Federal appeals court overturns Tennessee coal ash cleanup order

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit [official website] on Monday reversed [opinion, PDF] a district court order that required the Tennessee Valley Authority [official website] to dig up and remove a large amount of coal ash at one of its power plants, holding that the Clean Water Act [materials] does not regulate pollutants that reach navigable waters through groundwater. The appeal concerned a US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee [official website] order requiring the TVA to "fully excavate" the coal ash ponds of its Gallatin Fossil Plant.

Deported Ohio mother of 4 reunited with family

A Fairfield mother of four who was deported to Mexico in April 2017 is now back home with her family, attorneys say. Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. represents Maribel Trujillo Diaz and says she was returned to the U.S. from Mexico to attend her ongoing immigration hearings at the Cleveland Immigration Court.

Tennessee Supreme Court asked clarify laws on life sentences

A federal appeals court has asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to clarify whether a woman serving a life sentence for killing a man when she was 16 can ever gain parole. The Tennessean reported the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked the Tennessee high court Wednesday to weigh in before it issues a ruling in the case of Cyntoia Brown, who argues her life sentence was unconstitutional.

Anti-LGBT Group Asks Supreme Court to Review Trans Bias Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has an opportunity to rule on whether existing civil rights law banning sex discrimination covers discrimination based on gender identity. A Michigan funeral home operator, represented by the anti-LGBT Alliance Defending Freedom, has asked the high court to review an appeals court's decision that its firing of a transgender employee violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title VII bans sex discrimination.

Tennessee abortion change vote case appealed to high court

Opponents of a state constitutional amendment that passed in 2014 to allow tougher abortion restrictions are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court after a circuit appellate court denied a recount. A 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion in January said the state's vote tabulating method was reasonable and true to the meaning of the state constitution and didn't infringe on plaintiffs' voting rights.

A more conservative Supreme Court could step, not lurch, to…

President Trump's choice of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is intended to move what is already one of history's most conservative courts to even more consistent right-of-center outcomes. But expect more of a gradual climb than a jack-rabbit acceleration, without the kind of alarms that are set off by disposing of the few landmark precedents that are familiar to the general public.

Supreme Court contender Kethledge enters spotlight as…

Raymond Kethledge was working on his book about leadership and solitude in 2016 when the phone rang. It was the landline, because in the office of his northern Michigan barn, situated in a densely forested area overlooking Lake Huron, Kethledge had no cell service or internet access.

Religious liberty becomes a main focus for conservatives in…

Raymond Kethledge, one of the finalists President Donald Trump is considering for the Supreme Court, has never explicitly stated his views on abortion or same-sex marriage. But in April, Kethledge, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, ruled in favor of Cathedral Buffet, a church-run Ohio restaurant being sued by the government because congregants were allegedly being "spiritually coerced" by their pastor to work without pay.

Trump focused on Kavanaugh, Kethledge for Supreme Court

Conservative federal appeals court judges Brett Kavanaugh and Raymond Kethledge are the two most serious contenders being considered by President Donald Trump for the U.S. Supreme Court, a source familiar with the process said on Thursday. Kavanaugh serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Lincoln County passes right-to-work law

Lincoln County passes right-to-work law Lincoln County commissioners unanimously approve a right-to-work law Check out this story on ruidosonews.com: After listening to a half hour of viewpoints from politicians, union officials, citizens and a proponent organization, Lincoln County commission approved a "right-to-work" ordinance. The action came immediately after County Attorney Alan Morel told commissioners at the monthly meeting in May the county received a threat of litigation letter also delivered to every other county contemplating or passing similar ordinances.

Ap Photos: a history of civil disobedience in America

In this Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015 file photo, William Smith Jr., right, and his partner James Yates, second right, speak with an unnamed clerk in an attempt to obtain a marriage license at the Rowan County Courthouse in Morehead, Ky. The couple were denied a marriage license despite the ruling of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding an earlier decision instructing the clerks to issue mariage licenses.

No more – one-person conspiracies’

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 21, 2018, reversed the Second Circuit in a 7-2 decision in Marinello v. United States, holding that to convict a defendant under the Omnibus Clause of Code Section 7212 the government must prove that the defendant was aware of a pending tax-related proceeding, such as a particular investigation or audit, or could reasonably have foreseen that such a proceeding would commence.

Governor spares life of man who killed woman in robbery

Ohio Gov. John Kasich Monday spared a condemned killer who was set to die April 11 for fatally shooting a woman more than three decades ago during a robbery after questions were raised about discrepancies in the case and the fairness of the trial. The Republican governor's release said his decision followed the report and recommendation of the Ohio Parole Board, which voted 6-4 on March 16 in favor of clemency for death row inmate William Montgomery.

Attorneys general from 4 states back coal ash cleanup ruling

Four state attorneys general are supporting a judge's order for a federal utility to clean up coal ash at a Tennessee plant. In the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals brief Thursday, Democratic attorneys general for Maryland, California, Washington and Massachusetts said overturning the order would threaten the Clean Water Act and give polluters incentive to skirt regulation by rerouting discharges to groundwater.