WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday it will hold arguments by teleconference in May in key cases, including President Donald Trump's bid to shield his tax and other financial records. The court will make live audio of the arguments available for the first time. It had previously postponed courtroom arguments...
Justices Say States Can Prosecute Immigrants Who Use Fake IDs
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court made it easier Tuesday for states to prosecute immigrants who use fake Social Security numbers to get a job. The issue for the court was whether states could pursue the immigrants in court or had to leave those choices to the federal government, which typically...
Supreme Court Allows Enforcement of New Green Card Rule
WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to put in place new rules that could jeopardize permanent resident status for immigrants who use food stamps, Medicaid and housing vouchers. Under the new policy, immigration officials can deny green cards to legal immigrants over their use...
Appeals Court: California City Bound by Sanctuary Law
SANTA ANA — A California appeals court on Friday ruled that a state law limiting police collaboration with federal immigration agents doesn't interfere with a charter city's right to run its own police force. The decision reverses an Orange County judge's 2018 ruling that cities that create their own charters,...
Walters: State Supreme Court Helps Insider Dealing
One should expect the California Supreme Court to protect the integrity of governmental actions. However, on the day after Christmas, the court, by a 6-1 margin, gave government officials a gift. It decreed that the validity of municipal bond issues can be challenged only by those directly involved in the transactions...
Should Therapists Be Mandatory Child Porn Reporters?
SACRAMENTO — The California Supreme Court revived a long-running debate Thursday when it reinstated a lawsuit over whether psychotherapists must tell authorities when patients report they are attracted to child pornography. Lower courts had tossed out the lawsuit by three therapists who argued that California's mandatory reporting law violates patient...
Supreme Court Declines Review of Homeless Anti-Camping Laws
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will not review an appellate decision that makes it harder for cities to keep homeless people from sleeping on the streets. The justices on Monday did not comment as they left in place a ruling that struck down a Boise, Idaho, ordinance. The ruling by...
Justices Reject Call for New Trial in ‘Serial’ Podcast Case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Maryland man’s bid for a new trial based on information uncovered by the hit podcast “Serial.” The justices did not comment in leaving in place a 4-3 ruling by Maryland’s highest court that denied a new trial to Adnan Syed, who...
Court Appears Poised to End DACA Protection
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court's conservative majority seems prepared to allow the Trump administration to end a program that allows some immigrants to work legally in the United States and protects them from deportation. There did not appear to be any support among the five conservatives in extended arguments Tuesday...
Walters: Legislating by Whim
The Democrats who dominate the state Legislature have developed a very bad habit — legislating by whim. If they take a dislike to something or someone, they ban it. If they like something, they impose it on everyone and/or give it taxpayers’ money. However, their whims, awash in self-righteousness, often...