Supreme Court rejects appeal from suspended Oregon judge
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court is refusing to hear an appeal from an Oregon judge who was suspended after allegations that he had refused to marry gay couples and had broken gun laws.
The justices on Tuesday left in place the three-year suspension against Judge Vance Day, who had argued that he was singled out for his opposition to same-sex marriage.
The Oregon Supreme Court imposed the suspension in March after determining that Day had lied to ethics investigators.
Day also is accused of allowing a felon to handle a gun and is facing criminal charges. The trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 22.
Day is a judge in Marion County, which includes the state capital, Salem.
Minnesota teacher probed over Kavanaugh assassination tweet
ROSEMOUNT, Minn. (AP) - A Minnesota teacher is under scrutiny after a message allegedly appeared on her Twitter account suggesting someone should assassinate new U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The Rosemount special education teacher has since deleted her Twitter account, but a tweet that read "so whose gonna take one for the team and kill Kavanaugh" was reported by Twitter users to the FBI and Secret Service.
The FBI in Minneapolis told The Star Tribune it's aware of the tweet.
Intermediate School District 917 Superintendent Mark Zuzek confirmed the district received a complaint over the weekend and placed the teacher on paid administrative leave pending the investigation.
The newspaper said it didn't name her because she hasn't been charged with a crime.
Kavanaugh was sworn in Monday after a divisive Senate confirmation hearing.
Justices won't disturb conviction in Louisiana triple killing
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court is rejecting an appeal from a man convicted of joining a New Orleans police officer in the killing of her fellow officer and two other people during a 1995 robbery.
The justices on Tuesday declined to review a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling that upheld the man's convictions, despite questions about the impartiality of several jurors and the judge who presided over the trial.
Defendant Rogers LaCaze said the judge should have stepped aside from the trial because of an appearance of possible impropriety. The judge's signature is on a form that the officer convicted in the killings used to obtain a handgun from the police evidence room. The judge denied that the signature was his. Authorities believe the weapon may have been used in the killings.
Justices reject appeal of Kavanaugh environmental ruling
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court is declining to review an environmental ruling written by Brett Kavanaugh in his former role as an appeals court judge.
The justices on Tuesday left in place an August 2017 ruling the new Supreme Court justice wrote that struck down an Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency rule. That rule was intended to limit the release of a class of chemicals that contribute to global warming.
Kavanaugh wrote that EPA lacks the authority to regulate the chemicals under a part of the Clean Air Act that addresses ozone-depleting chemicals.
The chemicals are hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. They are industrial chemicals primarily used in cooling that replaced ozone-eating compounds.
The Trump administration says it agrees with the appellate ruling and that a new rule is in the works.
Published: Wed, Oct 10, 2018
