Latest State courts News
Court erases conviction of man in sex offender registry case
DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court threw out out the conviction of a man who was accused of failing to register under an old version of the state's sex offender registry. The court became the latest to declare that the 2011 law was unconstitutional when applied...
Men involved in armed standoff sue state police, judge
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Several members of the group arrested after an armed standoff along a Massachusetts highway earlier this month have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that state courts have no jurisdiction over the case. The suit filed by Rise of the Moors in U.S....
Escape charge dismissed for man who served murder sentence
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The state supreme court on Tuesday dismissed an escape charge against a man who served 22 years for murder before walking away from the Riverview Psychiatric Center, where he was committed. Mark Gessner was being treated at the psychiatric...
California court requires lawyers in murder case challenges
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California prisoners are entitled to a lawyer when they challenge their murder convictions for killings that others committed, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday. The court's ruling means that hundreds of inmates who want to use a 2-year-old law...
Stitt appoints Tulsa woman to Oklahoma Supreme Court
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday chose a Tulsa woman to fill an Oklahoma Supreme Court vacancy, marking for the first time in decades that most of the nine court members were Republican appointees. In a statement, Stitt said Judge Dana Kuehn of the...
Indiana Supreme Court asked to stall governor's powers suit
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s attorney general asked the state Supreme Court on Monday to stall Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb’s lawsuit challenging the increased power state legislators gave themselves to intervene during public health emergencies following conservative objections to his...
New trial ordered for man accused of murder, faked ATV crash
YORK, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a man accused of killing his wife and then faking an all-terrain vehicle accident to cover up the slaying almost a decade ago. The state's highest court ruled 5-2 Friday that 48-year-old Joseph...
New Hampshire bishop denies allegations of past sexual abuse
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — The head of the Roman Catholic Church in New Hampshire “categorically denies” recent allegations that he committed sexual abuse while serving as a priest in New York in the 1980s, according to a statement issued by his lawyer on Saturday. A...
Judge hears arguments in Alaska budget dispute lawsuit
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A state court judge said he planned to issue a ruling next week in a lawsuit filed by Alaska's attorney general that raised questions about when the state budget takes effect. Superior Court Judge Herman Walker Jr. announced his plans after hearing...
Bid to block Nevada death penalty drug plan draws 2nd inmate
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A second condemned inmate is asking a federal judge in Las Vegas to add him to legal challenges being made to the never-before-used method that Nevada prison officials want to employ for their first lethal injection in 15 years. Attorneys for Zane...
