Justice
Despite what some politicians say, crime rates are decreasing
Violent crime in the United States dropped significantly in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the same period last year, according to the FBI’s Quarterly Uniform Crime Report released last month. The FBI’s data, collected from nearly 12,000 law enforcement agencies representing about 77% of the country’s population, suggests violent crime dropped by 15% […]
Kentucky’s process for purging voter rolls challenged in federal court
A grassroots advocacy group has filed a lawsuit against Kentucky election officials alleging the state’s process for removing voters from rolls violates federally protected voting rights.? The state’s top election official responded that undoing the law during a presidential election year would “sow chaos and doubt.”? Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC) filed the lawsuit last […]
Judge rules against Jewish women challenging Kentucky’s abortion ban
Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Brian Edwards has ruled against a motion made by three Jewish women seeking to challenge Kentucky’s abortion ban on religious grounds.? In a 9-page Friday night opinion, Edwards wrote the women do not have standing and that their concerns are “hypothetical.” Citing several precedential cases, the judge said the issue was […]
Judge upholds Kentucky’s ban on ‘gray machine’ gambling devices
A Kentucky judge has upheld the legislature’s 2023 ban of so-called “gray machines,” agreeing with the attorney general that the law does not violate free speech or equal protection guarantees and isn’t unconstitutional special legislation.? Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd in his ruling Friday sided with arguments made by Attorney General Russell Coleman defending […]
U.S. Supreme Court sends Idaho abortion case back down to lower courts
As expected after the court said it inadvertently uploaded the opinion prematurely on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision Thursday remanding a case about emergency abortions in Idaho back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for now. The decision was 6-3, with conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissenting. […]
Document indicates Supreme Court will punt Idaho emergency abortion case for now
A document inadvertently uploaded to the U.S. Supreme Court’s website on Wednesday appears to indicate the court will send a case regarding emergency abortion care in Idaho back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rather than make a decision, according to reporting from Bloomberg Law. Rather than rule on the merits, the unofficial opinion, […]
US Supreme Court rejects lawsuit alleging feds bullied social media into censoring content
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected arguments by Missouri and Louisiana that the federal government violated the First Amendment in its efforts to combat false, misleading and dangerous information online. In a 6-3 decision written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the court held that neither the states nor seven individuals who were co-plaintiffs in […]
Louisville police chief resigns under scrutiny for handling of sexual harassment allegations
Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel has resigned after being placed on administrative leave amid an investigation of her handling of sexual harassment allegations within the department.? Mayor Craig Greenberg announced Tuesday that the chief’s resignation was effective immediately. He appointed Acting Chief of Police Paul Humphrey, who had been leading the department while Gwinn-Villaroel […]
Kentuckians decry ‘terrifying’ choices, two years after Dobbs ended abortion access in the state
LOUISVILLE — Two years to the day after the United States Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, advocates and physicians in Louisville and Lexington slammed the fallout from Kentucky’s almost total ban on the procedure. Kentucky’s U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey was in Louisville Monday morning alongside Planned Parenthood and others to say “the […]
The Dobbs effect today: Abortion ballot initiatives, expected higher mortality, more litigation
In Arizona, the state’s highest court upheld a Civil War-era abortion ban. Florida and South Carolina moved to restrict abortion to six weeks — before many people know they are pregnant. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are “children,” temporarily throwing fertility treatments, such as IVF, into uncertainty and igniting a national debate. […]
US Supreme Court review of gender-affirming care for youth could impact Kentucky law
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to review a challenge to Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth could have implications for a similar law in Kentucky.? The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lambda Legal asked the court to review the Tennessee law after a ruling by the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. […]
Kentucky abortion rights advocate speaks on national television with Vice President Harris?
An Owensboro woman who appeared in a pivotal campaign ad for Gov. Andy Beshear’s reelection appeared on national television with Vice President Kamala Harris Monday morning.? Hadley Duvall, who has emerged as an abortions rights advocate, sat next to the vice president to discuss abortion access in an exclusive interview that aired on MSNBC’s Morning […]