Victims' claims against Chiquita rejected
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from relatives of thousands of victims of guerrilla conflict in Colombia who want to sue Chiquita Brand International in U.S. courts.
A divided federal appeals court last year threw out claims worth potentially billions of dollars against the produce giant in a ruling that said American courts have no jurisdiction over events that took place in Colombia. The court relied on a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that limited attempts by foreigners to use U.S. courts to seek damages against corporations for human rights abuses abroad.
The justices did not comment Monday on their order that left the appellate ruling in place.
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Justices turn down Wisconsin appeal over tribal night hunts
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Wisconsin officials who want to keep in place a decades-old ruling that bars Chippewa tribes from hunting deer at night.
The justices did not comment on their decision to let stand an appeals court ruling that orders a federal judge to reconsider the ban.
The Chippewa have pushed for years for a night hunt in northern Wisconsin in large swath of the state that the tribes handed over to the federal government in the 19th century. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in 1991 that night hunting was too dangerous.
Last year, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered her to re-open that ruling, noting that that Oregon, Washington, Minnesota and Michigan allow tribal night hunts. The appeals court said the deer hunting has grown much safer over the past 20 years and said hunting at night was not likely to pose serious safety problems.
The Chippewa renewed their push for night hunting in 2012 after state lawmakers angered the tribes by allowing hunters to kill wolves at night. The Chippewa consider the wolf a spiritual brother. The wolf-hunting program ended after one season.
The tribes also pointed out that the state Department of Natural Resources had begun to allow night deer hunting to slow chronic wasting disease, protect crops from deer depredation and prevent car-deer accidents.
But Crabb ruled that the tribes failed to show that circumstances had changed enough to reopen her 1991 decision.
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Court orders review of North Carolina redistricting
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Monday threw out a North Carolina court ruling that upheld Republican-drawn electoral districts for state and congressional lawmakers.
The justices ordered the state Supreme Court to consider anew whether the North Carolina legislature relied too heavily on race when it redrew voting districts following the 2010 census.
The high court issued a similar ruling last month involving a complaint from black Alabama Democrats that the Republican-dominated legislature illegally packed black voters into too few voting districts.
In Alabama, the justices said a lower court used the wrong test when it upheld legislative districts and determined that race was not the primary motivating factor in drawing boundary lines.
The Supreme Court said judges in North Carolina must revisit their ruling in light of the Alabama decision.
In both states, Republicans strengthened their grip on power through redistricting.
Election and civil rights advocacy groups and Democratic voters in North Carolina sued over the maps and argued that lawmakers created oddly shaped districts to create clusters of Democratic-leaning black voters. The redrawing of the map had the effect of benefiting Republicans elsewhere in the state. Republicans said the districts were lawful and designed to protect the state from legal claims under the federal Voting Rights Act.
The case is Dickson v. Rucho, 14-839.
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Appeal of former Goldman board member declined
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court has declined to disturb the conviction of a former Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble board member on charges of conspiracy and securities fraud.
The justices had no comment Monday on their order rejecting Rajat Gupta's appeal of his 2012 conviction for feeding lucrative inside tips about Goldman to a billionaire hedge fund owner.
Gupta argued that the trial court failed to admit evidence of his good character and other testimony that he lacked any motive to commit the offense.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Gupta's appeal and the justices decided not to review that decision.
Gupta was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $5 million.
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Justices won't hear appeal in Connecticut synagogue suit
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a Connecticut commission accused of religious discrimination when it rejected plans for a synagogue in 2007.
The justices on Monday left in place a lower court ruling that said Chabad Lubavitch of Northwest Connecticut could challenge the decision under a federal law barring government interference in religious exercise.
Chabad Lubavitch claims its right to freedom of religion was violated when the Litchfield Historic District Commission decided a proposed 17,000-square-foot addition to a 1870s Victorian house to create a new synagogue was too large.
A federal judge threw out the case, but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that the lawsuit could go forward.
Chabad Lubavitch is a Hasidic movement within Orthodox Judaism.
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Appeal over fish pedicure ban turned down
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a salon owner challenging a decision by local regulators to stop her from offering pedicures using fish that nibble dead skin off people's feet.
The justices on Monday left in place a lower court ruling that said the Arizona state Board of Cosmetology didn't violate Cindy Vong's constitutional rights.
Vong had opened a fish spa at her nail salon, but was later forced to close it after regulators said they were not safe for skin exfoliation. State officials said the fish couldn't be sanitized between uses.
A state appeals court rejected Vong's claim that the board violated her constitutional due process and equal protection rights. The justices decided not to review that decision.
