Supreme Court rejects appeal over military burn pits
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is rejecting appeals from military veterans who claim they suffer health problems because of open burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The justices on Monday left in place a federal appeals court ruling that more than 60 lawsuits over the burn pits could not go forward.
The lawsuits said military contractor KBR dumped tires, batteries, medical waste and other materials into open burn pits. The suits claimed the resulting smoke caused neurological problems, cancers and other health issues in more than 800 service members. The complaints said at least 12 service members died.
The appeals court said KBR was essentially under military control and had little discretion in deciding how to manage the waste. KBR’s attorney said the decision to use burn pits “was made by the military.”
KBR was formerly owned by Halliburton Corp.
Supreme Court stays out of dispute over Whitaker appointment
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is refusing to be drawn into a dispute over the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as the acting U.S. attorney general.
The justices on Monday rejected an appeal in a case dealing with gun rights that also included a challenge to President Donald Trump’s appointment of Whitaker to temporarily lead the Justice Department.
The appeal claims Whitaker’s appointment is illegal under federal law and asks the court to name Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as a party in the case, instead of Whitaker.
The Justice Department in November released an internal legal opinion supporting the legality of Whitaker’s appointment as acting attorney general. Trump has called Whitaker “a highly respected person.”
Former Attorney General William Barr has been nominated by Trump to again lead the Justice Department.
High court: KY death row inmate’s case should get new look
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is telling Kentucky’s highest court to take another look at the case of a serial murder on death row.
The court Monday told the Supreme Court of Kentucky to revisit Larry Lamont White’s death sentence in light of a 2017 Supreme Court ruling. That ruling involved a man who claimed, as White does, that he shouldn’t be executed because he’s intellectually disabled.
White was sentenced to death in 2014 for the 1983 murder of Pamela Armstrong, a 22-year-old mother of five.
White had previously been convicted the 1985 killings of 22-year-old Deborah Miles and 21-year-old Yolanda Sweeney. He was sentenced to death for their murders, but that sentence was later overturned and White accepted a 28-year prison sentence.
Justices leave in place Montana campaign contribution limits
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is leaving in place Montana’s limits on contributions to political campaigns.
The justices on Monday rejected an appeal from opponents of contribution limits. They wanted the court to review an appellate ruling that held the limits are a reasonable way to try to prevent corruption and still allow candidates to raise enough money to run a campaign.
Montana law caps contributions from individuals and political action committees to a gubernatorial candidate at $1,320 while political parties are allowed to donate $47,700. The caps can be adjusted based on inflation.
High court denies appeal from former Spokane chief
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by former Spokane Police Chief Frank Straub alleging due process violations in his ouster from the city.
The Spokesman-Review reports the court’s decision last week ends the case. The former chief alleged that the public release of a letter from police brass containing accusations of harassment damaged his reputation, and that he was not afforded the opportunity to defend against those claims before his dismissal from the city in 2015.
A federal judge ruled against Straub in 2016, and a federal appeals court panel upheld that decision last summer — though one of the judges called the city’s handling of the termination “a hot mess.”
Straub’s attorney, Mary Schultz, called the Supreme Court’s decision disappointing.
Supreme Court will hear Wisconsin drunk driving case
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to a Wisconsin drunk driving law that has parallels in other states.
Wisconsin law says law enforcement officials can draw blood from an unconscious driver without a warrant if they suspect the person was driving drunk.
The case the court agreed Friday to hear involves Gerald Mitchell. He was arrested in Sheboygan for driving while intoxicated in 2013 in Wisconsin. Mitchell was too drunk to take a breath test and became unconscious after being taken to a hospital. His blood was then drawn without a warrant. Mitchell was ultimately convicted of driving while intoxicated.
Mitchell says the blood draw was a search that violated his constitutional rights, but Wisconsin’s Supreme Court upheld his convictions. Mitchell says 29 states have similar laws.
Supreme Court to hear case over stores’ food stamp sales
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says it will hear an appeal from a group representing food retailers to prevent the release of information about the federal food stamp program to a South Dakota newspaper.
The justices say they’ll review an appellate ruling that said information maintained by the Agriculture Department about where people spend their food stamp dollars is public.
The Food Marketing Institute is trying to prevent what it considers confidential sales information from being handed to the Argus Leader newspaper in Sioux Falls. The paper filed a lawsuit for the data under the federal Freedom of Information Act.
The Supreme Court has blocked the release while it considers the appeal.
Supreme Court says Justice Ginsburg’s recovery is ‘on track’
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s recovery from cancer surgery is “on track” and no further treatment is required. But the 85-year-old justice will miss court arguments this week.
Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg says that doctors for Ginsburg confirmed an initial evaluation that found no evidence of remaining cancer following surgery.
The court’s oldest justice had surgery three weeks ago to remove cancerous growths on her left lung. She was released from the hospital in New York four days later and has been recuperating at home since then.
Ginsburg missed three days of arguments last week, the first time that’s happened since she joined the court in 1993.
She has had two previous bouts with cancer, in 1999 and 10 years later.
