Supreme Court Watch

Court rejects Calif. appeal in Skid Row killings WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has rejected California's plea to reinstate murder convictions in the case of Los Angeles' Skid Row Stabber who killed homeless men in the 1970s. Two justices dissented from the court's decision Monday to leave in place a federal appeals court ruling that overturned two murder convictions and the life sentence of Bobby Jo Maxwell. The appeals court said Maxwell was convicted based on a jailhouse informant's lies. The informant was Sidney Storch, who was at the center of a scandal involving false testimony that defense lawyers said helped convict 225 defendants. Justices Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia said they would have reversed the appeals court ruling. Justice Sonia Sotomayor defended the ruling in a separate opinion. The state must give Maxwell a new trial or release him. Court backs foreign campaign contribution ban WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal seeking to expand the ability of foreigners to contribute to American political campaigns. The justices on Monday upheld a federal court ruling in favor of the ban on foreign contributions from all but immigrants who permanently live in the United States. Washington lawyer Michael Carvin wanted the justices to extend their 2010 decision in the Citizens United case allowing greater political participation by corporations and labor unions. Carvin sued on behalf of two people with visas to work in the United States. A three-judge court in Washington said Congress was well within its powers when it prohibited most foreigners from making campaign contributions. Published: Tue, Jan 10, 2012