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Legal System

Chevron Ordered To Pay More Than $740 Million To Restore Coast

April 12, 2025 Jack Brook, AP News. , , ,
Pointe a la Hache, LA. — Oil company Chevron must pay $744.6 million to restore damage it caused to southeast Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, a jury ruled on Friday following a landmark trial more than a decade in the making. The case was the first of dozens of pending lawsuits to reach trial in Louisiana against the world’s leading oil companies for their role in accelerating land loss along the state’s rapidly disappearing coast. The verdict – which Chevron says it will appeal – could set a precedent leaving other oil and gas firms on the hook for billions of dollars in damages tied to land loss and environmental degradation.

Mahmoud Khalil’s Immigration Status Will Be Determined Friday

April 9, 2025 Samuel Karlin, Left Voice. , , ,
Mahmoud Khalil’s immigration hearings began in Louisiana on April 8. Supporters who tried to observe the proceedings virtually were not allowed in. ABC News reported that during this hearing, Judge Jamee Comans determined that the Trump administration has 24 hours to provide evidence of allegations they’ve made to justify Khalil’s deportation. The administration has made bogus claims that Khalil poses a threat to national security. Once Khalil’s team has reviewed and responded to whatever information the Trump administration provides, Comans will decide at another hearing this Friday if Khalil can stay in the United States.

Momodou Taal, Who Sued Trump, Voluntarily Leaves The Country

April 1, 2025 Benjamin Leynse, Cornell Sun. , , , , ,
Momodou Taal, a pro-Palestinian activist and international Ph.D student, announced his decision to leave the country on Monday — ending a weeks-long struggle with the federal government that began when he sued the Trump administration. Soon after Taal announced his decision on X and Instagram, his lawyers withdrew his lawsuit in federal court. Taal first made national news when he, alongside Sriram Parasurama, a Ph.D. student in plant sciences, and Prof. Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ, literatures in English, sued the Trump administration for allegedly violating their First and Fifth Amendment rights.

Respect For The Law Is The Strongest Weapon Against Fascism

March 30, 2025 Daniel Warner, Counter Punch. , , ,
The well-prepared, abundantly funded Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025’s implementation overwhelms all that has come before. The ill-prepared, leaderless Democrats and opposition are stymied to stop it. No March on Washington like the 1963 March for civil and political rights or the 1967 March against the Vietnam War will slow down the Trump steamroll. Neither the high price of eggs nor Wall Street jitters have had any effect. What to do? Could courts be the deciding factor to halt the United States slide towards fascism? Rules are essential to any organized society.

Judges Weigh Appeal By Whistleblower Who Exposed Cover-Up Of War Crimes

March 30, 2025 Joe Lauria, Consortium News. , , , , ,
A three-judge panel in the Australian capital is weighing an appeal by whistleblower David McBride that could determine if a soldier’s duty is to serve the public or only his superior officers even if it means covering up evidence of his nation’s war crimes. The judges are also considering the question of whether Australian soldiers owe their allegiance to the British crown or to the people of Australia. The three Court of Appeal judges have been deliberating for four weeks to determine if the trial judge erred in not permitting McBride a public interest defense.

Chaos Under Heaven: South Korea’s Deepening Political Debacle

March 25, 2025 K. J. Noh, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
Morse Tan, a high-ranking former US State Dept. official, recently let the cat out of the bag on the US ruling elite position on South Korea's Martial Law.  He declared that "Yoon declared Martial Law to preserve South Korea's Democracy".  Having previously labeled South Korea a model democracy, this is a No-Scotsman-move taken to absurdity.   Now Tan is not a current US government official, but he is an indicator of what the US national security state is thinking, in particular, what its neocon wing is thinking.  Tan also recently claimed that "the impeachment against Yoon is an insurrection" led by opposition party leader Lee Jae Myung "who wants to turn the country over to the Chinese communists". 

Will Trump Send US Citizens To El Salvador?

March 22, 2025 Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report. , , , ,
Donald Trump is in a position to do almost anything he wants. He was the clear favorite of republican voters and won the popular vote and majorities in congress. Not content to be satisfied with what he says is a mandate, Trump has upped the ante and departed from the traditional definitions of power in Washington. He has legislative control, but he is making an end run around it with executive orders and defiance of the courts. At a moment of radical political change which includes firing thousands of federal workers and claiming that programs supported by most people are no longer needed, the democrats provide only the thinnest veneer of opposition when the public want them to step up.

