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High court to adopt electronic filing of cases
Court News |
2015/01/05 15:39
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The Supreme Court is belatedly developing an electronic filing system similar to those used in courts around the country, Chief Justice John Roberts said Wednesday in his annual end-of-year report.
Roberts devoted his 10th report as chief justice to discussing the court's wary embrace of information technology over the years, which he attributed in part to the judiciary's role as neutral arbiters of a justice system that must be open to all.
Roberts said that "courts will always be prudent whenever it comes to embracing the 'next big thing.'"
The chief justice talked about the pneumatic tubes that were on the cutting edge of technology in the late 1800s, but not used by the court until its new building opened in 1935. Roberts did not once mention cameras, which are barred from the court's proceedings.
The court's new filing system could be up and running as soon as 2016, although parties in the court's cases will continue to be required to submit paper copies of every brief, Roberts said.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is the outgoing chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the court should be doing more to allow the public to have meaningful access to the justices' work. "Not mentioned in his report, however, is the failure of the Supreme Court to allow even old technology, like photographs of the Supreme Court in session or live streaming of its oral arguments online," Leahy said.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican who is about to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the court needs to do more to make its activities accessible to the public. |
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Court sides with POM Wonderful in beverage fight
Court News |
2014/12/31 11:39
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A federal appeals court has sided with juice maker POM Wonderful in a lawsuit over another beverage company's use of the term "pom."
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a lower court ruling that denied POM Wonderful's request for a preliminary injunction against Portland, Oregon-based Pur Beverages.
POM Wonderful argues that Pur Beverages' use of the term "pom" on a pomegranate energy drink is a violation of POM Wonderful's trademarks. A lower court said POM Wonderful was unlikely to succeed in the case and denied the company's request to stop Pur Beverages from selling the drink.
The 9th Circuit disagreed and ordered the lower court to reconsider the preliminary injunction.
Pur Beverages President Robert Hubbard says he still doesn't think POM Wonderful will be granted a preliminary injunction.
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Post reporter charged in Iran after day in court
Court News |
2014/12/08 14:22
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A Washington Post reporter detained in Iran for more than four months was formally charged Saturday after a day-long proceeding in a Tehran courtroom, the newspaper reported.
Jason Rezaian, the newspaper's bureau chief in Tehran since 2012, appeared in court almost five months after he was arrested July 22. The charges were the first against him since the arrest, the Post said. He is an Iranian-American who holds dual citizenship.
The newspaper, quoting a source familiar with the case, said the nature of the charges against him were not immediately clear to those not present in the courtroom. The State Department has repeatedly raised the subject of Rezaian and other Americans jailed in Iran during talks with the government about a deal to curb Iran's nuclear capacity and ease international sanctions.
The State Department tweeted early Sunday that Secretary of State John Kerry was "disappointed and concerned" with the latest developments and called on the Iranian government to drop any charges against Rezaian "and release him so he can be reunited with his family."
His detention has been extended to mid-January in recent days because the investigation is continuing, the Post said. |
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Indian guru in deadly standoff due in court
Court News |
2014/11/21 16:52
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An Indian guru at the center of a deadly standoff with police was set to appear in court Friday after he was arrested at his sprawling ashram for refusing to answer murder charges.
Nearly 15,000 supporters of the 63-year-old Sant Rampal were evacuated from his compound in Haryana state before police took him away in an ambulance Wednesday. Previous attempts by riot police to enter the fortified estate, about 175 kilometers (110 miles) from New Delhi, had resulted in deaths and injuries as Rampal's followers, some of whom were armed, fought back.
The self-styled guru was taken to Chandigarh, the state capital, to appear before a court Friday.
He has repeatedly ignored orders to answer a 2006 murder charge against him. Police have filed additional charges against him and some of his supporters, including sedition, murder, criminal conspiracy and detaining people illegally in his fortress, said Jawahar Yadav, a Haryana state government spokesman.
More than 400 people have been arrested and about 200 others injured, including security forces, during the dayslong standoff.
The guru's followers on Wednesday handed over to police the bodies of four women who apparently died inside the 12-acre (5-hectare) complex. Another woman and an 18-month-old child died in a hospital after leaving the ashram.
The circumstances of the deaths were not clear and autopsies were being conducted. |
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