Results tagged “supremecourt”

The Supreme Court of the United States today upheld an appeals court ruling that the state of Illinois was not required to offer motorists the option to buy "Choose Life" license plates offered by the organization Choose Life Illinois, which is pro-adoption and anti-abortion. Choose Illinois - which counts Chicago Bears owner Virginia McCaskey as a board member - had amassed over 25,000 signatures on a petition for the plates but the state turned it down claiming it didn't want to appear to take sides on the issue of abortion.

A year after striking down Washington D.C.'s gun ban, the U.S. Supreme Court announced today they will hear challenges to Chicago's similar ban. The cases the SCOTUS will hear are National Rifle Association vs. City of Chicago and McDonald vs. City of Chicago. The suburbs of Morton Grove, Wilmette, Evanston and Winnetka all dropped similar bans to avoid costly lawsuits after last year's D.C. decision. Chicago's ban has been in place for 27 years.

Buffalo Grove's American Needle Inc. is heading to the Supreme Court thanks to a fight with the NFL. The company had been one of many that had previously sued the NFL for violating federal antitrust law when the league signed an exclusive merch licensing deal with Reebok in 2001. American Needle lost its suit and its appeal against the NFL and the league took the case to the Supreme Court hoping to get a more broad ruling against smaller lawsuits, though American Needle has pursued a high court ruling as well. According to the Associated Press, "Football team owners hope the high court will issue a broader decision that would insulate the NFL against what they contend are costly, frivolous antitrust lawsuits." [AP, WBEZ]

• The WHO has declared the swine flu outbreak a global pandemic, the first in 41 years. One company who is benefiting is local company Baxter.
• The Supreme Court has turned down Conrad Black's request for release on bail pending his appeal.
• Mayor Daley surfaced long enough today to confirm layoff notices to city workers will be going out tomorrow.

With a U.S. Court of Appeals recently upholding the city's handgun ban, another fight is brewing between the city and the NRA as the case is likely to head to the U.S. Supreme Court. And CBS 2 spent some time talking to gun owners here in the city who are carrying illegally.

The Associated Press is reporting that President Obama has selected federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee to the Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice David Souter. Sotomayor, who is currently serving the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, would be the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. Earlier speculation had surrounded Judge Diane Wood, of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, located here in Chicago, as a potential nominee. President Obama is due to hold a press conference at 9:15 a.m. this morning to make the announcement. We'll keep an eye on it right here.

• There was a delay on the Blue Line this afternoon when a woman fell on the tracks. Service and power were restored at around 2:30 p.m
• The CTA Tattler takes a look at how the CTA avoided additional fare hikes...for now.
• The Supreme Court has agreed to consider reviewing the case of former Sun-Times owner Conrad Black.

• Major airlines are set to do the hokey pokey at O'Hare on June 1 and United will be sharing space at Terminal 1 with Continental.
• Michael Norton, owner of Norton Sweet Shop - a West Side convenience store - was shot and killed in an attempted robbery last night.
• More change coming to Chicago's parking meters: by the end of the year, 3,000 cash-free payment boxes - on which you can use credit cards - will be installed.

Illinois Judge Diane Wood, one of President Obama's prospects to fill the upcoming vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, will be in the spotlight on Wednesday during oral arguments Wednesday in a case involving religious expression. The arguments will take place at the Dirksen Federal Building.

With such amazing weather this weekend, we can understand if you missed a few things we covered on Saturday and Sunday. If you did, be sure to check 'em out. We looked at:

With news that Justice David H. Souter will be retiring from the Supreme Court in June, a Democratic president has his first chance in 15 years to appoint a justice to the bench of the highest U.S. court.

U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur today rejected two lawsuits challenging Chicago's handgun ban. The ban has been in place since 1982 but came under fire recently when the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to overturn Washington D.C.'s ban in June. Multiple lawsuits were filed by the National Rifle Association and the Illinois State Rifle Association in towns and cities across Northern Illinois, and Wilmette and Morton Grove repealed their bans.

The Supreme Court has said it will not review the lawsuit questioning Barack Obama's citizenship, a controversy that has also focused on an alleged "mystery" around Obama's birth certificate. Donofrio v Welles challenged both Obama and McCain's right to run for president as being natural-born citizens of the United States. There are still some appeals in other similar lawsuits floating around out there, but it's highly unlikely these cases will be heard as well.

The Supreme Court made no announcement today whether or not it will hear Donofrio v. Wells, the lawsuit challenging the election based on Barack Obama's release - or alleged lack thereof - of his official birth certificate and his citizenship status. (The court did decide to hear two cases, one of which is the case of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, an Al Qaeda combatant seized on American soil.) Of course, there's no guarantee the Court will ever actually issue any statement on the Obama case since it was simply petitioned to the court and, along with hundreds of other cases, could be dismissed without any comment at all. But as Frank James, over at The Swamp, says, "the lack of an announcement doesn't mean the court definitely won't hear Donofrio." So either we will or we won't. Hmm.

