Court declines to hear ex-Somali official's case
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a former top official in Somalia who was ordered to pay $21 million to Somali victims of human-rights abuses.
The justices did not comment Monday in letting stand lower court rulings against Mohamed Ali Samantar, who now lives in the Virginia suburbs of Washington. He had previously been a top official in dictator Siad Barre's regime in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Federal courts found that Samantar could be held liable for orchestrating a campaign of torture and killings and rejected claims that he should be immune because he was an official of a foreign government.
The Obama administration had argued that Samantar was not immune from suit.
Among other things, the civil judgment holds Samantar responsible for the killings of family members of Aziz Deria, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Deria described himself as the "happiest man alive today" after learning of the Supreme Court's decision, which caps a 10-year legal battle.
"Mr. Samantar has been playing legal games with the United States justice system for years now. However, regardless of those games, I trusted the United States justice system and knew that justice will prevail," said Deria, who now lives in the Somali city of Hargeisa but lived for many years in Washington State and Canada, in an emailed statement. "I hope we the Somali-speaking people can learn something from this long but victorious process."
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Ex-Guantanamo detainee's damage claim won't be heard
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who sued the government for injuries he suffered during his seven-year detention.
The justices on Monday let stand a lower court ruling that threw out Abdul Rahim Abdul Razak al Janko's claim for damages.
A federal judge ruled that Janko was an enemy combatant under federal law and therefore could not sue the federal government. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed.
Janko alleged that U.S. officials subjected him to torture and other physical and psychological mistreatment during his detention. He was released in 2009 after a federal court agreed that he was wrongly detained.
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Court sides with Labor Dept. in overtime pay dispute
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court has sided with the Obama administration in upholding a rule making mortgage brokers eligible for overtime pay under federal labor law.
The justices unanimously agreed Monday to throw out a lower court ruling that faulted the administration for trying to change overtime rules without following proper procedures.
The case turned on rules put in place by the Department of Labor that would make the mortgage brokers eligible for overtime pay under federal labor law. The rules were changed twice in a four-year period that spanned the Bush and Obama administrations.
In 2006, the Labor Department said the mortgage brokers were like executives and thus not covered by the overtime provision. In 2010, the department reversed itself.
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Guantanamo detainee images release won't be forced
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing the Obama administration to keep secret photographs and videotapes of a Guantanamo Bay detainee identified as the would-be 20th hijacker in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
The justices on Monday turned away an appeal from a human rights group that argued the release of videotapes and photographs of the interrogation and confinement of Mohammed al-Qahtani would serve the public interest. The Center for Constitutional Rights has accused the FBI and military personnel of subjecting al-Qahtani to isolation and aggressive interrogation techniques in 2002.
The federal appeals court in New York agreed with the government that images of al-Qahtani could be used by anti-American extremists as propaganda to recruit members if made public.
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New look at Notre Dame birth control case ordered
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court is ordering a federal appeals court to take another look at the University of Notre Dame's lawsuit over the health overhaul law's rules on paying for contraceptives.
Notre Dame is among dozens of religious organizations that have challenged a compromise in the Affordable Care Act offered by the Obama administration to faith-based groups. The compromise attempts to create a buffer for faith-based groups that oppose birth control, while ensuring that women still can obtain contraceptives free of charge.
The federal appeals court in Chicago ruled against Notre Dame, but that occurred before the Supreme Court decided the Hobby Lobby case in favor of corporations with similar objections.
Now the appellate panel must revisit its ruling in light of the Hobby Lobby decision.
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Justices won't block new trial in Iowa law school dispute
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court is declining to block a second trial over whether the University of Iowa law school improperly passed over a conservative scholar for a faculty position.
The justices on Monday rejected Iowa officials' plea to revisit a lower court ruling in favor of school employee Teresa Wagner. Wagner claims she was discriminated against by liberal professors because she is a Republican who previously worked for anti-abortion groups.
In 2012, a jury found that the school's former dean did not discriminate against Wagner, but a federal appeals court threw out the verdict because of a judge's mistake.
The appeals court said Wagner is entitled to a new trial.
The case is Jones v. Wagner, 14-615.
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Amtrak like gov't agency in helping set rules, court says
By Sam Hananel
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday that Amtrak is more like a part of the government than a private corporation when it helps federal agencies craft rules to keep trains running on time.
But the justices said it's up to lower courts to decide whether Congress gave the passenger rail company too much power to develop standards that other private railroads must follow.
A 2008 law directs Amtrak to work with the Federal Railroad Administration to create standards that let Amtrak keep priority over freight trains along common railroad tracks. That upset the freight railroad industry, which argues that Amtrak is a private organization that could not regulate competitor's actions.
A federal appeals court sided with the freight railroads, ruling that Congress unconstitutionally gave regulatory power to a private company.
The Supreme Court disagreed, finding that even though Amtrak is subject to government oversight, it is like a government entity. While Congress created Amtrak in 1970 as a for-profit corporation, Amtrak is subject to government oversight, receives billions of dollars in federal subsidies and its board is nominated by the president.
The justices left broader constitutional questions unresolved, leaving that for the appeals court to decide.
Under the regulations, if on-time passenger train performance averages less than 80 percent for two consecutive quarters, the federal Surface Transportation Board may investigate whether freight railroads caused the delays. Freight railroads could have to pay damages to Amtrak.
The government said the regulation simply helped to enforce existing law, which already guarantees passenger trains a preference over freight trains on shared tracks.
Published: Wed, Mar 11, 2015
