U.S. Court of Appeals

A citizen initiative which sought to ban gay marriage in Washington state has failed to qualify for the fall ballot. A citizen initiative which sought to ban gay marriage in Washington state has failed to qualify for the fall ballot. Stephen Pidgeon, an attorney who in 2009 unsuccessfully worked with groups to overturn the state's domestic partnership law, conceded on Monday that the campaign to place Initiative 1192, which defined marriage as solely between a man and a woman, on the fall ballot had failed. The initiative, he said, was more than 140,000 signatures short. Friday is the deadline for turning in petitions to the Office of the Secretary of State. ?I hate to say it ? but we're just not going to cross the threshold,? Pidgeon told The News Tribune. ?We're not going to make it. This measure is not going to be on the ballot.? Gay marriage foes have qualified Referendum 74, which asks voters to uphold ? or reject ? a marriage equality law approved earlier this year by lawmakers.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, a champion of conservative causes, stunned the US political establishment by casting the deciding vote to uphold President Barack Obama's health reforms.

A US federal court of appeals on Tuesday upheld the right of environmental regulators to curb harmful carbon emissions via clean car standards and limit industrial pollution from new power plants.

House lawyers under the direction of Speaker John Boehner plan to ask the Supreme Court to decide a case challenging DOMA. ?House lawyers under the direction of Speaker John Boehner plan to ask the Supreme Court to take up an appeal in a case challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1996 law which defines marriage as a heterosexual union. According to gay weekly Metro Weekly, lawyers for the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) told a federal court that they would make the request in the case Massachusetts v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A federal appeals court in Boston on May 31 upheld a lower court's ruling declaring portions of the law unconstitutional. In asking the court to put a second case, Pederson v. Office of Personnel Management, on hold, House lawyers revealed their plan to ask the Supreme Court to take up Massachusetts. ?The House now is preparing a petition for certiorari in the Massachusetts case, a petition w

A US appeals court upheld its decision to strike down a California law banning gay marriage, in the latest step in the dispute's expected path to the Supreme Court.

Gay groups on Tuesday cheered a federal appeals court's decision to deny a request by Prop 8 supporters to rehear 'Perry v. Brown'. Gay rights groups on Tuesday cheered a federal appeals court's decision to deny a request by Prop 8 supporters to rehear Perry v. Brown en banc. The decision is the latest loss for backers of the 2008 voter-approved amendment which put an end to the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples taking place in California after the state Supreme Court ruled that the state's law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples is unconstitutional. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request by sponsors of the ban for a second look at the case with an expanded number of judges. ?Today's order is yet another federal court victory for loving, committed gay and lesbian couples in California and around the nation,? Chad Griffin, a co-founder of AFER, the group formed to challenge the constitutionality of the law, said in a statement. ?The final chapter of the Pro

Backers of Proposition 8 said on Tuesday that they would appeal a federal appeals court decision to the Supreme Court. Backers of Proposition 8 said on Tuesday that they would appeal a federal appeals court decision to the Supreme Court. ?The 9th Circuit's decision to deny an en banc hearing comes as no surprise,? tweeted ProtectMarriage, the group which sponsored the 2008 voter-approved amendment. ?We will promptly file our appeal to the US Supreme Court.? ?We look forward to a positive outcome on behalf of millions of Californians who believe in traditional marriage.? The reaction came within hours of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' announcement that it would not rehear Perry v. Brown, the case challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8. The measure put an end to the legal weddings of gay and lesbian couples taking place in California after the state Supreme Court ruled that the state's law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples is unconstitutional. Approximately 18,00

A US appeals court upheld Tuesday its decision to strike down a California law banning gay marriage in the state, in the latest step in the dispute's expected path to the Supreme Court.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday most likely will announce whether it will rehear 'Perry v. Brown' en banc. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday most likely will announce whether it will rehear Perry v. Brown en banc. The court announced on Monday that it will file a notice on Tuesday in the case challenging the constitutionality of California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8. A 3-judge panel in February upheld a lower court's ruling which found that the 2008 voter-approved amendment violated the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples who wish to marry. Writing for the 2-judge majority, Judge Stephen Reinhardt said that there was no legitimate reason for the ban. The sponsors of the ban asked the court to review the ruling. If approved, the current decision would be thrown out and a new panel consisting of 10 randomly selected judges and Chief Judge Kozinski would rehear the case. If denied, the current decision would stand and supporters are almost cer