Yesterday we explored what we thought was a benign attempt by a fringe political group to raise a ruckus over Barack Obama's birth certificate. Boy, were we wrong. While we're not putting on our tinfoil hats, it definitely has earned our attention. There have been several lawsuits filed regarding the release of Obama's birth certificate, including one by former Obama opponent Alan Keyes, and now one of the cases has made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court will consider tomorrow whether or not to hear a lawsuit brought by Leo Donofrio against New Jersey Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells, a suit originally intended to delay the election.

The most famous case questioning Obama's citizenship was filed in Pennsylvania in August on behalf of Philip J. Berg and sought to enjoin the Democratic National Committee from nominating Obama. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to accept the case. Earlier, a federal judge rejected it for "lack of standing"—ruling that Berg had no legal right to sue. In cases like this, judges sometimes believe the matter is best left to political institutions, such as the Electoral College or Congress, said legal scholar Eugene Volokh of the University of California at Los Angeles.

Continue reading "Supreme Court To Consider Obama Birth Certificate Case"

The film Wanted starring Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and a lot of guns opens tomorrow. If you recall from your wasted time navigating around closed streets, many scenes were shot in Chicago. The movie has been getting mixed reviews but we'll go for the Chicago shots, Jolie one-liners, and "full-on pornography when it comes to the bullet's-eye-view-effects shots," as Michael Phillips so gunporn-ly put it.

Horse slaughter for human consumption shall remain illegal in our fine state, now that the SCOTUS has declined to hear Cavel International's appeal. Cavel's DeKalb horse-slaughtering facility shut down last year after Illinois passed a state law banning the practice.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in Heller vs District of Columbia, the first major gun-rights case to come before the court in nearly 70 years. At issue is a long unresolved constitutional question: Does the Second Amendment protect an individual's right to keep and bear arms, or does it only protect a state's right to arm a militia?

WBEZ condensed a day in the life of the Illinois Supreme Court into one awesome minute. (And...was that a shout-out to one of the State's most intriguing cases?)

In Los Angeles, LAist most definitely celebrated Thanksgiving like no other. After all, one has to keep up all the energy to keep on walking the line at the Writers Strike and fighting the unfortunate return of the wildfires in Malibu, which single handedly destroyed over fifty homes within the first 24 hours. National outlets may be covering the fires, but CNN also found it is easier to buy a gun than fruit and...

For real this time. While it's not exactly direct, he's not passing go and he's not collecting $200: Justice John Paul Stevens denied Ryan's request to remain out on bail while awaiting his appeal. Ryan, 73, is scheduled to go to prison on Wednesday.

George Ryan is edging ever closer to the big house after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals denied today yet another request from the Ryan camp. This go-round, Ryan was trying to stay out on bail until the Supreme Court could hear his case, but the 7th said no. That leaves Ryan with just one option left: Ask the Supreme Court to extend his bail. If they decline, Ryan will head to the clink...

Jean Sliwinski was convicted of reckless homicide today and was also deemed mentally ill. She'll be sentenced November 26. George Ryan is supposed to report to prison November 7...unless Judge Posner's emphatic dissent is enough to convince the 7th Circuit to extend Ryan's bail until his case can be appealed to the Supreme Court. There are people who enjoy Ricky Henderson jokes. There are people who enjoy Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me jokes. Then...

justices said "the evidence of the [Ryan]'s guilt was overwhelming," and they refused to grant Ryan an "en banc" hearing--which is when all 11 judges on the court hear a case together. Ryan's pretty much SOL at this point, but his lawyers say they'll appeal again, this time to the Supreme Court, though it's unlikely that court will hear the case.

Busy day in these parts, what with the CTA planning on cutting every bus we take to get anywhere. High fives for reader Keven Hisson for sending us these really funny punked CTA posters. (More after the jump.) But on to the extras: Police still don't have a suspect in Ronald Heard, Jr.'s murder. Heard, the son, godson and nephew of police officers, was shot and killed outside a White Castle on the South...

We hope some of you got a chance to go to something at the Chicago Book Festival last week, but if not, here’s your chance. Our take on the second week: Jeffrey Toobin, CNN’s senior legal analyst, discusses and signs his newest book The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, and maybe adds a few pointers for broke Chicagoists. Monday, Oct. 8, 6 p.m., Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State St., Cindy...

What's the only thing more sketchy-ass than Chicago's city hiring? The folks fighting over the money for the victims of said rigged system. We're pretty sure we were denied a job too ... now give us a cut of that $12 million! And we used to just be scared our own vibrating toys would rouse suspicion. (It's a scalp massage, honest!) Now airport screeners think that remote controls for toys are under suspicion as...

State Rep. Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago) is no stranger to the long green. As one of the chief sponsors of HB 429, the wine shipping bill that aims to bring Illinois in compliance with the 2005 Supreme Court ruling in Granholm v. Heald by limiting the ways consumers can obtain wines, Acevedo received $7,500 in campaign contributions from the Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois for carrying their water. Turns out that Acevedo is also the litigious...

It was about time Mayor Daley entered the fray surrounding the Chicago Children’s Museum’s proposed move to Grant Park. To exactly no one’s surprise, he favors the plan. Loves it so much he’s enlisted his good buddies false choice and specious reasoning. Make no mistake: if you oppose the Museum’s move to Grant Park, you hate children. You want them to grow up miserable, lacking any sense of civic pride or patriotism, addicted to meth,...