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A judge barred the Trump administration on Thursday from immediately moving to shut down a small federal agency that supports investment in African countries on Thursday. US District Judge Richard J Leon in Washington issued the order hours after the filing of a lawsuit by the president and CEO of the US African Development Foundation. Ward Brehm said in a complaint that he directed his staff on Wednesday to deny building entry to staffers from billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and Pete Marocco, the deputy administrator for the US Agency for International Development. DOGE and Trump do not have the authority to shut down the agency, which was created by Congress, Brehm said in the complaint. The order from Leon, who was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, bars Brehm from being removed or DOGE from adding members to the board over the next few days. Brehm also said that days after President Donald Trump targeted the agency in a Feb. 19 execut
A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents' immigration status. US District Judge John C. Coughenour ruled in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which argue the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law have cemented birthright citizenship. The case is one of five lawsuits being brought by 22 states and a number of immigrants rights groups across the country. The suits include personal testimonies from attorneys general who are US citizens by birthright, and names pregnant women who are afraid their children won't become US citizens. Signed by Trump on Inauguration Day, the order is slated to take effect on February 19. It could impact hundreds of thousands of people born in the country, according to one of the lawsuits. In 2022, there were about 255,000 births of citizen children to mothers living in the coun
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked all high courts to expedite setting up a two-judge panel to address grievances of district judicial officers on the implementation of the Second National Judges Pay Commission recommendations. A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai, Augustine George Masih and K Vinod Chandran passed the order after senior advocate K Paremeshwar, who is assisting it as an amicus curiae, said many high courts were yet to form the Committees for Service Conditions of the District Judiciary (CSCDJ) as directed by it earlier. The top court, on January 4 last year, said it recommended setting up the two-judge panel in all high courts to ensure that the orders on pay, pension and other retiral benefits for judicial officers as per the Second National Judicial Pay Commission (SNJPC) were implemented. On Tuesday, the amicus said while some high courts had set up the panels, they did not meet regularly to deal with the grievances, prompting several judicial officers to move t
Bangladesh's interim government on Sunday cancelled a planned training programme for 50 judges and judicial officers in India, scrapping a previous notification. The notification has been cancelled, a law ministry spokesman said without elaborating. The Daily Star newspaper, however, reported the cancellation came in compliance with a directive from Bangladesh's Supreme Court. The cancellation order came a day after the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported that 50 lower judiciary judges would undergo a one-day training programme from February 10 at the National Judicial Academy and the State Judicial Academy in Madhya Pradesh. The trainee judges selected under the programme were district and sessions judge or its equivalent officers, additional district and sessions judge, joint district judge, senior assistant judge and assistant judge. The Indian government was supposed to bear all the expenses for the training programmes. India and Bangladesh have witnessed strained
Former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur has been appointed as chairperson of the United Nations Internal Justice Council for a term ending on November 12, 2028. In a communication to Justice Lokur, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the retired top court judge would head the council which also comprises other distinguished jurists. "I have the pleasure to appoint you, with immediate effect, as a member of the Internal Justice Council, in the capacity of chairperson, for a term ending on 12 November 2028," the communication dated December 19 said. "The other members of the Council (in alphabetical order) are: Ms. Carmen Artigas (Uruguay), distinguished external jurist nominated by staff; Ms. Rosalie Balkin (Australia), distinguished external jurist nominated by management; Mr. Stefan Brezina (Austria), staff representative; and Mr. Jay Pozenel (United States of America), management representative," it added. Born in 1953, Justice Lokur was appointed a judge of the Supreme .
Florida authorities announced Wednesday that they're pursuing a criminal case against a man accused of trying to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump for a car crash that occurred after law enforcement stopped traffic to catch him. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said she obtained an arrest warrant for Ryan Wesley Routh, who already is being held on federal charges in the assassination attempt. Moody said she is pursuing a charge of attempted felony murder for a crash that seriously injured a 6-year-old girl after officials shut down traffic on Interstate 95 as they tried to apprehend the suspect. The multivehicle crash happened about 30 minutes after Routh's arrest on I-95, according to the state's investigation, but Moody said it was a result of his actions. The girl, who was travelling with her family, had serious injuries, Moody said. When you couple those terrible injuries, together with his other criminal conduct, which we believe rises to the level of domestic ...
In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court on Monday quashed the government orders facilitating preferential land allotments to MPs, MLAs, bureaucrats, judges and journalists within the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits, saying the distribution of state largesse was "capricious" and "irrational". A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta held the policy to be "unreasonable, arbitrary, discriminatory", and violative of Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution. "The allocation of land at basic rates to select privileged groups reflects a 'capricious' and 'irrational' approach. This is a classic case of executive action steeped in arbitrariness, but clothed in the guise of legitimacy, by stating that the ostensible purpose of the policy was to allot land to 'deserving sections of society'," the verdict said. Shorn of pretence, this policy of the state government, is an abuse of power meant to cater exclusively to the affluent ...