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied a request by Prop 8 supporters to rehear 'Perry v. Brown' en banc. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied a request by Proposition 8 supporters to rehear Perry v. Brown en banc. Proposition 8 is the 2008 voter-approved constitutional amendment which put an end to the legal weddings of gay and lesbian couples taking place in California after the state Supreme Court ruled that the state's law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples is unconstitutional. Approximately 18,000 gay couples married before Proposition 8 went into effect. The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) formed to challenge the constitutionality of the amendment. ?BREAKING: 9th Circuit will not rehear #prop8 case. HUGE turning point in our case for #equality4all,? the group tweeted on Tuesday. Last February, a 3-judge panel of the appeals court upheld a lower court's ruling which found Prop 8 in violation of the constitutional rights of gay coupl

A US appeals court on Friday ordered Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to decide within four months whether to remove an Iranian dissident group from a terror blacklist.

A federal appeals court in Massachusetts on Thursday upheld a ruling declaring the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. A federal appeals court in Massachusetts on Thursday upheld a ruling declaring the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the Clinton-era law which bans federal agencies from recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples is discriminatory, the AP reported. The three-judge panel unanimously upheld a lower court's ruling which found the law unconstitutional. The House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) last year appealed two cases in which U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro declared that DOMA violates the constitutional rights of married gay couples. House Speaker John Boehner instructed BLAG to defend the law in court after President Barack Obama said the Department of Justice (DOJ) would no longer do so. Boehner approved a budget of up to $1.5 million and hired prominent lawyer P

Gay rights group are cheering a federal appeals court ruling declaring the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. Gay rights group are cheering a federal appeals court ruling declaring the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. A three-judge panel of the First U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston on Thursday became the first appeals court to strike down the law when it unanimously upheld a lower court's ruling which found a portion of the law to violate the constitutional rights of married gay and lesbian couples. ?Today's unanimous decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals is a powerful affirmation that the so-called Defense of Marriage Act is an unconstitutional and unjust law whose days are numbered,? Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, said in a statement. ?This ruling will return the federal government to its historic role of respecting marriages performed in the states, without carving out a 'gay exception' that denies thousands of protect

The US Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant a final appeal to a Florida company that discovered silver and gold on a sunken Spanish vessel but was then ordered to return the treasure to Spain.

The top-secret US National Security Agency is not required to reveal any deal it may have with Google to help protect against cyber attacks, an appeals court ruled Friday.

Vaughn Walker, the now retired federal judge who struck down Prop 8, has said that he believes gay marriage is 'an idea whose time has come'. Vaughn Walker, the now retired federal judge who struck down Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban, as unconstitutional, said Thursday that he believes gay marriage is ?an idea whose time has come,? The B?ay Citizen reported. ?It does seem to me the notion of people deciding to get married without regard to gender is an idea whose time has come and that eventually will be accepted,? Walker said in answering an audience member's question after giving a lecture at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club. ?It seems to me that will eventually be the outcome,? he said. Walker ruled on the 2008 voter-approved amendment after hearing 13 days' worth of testimony in a San Francisco courtroom. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in February upheld Walker's ruling. But the court's narrow interpretation most likely limits its decisi

Republican lawmakers announced Tuesday they were joining a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's recess appointments, reviving an election-year row over White House power.

A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) reached for the first time a federal appeals court. A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) reached for the first time a federal appeals court on Wednesday, gay weekly Metro Weekly reported. The legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) argued Wednesday in Boston that the Clinton-era law which bans federal agencies from recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples is discriminatory. The House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) last year appealed two cases in which U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro declared that DOMA violates the constitutional rights of married gay couples. House Speaker John Boehner instructed BLAG to defend the law in court after President Barack Obama said the Department of Justice (DOJ) would no longer do so. Boehner approved a budget of up to $1.5 million and hired prominent lawyer Paul Clement to represent the H

House speaker John Boehner is being criticized from both sides over his defense of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). House speaker John Boehner is being criticized from both sides over his defense of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). On Monday, House sponsors of a bill which would repeal the 1996 law which defines marriage as a heterosexual union for federal agencies filed a third request with Boehner's office asking for members to be briefed on the status of the defense. ?[W]e have long believed that DOMA is unconstitutional,? the letter states. ?There simply is no legitimate federal interest served by denying married same-sex couples the federal responsibilities and rights that other married couples receive, and the harm caused to these families is unjustifiable. Two federal courts have agreed, and it is no longer credible to claim that the law is not constitutionally suspect.? The letter ? which is signed by Representatives Jerrold Nadler of New York, Barney Frank of Massachuset

Biotechnology industry officials are warning that a US Supreme Court ruling on patent rights this week could have a chilling effect on the development of personalized medicine.