Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday signed a bill creating the state’s first new judicial circuit in 25 years, after lawmakers gave it final approval on Monday. The bill leaves Christian County as the sole county in the 38th Judicial Circuit, ...
Read More »‘Simply Orange’ litigation gets new juice
Multi-district litigation against the Coca-Cola Co. that is nearly four years old got new life with a judge’s recent denial of motions for summary judgment. The MDL, located in U.S. District Court’s Western District of Missouri, focuses mainly on the ...
Read More »Critics: SPLC targets, demonizes conservative groups
Many consider The Southern Poverty Law Center’s annual list of U.S. extremist groups an authoritative glimpse into racist and anti-government activity, but some of its targets contend the civil rights advocacy group is actually focused on silencing conservative viewpoints — ...
Read More »University of Missouri leaders address state lawmakers
University of Missouri leaders told lawmakers Wednesday that while some reforms are already in place after a turbulent fall at the Columbia campus, other changes could take years to implement. Tensions between lawmakers and the university system have been simmering ...
Read More »McCaskill introduces bill to end jury duty exemption for Congress
Claire McCaskill is one of two U.S. senators introducing legislation to end the exemption from jury duty for members of Congress. McCaskill, D-Missouri, teamed up with Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, to introduce the Civic Duty Act on Thursday. The act “would ...
Read More »Missouri Senate backs limits to medical costs in court cases
The Missouri Senate on Thursday passed a bill changing how medical expenses are handled in court cases after Democrats ended an all-night filibuster that dragged out debate that began the day before. The measure would require actual costs — not ...
Read More »Cosby sues sex-assault accuser, lawyer for contract breach
Bill Cosby has filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against a woman whose 2005 sexual-assault accusation led to his recent arrest. The lawsuit, filed a day before a key hearing in the criminal case against Cosby, names accuser Andrea Constand, her lawyer, ...
Read More »Michael Brown’s family pushes for Missouri body camera bill
Michael Brown’s family urged Missouri lawmakers on Wednesday to overcome politics and pass a law requiring police to wear body cameras. Brown’s mother, Lezley McSpadden, told a Senate panel considering the issue that while body cameras are only one piece ...
Read More »Biden: Obama seeking court nominee who enjoys GOP support
President Barack Obama is looking to nominate a Supreme Court candidate who has enjoyed past Republican support, Vice President Joe Biden said, offering some of the first indications of the president’s criteria in replacing the late Justice Antonin Scalia. In ...
Read More »H&R Block arbitration case returns to Western District
A dispute over an arbitration clause in a tax return preparation agreement returned to the Western District Court of Appeals for the second time on Wednesday. The underlying case is that of Manuel Lopez, who filed a class action suit ...
Read More »Obama chides senators to ‘do their job,’ vote on court pick
President Barack Obama is challenging Republicans to live up to their avowed adherence to the Constitution and agree to vote on his nominee to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. A key Republican is leaving the door open ...
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