Judge

• Ein Staatsgericht in Pennsylvania hat Wahlbeamte angewiesen, bis Juni 2026 eine neue Karte der Kongresswahlbezirke zu erstellen, da die derzeitige, von Republikanern unterstützte Karte die Stimmkraft schwarzer und Latino-Gemeinschaften in Philadelphia und Pittsburgh unrechtmäßig verwässert habe. • Der Richter stellte fest, dass die bestehenden Wahlbezirke Wähler aus Minderheiten in einer Handvoll „sicherer“ demokratischer Sitze konzentrierten, was ihren Einfluss in benachbarten, wettbewerbsintensiven Bezirken einschränkte und gegen staatliche Verfassungsgarantien für eine gleichberechtigte Vertretung verstieß. • Die Entscheidung gefährdet die Hoffnungen der Republikaner, im Jahr 2026 eine knappe Mehrheit im Repräsentantenhaus zu behaupten, und könnte die Legislative in ein gerichtlich überwachtes Redistricting-Verfahren zwingen, falls sich die Gesetzgeber nicht auf eine Ersatzkarte einigen können.

• Ein Bundesrichter wies eine Klage des Justice Department auf Zugang zu Wählerregistrierungsdaten in Arizona ab und entschied zugunsten des Bundesstaates. • In dem Fall ging es um Behauptungen über ungenaue Wählerverzeichnisse, doch das Gericht fand unzureichende Beweise, um mit den Forderungen der Trump-Regierung fortzufahren. • Dieses Urteil schützt den Datenschutz der Wählerdaten des Bundesstaates und könnte Auswirkungen auf laufende Debatten über die Wahlintegrität vor den Midterms 2026 haben.

• Hersteller von OxyContin soll durch ein neues Unternehmen ersetzt werden, das die Opioid-Krise bekämpfen will, während ein rechtlicher Vergleich in Kraft tritt. • Der OxyContin-Hersteller Purdue Pharma soll bis Ende der Woche aufgelöst und durch ein auf das Gemeinwohl ausgerichtetes Unternehmen ersetzt werden, da ein umfassender rechtlicher Vergleich zur Beilegung tausender Klagen in Kraft tritt. • Ein Bundesrichter sprach am Dienstag ein strafrechtliches Urteil gegen das Unternehmen aus, um eine Untersuchung des US Department of Justice abzuschließen – ein letzter notwendiger Schritt, um den Weg für den Vergleich freizumachen. Weiterlesen...

The court sided with a Canadian hiker who deliberately challenged the order imposed to curb spread of wildfiresAs wildfires raged across Nova Scotia last summer, the Canadian province made a simple plea to residents: stay away from the woods.As the situation deteriorated, authorities turned the request into a prohibition: anyone caught hiking under the shade of the forest canopy faced a C$25,000 fine – a figure more than half the average worker’s yearly salary. Continue reading...

Kendrick Guidry, alone among judges, initially ruled that the state supreme court’s decision to uphold a ‘lookback window’ for abuse claims did not set a binding precedentOnly one judge in Louisiana has ruled in favor of the Catholic church’s ongoing attempts to strike down a law there which allowed old abuse claims their day in court – even after a state supreme court decision upheld the constitutionality of that so-called “lookback window”.But now, that judge – Kendrick J Guidry of Lake Charles – is being forced to acknowledge that his ruling benefited a specific church on whose finance committee he sits, giving him a direct financial interest that required his recusal under the state’s judicial code. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Prominent figures risk arrest with message of support for proscribed group before next week’s appeal hearingUK politics live – latest updatesSally Rooney, Greta Thunberg, and Brian Eno have written to the court of appeal in support of Palestine Action before next week’s hearing to determine the lawfulness of the ban on the direct action protest group.The letter, composed of only six words – “We oppose genocide, we support Palestine Action” – is signed by more than 130 people and is the first time that prominent scholars, writers and activists have come together to defy the ban. Continue reading...

The injunction pauses policy giving senior Trump official direct sign-off on federal clean energy projectsA federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday struck down several Trump administration actions slowing down development of clean energy, including a requirement that all solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters be personally approved by the interior secretary, Doug Burgum.Denise J Casper, chief judge of the US district court for Massachusetts, ruled that a coalition of plaintiffs representing wind and solar developers were likely to succeed on the merits of their claims that the administration’s actions violate federal statute and will cause irreparable harm if the court did not intervene. Continue reading...

The satirical website’s parent company will have to pay $81,000 a month to the misinformation platformSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxSatirical website the Onion plans to turn rightwing commentator Alex Jones’s misinformation site Infowars into a parody of itself under a leasing agreement provisionally approved by a Texas court.Under a proposed deal with court administrators, Infowars would be leased by Global Tetrahedron, a Chicago-based company that owns the Onion, for $81,000 a month for six months, with an option to renew for another six months. Continue reading...

• A US judge issued an injunction favoring makers of the banned 'ICE Sightings - Chicagoland' Facebook group and Eyes Up app, alleging DHS and DOJ violated the First Amendment. • The Trump administration last year ordered platforms to remove apps tracking ICE activity, prompting legal pushback. • The ruling underscores tensions between national security and free speech in tech moderation, potentially affecting similar surveillance tools.

