SUPREME COURT NOTEBOOK

Justices keep courts open to innocence claims WASHINGTON (AP) -- A divided Supreme Court has ruled that a state prison inmate who has a strong claim of innocence may be allowed more time than normal to file a challenge to his conviction in federal court. In a 5-4 decision on Tuesday, the court said that a 1996 law intended to speed appeals through the federal system should not prevent a prisoner with a convincing showing that he actually is innocent from making his case in court, even when he has missed the law's deadline for raising the claim. A second case, also decided by a 5-4 vote, said that inmates on death row must have a chance somewhere in the appeals process to argue that their trial lawyers let them down. High court won't hear challenge to copyright board WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court won't hear a challenge to the authority of the board that sets royalty rates for musical works. The high court refused Tuesday to hear an appeal challenging the Copyright Royalty Board, a panel of three copyright judges appointed by the Librarian of Congress. Intercollegiate Broadcast System Inc. said the board should be appointed instead by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They want to have overturned a decision by the board that noncommercial educational webcasters pay an annual fee of $500 per channel for a license authorizing the webcasting of unlimited amounts of music. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused to hear their appeal, and the Supreme Court did as well. Medicaid funding case turned down WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court will not disturb a lower court ruling that blocks Indiana's effort to strip Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood because the organization performs abortions among its medical services. The justices did not comment Tuesday in rejecting the state's appeal of a federal appeals court ruling in favor of Planned Parenthood. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the state law targeting Planned Parenthood went too far. Indiana is among more than a dozen states that have enacted or considered laws to cut off taxpayer money to organizations that provide abortion. The law aimed to deny Planned Parenthood funds from the joint federal-state Medicaid health program for the poor that are used for general health services including cancer screening. Published: Thu, May 30, 2013