Arkansas conducts first execution since 2005, plans 3 more

Arkansas was able to conduct its first execution in nearly a dozen years despite a flurry of legal challenges that had spared three convicted killers, but courts still could scuttle the remainder the nation's most ambitious death penalty schedule since capital punishment was restored in 1976. Ledell Lee was pronounced dead at 11:56 p.m. Thursday, four minutes before his death warrant was due to expire at midnight, capping a chaotic week of legal wrangling.

Sandra Day O’Connor makes this year’s ‘Time 100’

Sandra Day O'Connor on this year's 'Time 100' First woman Supreme Court justice, an El Paso native, makes Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people. Check out this story on ElPasoTimes.com: President Trump, James Corden and Simone Biles are just a few of the names that made it on their annual list.

Supreme Court appears ready to break down a church-state barrier in certain circumstances

The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared ready to break down at least part of the longstanding church-state barrier that has prevented religious schools from receiving public funds. The justices gave a skeptical hearing to a Missouri lawyer who was defending the state's decision to reject a grant request from a Lutheran preschool seeking to participate in a state program that provides money to schools to rubberize the surface of their playgrounds.

As the freshman Supreme Court justice, Neil Gorsuch will have…

Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr., and fellow justices watch as Neil Gorsuch signs the Constitutional Oath after Roberts administered the Constitutional Oath in a private ceremony, Monday, April 10, 2017, in the Justices' Conference Room at the Supreme Court in Washington. Start by making him take notes and answer the door at the justices' private meetings.

‘Nuclear option’ fallout means more extreme U.S. justices, experts say

A Republican-backed Senate rule change expected on Thursday could make it more likely that presidents will pick ideologically extreme U.S. Supreme Court nominees with little incentive to choose centrist justices, experts said. With a deep partisan divide in Washington, Democrats are using a procedural tactic called a filibuster to try to block confirmation of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch in the Republican-led Senate.

Gorsuch may be decisive vote in divisive Supreme Court cases

With Neil Gorsuch's confirmation as the 113th Supreme Court justice expected on Friday, it won't be long before he starts revealing what he really thinks about a range of hot topics he repeatedly sidestepped during his confirmation hearing. In less than two weeks, the justices will take up a Missouri church's claim that the state is stepping on its religious freedom.

The Latest: Texas executes man in murder-for-hire scheme

A paid hit man has been executed in Texas for the contract killing of a San Antonio woman in a life insurance scheme nearly a quarter-century ago. Rolando Ruiz was convicted of accepting $2,000 to fatally shoot 29-year-old Theresa Rodriguez outside her home in 1992 as she was getting out of a car with her husband and brother-in-law, who both orchestrated her murder.

The Supreme Court seems unhappy with a social-media ban for sex offenders

THE rape and murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994 inspired a host of federal and state laws tracking sexual predators and publicising information on their crimes and whereabouts. Many states also passed laws keeping such criminals away from schools, playgrounds and parks.

Supreme Court unlikely to overturn abortion rights anytime soon

Supreme Court unlikely to overturn abortion rights anytime soon President Trump needs more than one new Supreme Court justice to reverse Roe v. Wade Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2kcvqBM Demonstrators on both sides of the abortion issue demonstrate in front of the Supreme Court last June, around the time the justices struck down a Texas law that restricted access to abortions.

Obama could appoint Merrick Garland to Supreme Court today, but experts say don’t count on it

Progressives' last-ditch effort to install Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court before Donald Trump enters the White House could end on Tuesday if President Obama does not attempt a recess appointment. Just before noon, the 114th Congress will gavel out of session before the 115th Congress begins.

Supreme Court nominations will never be the same

The story of the Supreme Court in 2016 can be summarized in a statistic: It's been 311 days since Justice Antonin Scalia died on Feb. 13, and his seat remains unfilled. That's not the longest Supreme Court vacancy in the modern era, but it's about to enter second place - and it will become the longest if Donald Trump's nominee isn't confirmed before the end of March.

Supreme Court takes up cases about race in redistricting

This Nov. 15, 2016 photo shows a view of the Supreme Court from the Capitol Dome, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The eight-justice court is hearing arguments Monday in two cases that deal with the same basic issue of whether race played too large a role in the drawing of electoral districts, to the detriment of African-Americans.

Pregnancy, privacy and Trump’s promise

The future of privacy under the U.S. Constitution - and the critical protection of rights such as abortion and same-sex marriage - rests on the continued good health and mental acuity of three lawyers age 78 and older. If you care about these things, and you should, you really should be sending vitamin packets, kale salads and protein smoothies to Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg , Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer .