Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued opinions in six cases that improve or maintain civil liberties. In the most highly awaited case, Obergefell v Hodges, the court legalized gay marriage in all states.
Last week, a federal court in Montana dismissed a charge against a citizen journalist attempting to observe and document the government roundup of wild buffalo outside Yellowstone National Park.
In a significant defeat for the multinational corporate privatization agenda, this week the town of Missoula, Montana seized its water supply and distribution system from the Carlyle Group via eminent domain.
On May 29, in a case called McCormack v. Herzog, the federal U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit struck down Idaho’s ban on abortions. A federal court in Idaho had previously found the law unconstitutional, and the appeals court agreed.
Over 150 death row prisoners have been proven innocent and freed with the help of DNA evidence. Even more disturbing, most of the people that have been sentenced to die are poor African American men who have been convicted of killing white victims.
Last week in Ireland, for the first time ever, an entire country decided to legalize gay marriage by a popular vote, also known as a referendum. This is the first time gay marriage has been legalized by a direct vote of the people. The U.S Supreme Court will be deciding a case in June that will have impacts on marriage equality in the United States.
Last week, federal courts issued two decisions affirming the right of citizens to record police under the First Amendment.
Last week was a busy week for privacy and free speech advocates. In New York, a federal appeals court issued a decision finding that the National Security Agency’s (NSA) telephone metadata collection program is illegal. In California, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction against a San Diego jail policy allowing “postcards only” for inmates. In Washington D.C., a federal court held that conducting invasive, forensic searches of laptops seized at airports is illegal.
Last week, a federal court in Pennsylvania struck down a state law aimed at restricting the free speech rights of prisoners. In Mumia Abu Jamal v. Kane, the court addressed a new state law in Pennsylvania called the “Revictimization Relief Act,” which attempted to stop accused or convicted criminals from publicly expressing viewpoints that might offend the alleged victims of their crimes. The court found the law unconstitutional because it had an unlawful purpose, was vaguely executed, and was patently overbroad in its scope.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a rare glimmer of hope in a case called Rodriguez v. United States. In the case, the court held that police cannot extend a routine traffic stop to use a drug dog to sniff a stopped vehicle for drugs.