AFGE Wins! Judge Orders Trump To Rehire Fired Probationary Employees

March 22, 2025 AFGE. , , , ,
In a major victory for AFGE, allies, and federal workers, a judge in California ordered the Trump administration to reinstate probationary employees fired at six agencies, saying the firing “is based on a lie” and that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) didn’t have the authority to order it. The administration's request for an emergency administrative stay has also been denied by the 9th Circuit. This lawsuit was brought by AFGE and our allies. Another judge in Maryland also ordered the administration to temporarily halt its planned reductions in force (RIFs) at 18 agencies, including the Department of Education that announced it would fire half of its staff.

Jury Delivers Verdict Finding Entities Liable For More Than $660 Million

March 20, 2025 Madison Carter, Greenpeace. , , , , ,
Mandan, North Dakota — A Morton County jury of nine reached a verdict in Energy Transfer’s meritless lawsuit against Greenpeace entities in the US (Greenpeace Inc, Greenpeace Fund), and Greenpeace International, finding the entities liable for more than US$660 million, today. Big Oil Bullies around the world will continue to try to silence free speech and peaceful protest, but the fight against Energy Transfer’s meritless SLAPP lawsuit is not over. “This case should alarm everyone, no matter their political inclinations,” said Sushma Raman, Interim Executive Director Greenpeace Inc, Greenpeace Fund.

Legal Coalition To Pursue Israelis Accused Of War Crimes

March 19, 2025 Areeb Ullah, Middle East Eye. , , , ,
Lawyers have launched a global coalition to pursue legal action around the world against Israelis and Israeli dual nationals accused of involvement in suspected war crimes in Gaza. At a launch event in London on Tuesday, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) said the Global 195 initiative would seek to use domestic and international legal mechanisms to seek justice against Israeli soldiers and others “spanning the entire Israeli military and political chain of command”. Speaking at a press conference, Tayab Ali, director of the ICJP, began his remarks by paying tribute to the hundreds of Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes after it broke the ceasefire with Hamas in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Historic Lawsuit Filed Challenging Trump’s Attack On Free Speech

March 16, 2025 Amandla Thomas-Johnson, Popular Resistance. , , , , , , ,
A Cornell professor and two graduate students are suing the Trump administration for violating the First Amendment as it seeks to deport international students protesting Israel’s war on Gaza under the guise of protecting national security. Trump’s salvo of executive orders targeting what amounts to student thought crimes means the Cornell scholars “now fear government retaliation for engaging in constitutionally protected expression critical of U.S. foreign policy and supportive of Palestinian human rights,” according to the lawsuit, filed Saturday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District.

Trump Administration’s ‘Alien Enemies Act’ Deportation Program

March 16, 2025 Ryan Goodman, Just Security. , , , , ,
On Friday, the Trump administration appeared to start the process of carrying out the deportation of Venezuelan nationals pursuant to the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime authority that legal experts warn is clearly not applicable to those individuals.  The Act requires invocation of its authorities to be made public, but as of the time of publication there is no indication that a presidential proclamation has been publicly released. CNN has reported, however, that President Donald Trump was set to issue such a proclamation as soon as Friday and described senior White House officials stating that the executive action would target Venezuelan nationals alleged to be affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang.

Mahmoud Khalil Will Remain Detained In Louisiana

March 13, 2025 Michael Arria, Mondoweiss. , , , , ,
Mahmoud Khalil will continue to be detained at an ICE facility in Louisiana following a brief hearing in New York City on Wednesday morning. In response to a habeas corpus petition and a request to have him transferred back to New York, where he was arrested, federal judge Jesse Furman called for more briefs from Khalil’s lawyers and the U.S. government. Trump attorneys informed the court that they will submit a motion to transfer or dismiss Khalil’s habeas corpus petition, as they view New York as “an improper venue” for the case and do not believe it has any jurisdiction.

Incarcerated Transgender Women Challenge Trump’s Order

March 13, 2025 Betsey Piette, Workers World. , , , ,
Among the most horrific executive orders signed by Donald Trump on Jan. 20, were those withdrawing protection for transgender women incarcerated in federal prisons and terminating all their necessary gender-affirming medical care. The orders, which explicitly prohibit women’s prisons and detention centers from housing transgender female inmates, placed 22 trans women in imminent risk of transfer to a men’s facility where they would be subjected to strip searches and showering in front of men, violating the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).

In Maryland, Cracking Down On A Crime Wave That Doesn’t Exist

March 6, 2025 Jon Jeter, Black Agenda Report. , , , , ,
Here in this deep blue state, a coalition of judges, attorneys, youth advocates, civil liberties and racial justice organizations are trying to persuade Maryland lawmakers to amend Draconian legislation that requires prosecutors to charge children as young as 10 in adult criminal court for a wide range of felony offenses. At issue is Senate Bill 422 , which, if passed by Maryland’s General Assembly in this legislative session, would reduce by nearly two-thirds the 33 criminal offenses for which juveniles in Maryland are automatically charged as adults.
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