Supreme Court Notebook

U.S. court will not order new trial for professor WASHINGTON (AP) -- The US Supreme Court will not order a new trial for a university professor convicted of giving foreigners access to sensitive data on military unmanned drones. The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from John Reece Roth. Roth got an Air Force contract to develop equipment used to control the flight of unmanned military drones. He allowed two foreign students access to sensitive data and equipment, and took some of the data with him on a trip to China. The Arms Export Control Act prohibits the export of defense-related materials to a foreign national or a foreign nation. Roth challenged his conviction but federal judges have upheld his conviction and four-year sentence. Court won't hear appeal from judge over display WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has turned away another appeal from an Ohio judge who wanted to display a poster containing the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. The court on Monday refused to hear the argument rom Richland County Common Pleas Judge James DeWeese. The judge hung the poster in his courtroom in Mansfield, north of Columbus, in 2006 after the U.S. Supreme Court let stand lower-court rulings that another Ten Commandment poster he hung in 2000 violated separation between church and state. The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Foundation sued and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the display endorsed religious views and was unconstitutional. The ACLU also sued in the case of the first poster. The case is DeWeese v. ACLU of Ohio, 10-1512. Court turns away lawsuit over Obama eligibility WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has turned away another challenge to President Barack Obama's eligibility to be president. The high court on Monday refused without comment to hear a challenge brought by conservative activist Alan Keyes and other members of the American Independent Party. They contend Obama wasn't eligible to be president because he was not born in the U.S., and thus not a citizen. U.S. courts, and the Supreme Court, have previously thrown out similar suits. Keyes wanted the certification of Obama's victory halted in California until there was documented proof by a state official that he was eligible to be president. The Supreme Court of California threw out the lawsuit. The case is Keyes v. Bowen, 10-1351. Court won't hear argument over ballot substitution WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court will not get involved in a Massachusetts dispute over whether election officials were within their rights to block the name of the Libertarian Party's national presidential candidate from the state ballot in 2008. The court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Bob Barr and the state Libertarian party. The party had initially put a local presidential contender on its nomination papers. State officials said the party could not then substitute the name of national Libertarian candidate Barr. A judge intervened and Barr received less than 1 percent of the vote. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has said the state's ballot laws are nondiscriminatory and that Barr had enough time to collect the needed 10,000 signatures. The case is Barr v. Galvin, 10-1456. Court won't stop Iowa from forcing KFC to pay tax WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court won't stop Iowa from forcing KFC Corp. to pay nearly $250,000 in corporate income taxes, even though it had no restaurants or employees in the state. The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from the fried-chicken giant, which a decision by that state's Supreme Court overturned. All KFC restaurants in Iowa are independent franchises, whose owners pay KFC for the use of its logo and systems. But the Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance assessed the company more than $248,000 in unpaid corporate income taxes, including interest and penalties, in 2001. The taxes were for 1997 to 1999. KFC says it doesn't owe Iowa taxes because it doesn't have property in the state. But Iowa judges have not agreed with that argument. Court won't let survivors sue French railway WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court won't let France's state-run railroad be sued in the United States by the descendants of Jews deported by train during World War II when France was occupied by Nazis. The French national rail network, known as SNCF, hauled 76,000 French and other European Jews to Germany, where they were sent on to death camps. Fewer than 3,000 returned alive. U.S. courts have thrown out lawsuits demanding France's state railway network compensate the families of the deportees, saying the cases case do not fall within their jurisdiction. The Supreme Court on Monday also refused to hear a similar lawsuit. The case is Freund v. Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Francais, 10-1314. Court won't hear appeal from software reseller WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court won't reopen a decision blocking an online merchant from selling unopened secondhand software. The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Timothy S. Vernor, who wanted to sell unopened software made by Autodesk Inc., on eBay. The Supreme Court has ruled that copyright holders can't prevent a buyer from reselling or renting a product after an initial sale. That principle, called the first sale doctrine, allows used book and music stores to operate. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the original purchasers of Autodesk were licensees, not owners of the software. The judges said that means the first-sale doctrine didn't apply and Vernor could not resell the software. The case is Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., 10- 1421. U.S. court to let woman sue over headscarf removal WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court will let a Muslim woman sue Southern California jailers for making her take off her head scarf in a courthouse holding cell. The court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Orange County, California, officials, who were sued in 2007 by Souhair Khatib. Khatib had gone to the Orange County Superior Court to ask for more time to complete her community service. But a judge ordered her jailed, and jailers forced Khatib to remove her head scarf. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments that holding cells are not covered by a federal law protecting the religious practices of prisoners. They also ruled Khatib had the right to wear the scarf unless jailers could show it was a security risk. Published: Tue, Oct 4, 2011