The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with Jack Daniel’s in its trademark fight against a poop-themed dog toy that parodies the company’s whiskey bottles. In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Elena Kagan, the high court ruled for the whiskey maker but left unaddressed whether the First Amendment provides parodies with heightened protections from trademark-infringement…
Author: Zach Schonfeld
Supreme Court strikes down Alabama congressional map in victory for voting rights advocates
The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down Alabama’s congressional map, a surprise ruling that it likely violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of Black voters. In a 5-4 decision, the court affirmed a lower ruling that ordered the GOP-led state to create a new map with an additional majority-Black district. Alabama’s map included…
Judge grants request for George Santos’s bond sponsors to be unsealed
A federal judge on Tuesday granted media organizations’ requests to unseal the names of the people who cosigned Rep. George Santos’s (R-N.Y.) $500,000 bond in his criminal fraud case. The order is a blow to Santos, whose attorney on Monday asked a judge to keep the names of the bond co-signers sealed. The congressman’s lawyer,…
Attorney for billionaire at center of Clarence Thomas controversy offers to meet with Judiciary staff
An attorney for GOP megadonor Harlan Crow offered to meet with Senate Judiciary Committee staff as Democrats push to investigate undisclosed, luxury trips that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted from the real estate developer. Crow’s attorney, Michael Bopp, has rebuffed the committee’s demands for information, but in a Monday letter, Bopp offered to meet…
Supreme Court will hear ‘Trump too small’ trademark dispute
Donald Trump is headed to the Supreme Court. His name, that is. The justices Monday agreed to take up a trademark dispute implicating the First Amendment, and a joke about the former president is at the center. For five years, California man Steve Elster has been attempting to trademark “Trump too small” to use on…
Trump demands recusal of judge overseeing hush money criminal case
Former President Trump is calling for the New York judge overseeing his hush money criminal case to recuse himself, arguing the judge cannot be impartial. Trump’s lawyers noted in a new filing apparent political donations Judge Juan Merchan made to then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and liberal-leaning groups. They also referenced the judge’s participation in a…
Why Supreme Court recusals are attracting newfound attention
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan became the first to adopt a new ethics principle that indicates justices may explain why they are recusing themselves from a case. But her conservative colleague on the bench, Justice Samuel Alito, opted not to share why he was stepping aside from a separate case, raising questions about whether the…
Manhattan DA pushes back on Trump attempt to move hush money case to federal court
Manhattan prosecutors on Tuesday formally opposed former President Trump’s bid to move his hush money criminal case from state to federal court. Trump’s lawyers earlier this month argued the case cannot be tried in state court because the alleged conduct happened while Trump was serving as president. Such a move would increase the potential jury…
Supreme Court preview: the major decisions still to come
The Supreme Court’s decision season is in full swing. The justices in the coming weeks will hand down major rulings on student debt relief, affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act, with opinions in 30 remaining cases expected to be released by June 30. Here’s a preview of the major decisions. Student Debt Relief The…
‘Simply losing it’: Bitter fight brews over federal judge’s forced retirement effort
A growing dispute over efforts to force the retirement of a 95-year-old federal judge is giving the public a rare glimpse into how the judicial system grapples with issues of age on the bench. Questions about age are looming large over Washington lately, with doubts about whether an octogenarian president is fit for reelection and…