The Plaza Prizes offered 10 awards in 2025 but some judges say they were not paid, while a number of winners hit back over AI accusationsA competition for new writers that promised a £20,000 prize fund appears to have shut down, leaving winners and judges, including a Booker prize-winning novelist, out of pocket.Established in 2022, the Plaza Prizes last year offered 10 awards that were judged by the “finest poets and writers in the world”. Continue reading...

Ruling in favor of Justin Heap could have implications in one of country’s most prominent battleground statesThe top election official in Arizona’s most populous county will be given more authority in running elections after a judge sided with his office in a prolonged legal fight with the local board that shares responsibility for overseeing the vote.The decision could have broad implications in one of the nation’s most prominent battleground states, which will have several high-profile races this fall. Maricopa county, which includes Phoenix, has been roiled by election conspiracy theorists ever since Donald Trump lost the state to Joe Biden in 2020. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Adrian Fulford will also examine wider national security vetting system after Foreign Office controversyUK politics live – latest updatesA retired high court judge is expected to review Peter Mandelson’s vetting process and the wider national security vetting system.The review, commissioned by Downing Street, comes after a Guardian investigation revealing that security officials decided Mandelson should not receive developed vetting clearance, but were overruled by the Foreign Office to allow him to become US ambassador. Continue reading...

Not ‘reasonable’ to impose that Siena Hopper, 25, with no criminal history, should be excluded from City of Sydney except for work or to attend courtFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA judge has overturned the bail conditions imposed by police on a Sydney anti-Herzog protester with no criminal history, saying the conditions were not “reasonable”.Lawyer Wael Skaf made an application before the Downing Centre local court to vary Siena Hopper’s bail conditions, which barred her from attending any “unlawful protests” and included a condition that she not enter the City of Sydney except for work or to attend court. Continue reading...

• The Trump administration has fired over 100 immigration judges as part of broader personnel changes during the president's second term. • The mass dismissals represent a significant restructuring of the immigration court system and reflect the administration's policy priorities. • The firings raise questions about the future administration of immigration cases and the judicial review process.

Immigration judges Roopal Patel and Nina Froes among six judges terminated by Department of JusticeTwo immigration judges who ruled against the Trump administration in the deportation cases of pro-Palestinian university students have been fired by the Department of Justice.The New York Times reported over the weekend that the justice department had terminated six judges, including Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, who oversaw deportation proceedings against Rümeysa Öztürk and Mohsen Mahdawi, two students who were arrested last year as part of Trump’s campaign against the Gaza protest movement. Continue reading...

• The Trump administration fired six immigration judges on Friday, including Judge Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, for dismissing high-profile deportation cases against international students involved in pro-Palestinian protests. • Patel ruled in January that there were no grounds to deport Turkish student Rümeysa Öztürk, targeted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio after her critical op-ed on Tufts University's Palestine stance; Froes ended proceedings against Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi in February. • The judges reported pressure from the administration to approve more deportations, as revealed in interviews with The New York Times.

Judge rules complaint fails to outline malice after Trump argued lewd drawing allegedly sent to Epstein at heart of story was fakeA Florida judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed last summer by Donald Trump over a Wall Street Journal report that he had sent a “bawdy” letter to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, though the judge has given the US president two weeks to re-file the case.Trump, who has had a habit of suing media companies both inside and outside the White House, had argued that a lewd drawing at the heart of the story was fake. The lawsuit was especially notable because one of the defendants was Rupert Murdoch, one of Trump’s top media allies, whose News Corporation media empire owns the Journal. Continue reading...

• A federal judge in New York dismissed actor Blake Lively's sexual harassment claims against Justin Baldoni related to their work on the movie 'It Ends With Us.' • The dismissal occurred on April 11, 2026, but the judge allowed Lively's retaliation claim to proceed. • The ruling stems from an ongoing legal dispute between the co-stars amid production tensions.

Use of UK military bases in Gulf region has been ‘invaluable’ to US military operation in IranMiddle East crisis live – latest updatesThe UK’s actions in the Gulf should be the basis for any US judgment of the country’s value rather than Donald Trump’s social media posts, the defence secretary has said.Speaking at a conference in London, John Healey said the UK’s recent efforts “spoke for themselves”, as Keir Starmer flew home after a trip that included discussing how to keep the strait of Hormuz open with Donald Trump, as well as meeting leaders in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Continue reading...

Paul Friedman grants New York Times’s motion to force implementation of earlier ruling that gutted restrictive new policyA federal judge on Thursday ruled that the Pentagon has not complied with an order last month that undid much of a restrictive new press pass policy implemented by the Department of Defense, and ordered the return of credentials to seven New York Times reporters.The newspaper, which sued the Trump administration in December, had urged the judge to compel implementation of his 20 March ruling after the Pentagon responded to the judge’s determination by creating a new press access policy, which the newspaper called an “end-run” around the judge’s ruling. The Pentagon had also announced the closure of the work space known as “correspondents’ corridor”. Continue reading...

