Justice

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FBI outlines case against Tarek Mehanna in terror plot

Massachusetts resident Tarek Mehanna, arrested Wednesday, plotted to attack Americans at a shopping mall, FBI says. Failing that, he tried cyberattacks.
Supreme Court declines to set rule on drunk driving stops

The Supreme Court lets stand a Virginia court ruling that police must actually see erratic driving – and not just rely on anonymous tips – to stop a suspected drunk driver.
Tweets from the jury box: jurors using Twitter jeopardize trials

In one case, a juror divulged a verdict on Twitter before it was announced. Now, some judges are trying to manage how members of the jury use Twitter.
SpoofCard phone case: Messing with caller ID isn't always funny

Prosecutors pursue New York case alleging illegal phone tampering via SpoofCard.
Michigan town's resolve to take Guantánamo detainees wavers

Standish, Mich., is dependent on its prison, which is about to close. It says it still wants the Guantánamo detainees to fill the void, but opponents are pushing to recall members of city council.
Death penalty is too expensive for states, study finds

State and local governments facing budget crunches can realize big savings by eliminating the death penalty, according to a new report from the Death Penalty Information Center.
Supreme Court to hear appeal of Uighurs still at Guantánamo

The Supreme Court Tuesday agreed to hear the case of Uighur detainees remaining at the Guantánamo prison camp. Their release into the US has been blocked by the White House and Congress.
Obama's Guantánamo, counterterror policies similar to Bush's?

Afghanistan's Bagram is becoming the new Guantánamo, one legal scholar said at a gathering of the American Constitution Society.
Supreme Court to hear case on property seized in drug busts

The Supreme Court Wednesday looks at whether Chicago officials took too long to return property seized in drug busts to owners who turned out to be innocent.
Europeans press the US to end the death penalty

With 37 prisoners executed last year, the United States is among the top five countries that still have the death penalty.
Supreme Court weighs arguments over Mojave cross

Did Congress try to bypass court orders and keep a cross on federal land? That's one question in the Supreme Court case about a cross erected in a national park in 1934 to honor the war dead.
Supreme Court takes up case of cross on federal land

A white cross has stood in the Mojave National Preserve since 1934. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will look at issues related to the First Amendment's separation of church and state.
Supreme Court questions animal cruelty law

Are dog-fighting videos free speech? Supreme Court justices Tuesday heard a case challenging a federal law covering depictions of animal cruelty.
Supreme Court declines Pledge of Allegiance case

A Florida high-schooler refused to stand and repeat the Pledge of Allegiance, sparking a legal fight. An appeals-court panel didn't rule his way, and now the Supreme Court won't get involved.
Supreme Court refuses Confederate flag T-shirt case

A Tennessee school's ban on T-shirts showing the Confederate flag will stand, after Supreme Court dismisses students' appeal.
Supreme Court to decide case on animal cruelty and free speech

Do depictions of animal cruelty fall short of First Amendment protection? The Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday.
Questions surround start of new Supreme Court term

How will Sonia Sotomayor vote? Is John Paul Stevens soon to retire? Will John Roberts and Samuel Alito be more unabashedly conservative? The term begins Monday.
Supreme Court to review ban on certain aid to terrorist groups

The court will examine whether part of the Patriot Act prohibits activities protected by the First Amendment.
Why police are keeping quiet on Census worker Sparkman death

Just because Census worker Bill Sparkman was found hanging from a tree with the word 'fed' written on his chest doesn't mean he was murdered in an antigovernment act. Sparkman died in an insular county of moonshiners and pot-growers, and police are wary of taking a wrong step.
Zazi case: How far should FBI go in tracking Muslims?

Muslim groups say the surveillance techniques authorized by the Patriot Act and credited with helping nab alleged New York bomb plotter Najibullah Zazi are alienating potential allies against terrorism.