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Supreme Court decides the fate of affirmative action, most U.S. adults say the court should allow colleges to consider race as part of the admissions process, yet few believe students’ race should ultimately play a major role in decisions, according to a new poll. ...

Woman who threatened Nancy Pelosi with hanging during Capitol riot gets over 2 years in prison
A Pennsylvania restaurant owner who screamed death threats directed at then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi while storming the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Tuesday to more than two years in prison. Pauline Bauer was near Pelosi's office suite on Jan. 6, 2021, when she yelled at police...

Possible Putin trip in spotlight as Russia, China foreign ministers set for meeting in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The Russian and Chinese foreign ministers are expected to meet with their counterparts from the BRICS economic bloc in Cape Town on Thursday, a precursor to a larger summit of developing nations' leaders in South Africa in August that Russian President Vladimir Putin may...

One justice explained absence from case. Another didn't. Ethics questions vexing Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (AP) — One Supreme Court justice explained her absence from a case. One justice didn't. The difference shows how difficult forging consensus over even small steps on ethics can be at the Supreme Court, which is facing new calls to adopt an ethics code following...

Central figure in German tax evasion scandal convicted in 2nd case
BERLIN (AP) — A central figure in a German tax evasion scandal was convicted on Tuesday and sentenced to more than eight years in prison, the second verdict against him in the space of a few months. The Wiesbaden state court convicted German lawyer Hanno Berger of three counts of...
Editorial Roundup: Missouri
Kansas City Star. May 24, 2023. Editorial: If Missouri public schools teach Bible classes, whose version of religion rules? Missouri legislators have adopted yet another solution in search of a problem. They’ve passed a bill — and sent it to Gov. Mike Parson to...
