Justices won't hear appeal over FBI abuse claims
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a U.S. citizen who tried to sue a group of FBI agents over claims they falsely imprisoned and tortured him for several months in Africa.
The justices on Tuesday left in place lower court rulings that said Amir Meshal can't go forward with his lawsuit because the alleged conduct took place overseas during a terrorism investigation.
Meshal was born and raised in New Jersey. He says he traveled to Mogadishu, Somalia, in 2006 to deepen his understanding of Islam. He was later arrested by local officials in Kenya and turned over to the FBI.
Agents interrogated him and accused him of receiving training from al-Qaida, but he was later released after authorities determined he was not a threat.
Court orders new look at Colorado voucher program
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court is ordering the top Colorado state court to look again at a school voucher program that it had struck down as unconstitutional.
The justices' action Tuesday follows a ruling a day earlier that was cheered by religious rights groups. The court held that churches could not be excluded from a state grant program for playground surfaces that was open to other charitable organizations.
The policy was based on a provision of the Missouri constitution that prohibits public money from going to religious institutions. The high court ruled that the exclusion violated the First Amendment rights of churches, at least when the money is meant for non-religious purposes.
Colorado has a similar constitutional provision that was the basis of the court ruling against the voucher program.
Published: Thu, Jun 29, 2017