The Supreme Court has rechristened its traditional summer vacations as "partial court working days". The change assumes significance in the wake of the recent criticism from various quarters that the top court enjoys long breaks. The development was a part of an amendment in Supreme Court Rules, 2013, which have now become Supreme Court (Second Amendment) Rules, 2024, notified on November 5. "The length of the partial court working days and the number of holidays for the court and the offices of the court shall be such as may be fixed by the Chief Justice and notified in the official gazette so as not to exceed ninety-five days excluding Sundays," read the notification. It further stated that the Chief Justice may appoint one or more judges to hear during partial court working days or holidays, all admissions, after notice, regular matters of urgent nature or such other matters "as the Chief Justice may direct". The existing system had the Supreme Court taking the summer and winte
A judge resigning from office to immediately contest elections may affect the public perception of his impartiality, Supreme Court Justice BR Gavai said and asserted judicial ethics and integrity are fundamental pillars that uphold the credibility of the legal system. Justice Gavai was addressing an annual conference for judicial officers of Gujarat on Saturday. "Judicial ethics and integrity are fundamental pillars that uphold the credibility of the legal system. A judge's conduct while on the bench and off the bench must be in consonance with the highest standards of judicial ethics. A judge praising a politician or a bureaucrat while in office and outside the scope of courtesy may affect the public's trust in the judiciary as a whole," he emphasised. "For instance, a judge of the Supreme Court of America had to apologize for comments criticising a presidential candidate. Another example is that if a judge resigns from his office to immediately contest elections it may affect ...
Federal prosecutors said on Wednesday they are pursuing "several related investigations" that could lead to additional corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and indictments for people in his orbit. Prosecutors made the disclosure as the first-term Democrat appeared in court for the first time since his arraignment last week on charges that he accepted about USD 1,00,000 worth of free or deeply discounted international flights, hotel stays, meals and entertainment, and sought illegal campaign contributions from foreign interests. The allegations span nearly a decade, dating to when Adams was Brooklyn's borough president. US District Judge Dale Ho didn't immediately set a trial date. Adams' lawyer, Alex Spiro, asked that it be held in March, before an important mayoral election deadline. Prosecutors say Adams' travel perks were arranged by a senior Turkish diplomatic official in New York and Turkish businesspeople who wanted to gain influence with Adams. The ...
A federal judge has indicated he will order major changes in Google's Android app store to punish the company for engineering a system that a jury declared an illegal monopoly that has hurt millions of consumers and app developers. Over the course of a three-hour hearing in San Francisco, US District Judge James Donato on Wednesday made it clear that the forthcoming shake-up he is contemplating will probably include a mandate requiring Google's Play Store for Android phones offer consumers a choice to download alternative app stores Donato has been weighing how to punish the Google since last December when a jury declared the Play Store a monopoly following a four-week trial. The verdict centred on Google's nearly exclusive control over distribution of apps designed for Android phones and the billing systems for the digital commerce occurring within them -- a system that generates billions of dollars in annual revenue for the company. In protesting the judge's potential requirements
Pakistan's Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar has advocated for judges from minority communities to join Pakistan's higher judiciary. Speaking at the Justice A R Cornelius Conference held here on Saturday, Tarar emphasised the importance of religious freedom and minority rights in Pakistan and expressed his aspiration for judges from minority communities to join the country's higher judiciary, the Express Tribune newspaper reported on Sunday. The minister highlighted that Pakistan's Constitution guarantees complete religious freedom. At the same time, he lamented the decline in religious tolerance post-Afghan war. Tarar talked about the ongoing efforts to establish a Minority Rights Commission and proposed reserving quotas for minority law officers and legal advisors. Supreme Court Justice Mansoor Ali Shah echoed Tarar's sentiments and advocated for the appointment of minority judges to the higher judiciary. According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in 2021, there
Former Supreme Court judge A M Khanwilkar was appointed as the Lokpal chairperson on Tuesday, according to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Justice Khanwilkar retired from the Supreme Court in July 2022. According to a communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President also appointed former high court judges Lingappa Narayana Swamy, Sanjay Yadav and Ritu Raj Awasthi as judicial members of the Lokpal. Sushil Chandra, Pankaj Kumar and Ajay Tirkey were appointed as non-judicial members of the anti-corruption ombudsman.
A Pakistan Supreme Court judge who was facing allegations of corruption resigned on Wednesday, a day after the apex court's disciplinary committee refused to stay proceedings against him for his misconduct. In a letter to the Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar tendered his resignation and said that he couldn't carry forward his duties amidst the allegations and the way he was treated. "It was an honour to be appointed and to serve as a judge first of the Lahore High Court and then as the Supreme Court of Pakistan. In the circumstances which are a matter of public knowledge and to some extent public record, it is no longer possible for me to continue to serve as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Justice Naqvi said. Considerations of due process also compel. I, therefore, effective today resign as judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, he added. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected Justice Naqvi's request to stay proceedings against him in th
A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a California law that would have banned carrying firearms in most public places, ruling that it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and deprives people of their ability to defend themselves and their loved ones. The law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September was set to take effect Jan. 1. It would have banned people from carrying concealed guns in 26 places including public parks and playgrounds, churches, banks and zoos. It would apply whether the person has a permit to carry a concealed weapon or not. One exception would be for privately owned businesses that put up signs saying people are allowed to carry guns on their premises. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney granted a preliminary injunction blocking the law, which he wrote was sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court. The decision is a victory for the California Rifle and Pistol Association, which sued to block th