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Supreme Court upholds 'partial-birth' abortion ban
Breaking Legal News |
2007/04/18 09:00
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| The US Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. In Gonzales v. Carhart, the Court held that groups challenging the ban on "partial-birth" abortions "have not demonstrated that the Act, as a facial matter, is void for vagueness, or that it imposes an undue burden on a woman's right to abortion based on its overbreadth or lack of a health exception." Carhart was consolidated with Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood, and the Supreme Court reversed the federal appeals court decisions in both cases. Wednesday's 5-4 decision marks the first time the Court has upheld a complete ban on an abortion procedure. Read the Court's opinion per Justice Kennedy, along with a concurrence from Justice Thomas, and a dissent from Justice Ginsburg. SCOTUSblog has more. AP has additional coverage. In a second 5-4 decision handed down Wednesday, the Court held in James v. United States that attempted burglary, as defined by Florida law, qualifies as a "violent felony" under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). Under the ACCA, defendants may subjected to longer sentences if the defendant has three prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses. James unsuccessfully argued that his Florida conviction for attempted burglary did not qualify as a violent felony under the ACCA. The Supreme Court affirmed the Eleventh Circuit's decision in the case. Read the Court's opinion per Justice Alito, along with a dissent from Justice Scalia and a second dissent from Justice Thomas. |
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Class action or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued. This form of collective lawsuit originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon, at least the U.S. variant of it. In the United States federal courts, class actions are governed by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule. Since 1938, many states have adopted rules similar to the FRCP. However, some states like California have civil procedure systems which deviate significantly from the federal rules; the California Codes provide for four separate types of class actions. As a result, there are two separate treatises devoted solely to the complex topic of California class actions. Some states, such as Virginia, do not provide for any class actions, while others, such as New York, limit the types of claims that may be brought as class actions. They can construct your law firm a brand new website, lawyer website templates and help you redesign your existing law firm site to secure your place in the internet. |
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