Democratic-backed candidate’s win to Wisconsin supreme court gives liberals 5-2 edge on courtHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Democratic-backed candidate Chris Taylor won election to the Wisconsin supreme court on Tuesday, giving liberals a 5-2 edge on the court.Shortly before his 8pm ET deadline for Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz, or face the death of its “whole civilization”, Donald Trump posted on social media that the US had reached a temporary ceasefire agreement with Iran. Details of the agreement are still forthcoming and bombing continues across the region.Iranian officials will meet with the United States for talks beginning Friday. Pakistan, which brokered the ceasefire agreement, will host the negotiations in Islamabad.The Pentagon will hold a press briefing at 8am ET today. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are expected to attend.Some Democrats criticized the ceasefire deal, saying its terms, if true, would cede major concessions to Iran, including control over the strait of Hormuz. Others, including New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, called for Congress to invoke the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office after he “threatened a genocide against the Iranian people”.Several Republicans cheered the president’s decision, casting it as shrewd and tactical. “This is a strong first step toward holding Iran accountable,” said senator Rick Scott of Florida.Shelly Kittleson, the US journalist who was kidnapped in Baghdad by the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah last week, has been released, said secretary of state Marco Rubio.Repulican Clay Fuller won Georgia’s special election to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in the House of Representatives. In line with special elections for Congress since the start of Trump’s term, his Democratic rival, Shawn Harris, overperformed. Continue reading...

Rapper ‘very thankful’ to be given chance to enter mental health diversion program after arrest in LA last yearA judge has allowed Lil Nas X to enter a mental health diversion program intended to lead to the dismissal of charges of attacking Los Angeles police officers.Judge Alan Schneider told the rapper and singer on Monday that if he sticks to his treatment program and obeys all laws for two years, his four felony counts will be dismissed. Continue reading...

Trump ordered data collection after raising concern about race being used as factor in college admissionsA federal judge on Friday halted efforts by the Trump administration to collect data that proves higher education institutions aren’t considering race in admissions.The ruling from the US district court judge F Dennis Saylor IV in Boston granting the preliminary injunction follows a lawsuit filed earlier this month by a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general. It will only apply to public universities in plaintiffs’ states. Continue reading...

• A New York federal judge dismissed Blake Lively's sexual harassment claims against Justin Baldoni related to the film It Ends With Us on April 3, 2026. • The ruling comes amid ongoing disputes from the movie's production. • This decision impacts Hollywood's #MeToo era accountability efforts.

Decision came after hearing in which Subramanyam Vedam, 64, said he didn’t kill Thomas Kinser when he was 19A judge has cleared the way for the potential release of an Indian citizen who was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody last year after his Pennsylvania murder conviction was overturned following four decades in prison.The decision came the day after the four-hour hearing in which Subramanyam Vedam insisted he did not fatally shoot Thomas Kinser in 1980 and was questioned by a US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lawyer. Vedam participated in the hearing remotely from the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania. Continue reading...

Judge Lewis Liman dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims against Baldoni, including claim of sexual harassmentSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA federal judge has thrown out the majority of Blake Lively’s claims against Justin Baldoni.In a court ruling on Thursday, Judge Lewis Liman dismissed 10 of the 13 claims in Lively’s lawsuit against her co-star and director of the domestic violence film It Ends With Us. Continue reading...

The National Capital Planning Commission had previously delayed the vote after thousands of negative public commentsHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The National Capital Planning Commission will meet this afternoon to decide on Donald Trump’s White House $400m ballroom project, after a federal judge halted construction earlier this week.House Republicans announced that they will pass a bill, advanced by the Senate last week, to end the record-breaking partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown after previously rejecting the measure.Democrats quickly celebrated the win with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer saying “House Republicans caved” after previously “[derailing] a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction”.Nasa’s lunar rocket successfully launched and the astronauts on the first crewed lunar rocket in more than 50 years received praise from across the US.Attorney general Pam Bondi’s job with the Trump administration is reportedly at risk. The president is said to be unhappy with Bondi’s performance as the head of the justice department and the controversy surrounding the Epstein files, according to a New York Times report.Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida signed legislation on Wednesday to require documented proof of citizenship to register to vote and to begin a process that will eventually unenroll voters who have not provided citizenship documentation.Supreme court justices appeared skeptical of the Trump administration’s argument to restrict birthright citizenship for hundreds of thousands of children born to undocumented immigrants of temporary foreign nationals. Trump himself attended the hearing, widely considered to be the first time a sitting president has attended arguments at the supreme court. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Justice Jim Henry published data from his own court revealing recent cases took more than a year to reach committalGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Queensland supreme court judge says serious criminal cases are taking “excruciatingly longer” to finalise due to “glacial” delays in the state’s magistrates court, where some matters are spending several years in procedural limbo.Justice Jim Henry, who is based at the supreme court in Cairns, published data from his own court revealing that of 31 recent criminal cases he finalised between November and February, on average each case took more than a year (370 days) in the lower courts before a committal. Continue reading...