Free Talk Live

A federal appeals court has struck down the Defense of Marriage Act – Congress's key legislation to block gay marriage – as unconstitutional in a ruling that will propel the issue to the supreme court. The Boston-based first district appeals court upheld a lower court decision that gay marriage is a matter for individual states to decide and that the federal government does not have the authority to deny recognition of same-sex unions.

A federal appeals court in New York struck down a U.S. Federal Communications Commission policy that penalizes profanity in broadcasting, saying it violates the television networks’ First Amendment right to free speech....

NEW YORK – A federal appeals court on Tuesday tossed out a government policy that can lead to broadcasters being fined for allowing even a single curse word on live television, concluding that the rule was unconstitutionally vague and had a chilling effect on broadcasters.

Fed judges: Wash. felony inmates should get vote
By RACHEL LA CORTE Associated Press Writer
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Incarcerated felons should be allowed to vote in Washington to ensure that racial minorities are protected under the Voting Rights Act, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

CANNABIS CULTURE - In a case with wide-ranging implications, an Ontario Superior Court judge struck down Canada's laws prohibiting the possession and production of marijuana on Tuesday, giving the federal government 90 days to fix the country's medical marijuana program before the ruling comes into effect and effectively legalizes cannabis.

PHOENIX—An appeals court has issued a ruling that upholds the right of authorities to prosecute pot smokers in Arizona for driving under the influence even when there is no evidence that they are actually high.

The ruling by the Court of Appeals focuses on the chemical compounds in marijuana that show up in blood and urine tests after people smoke pot. One chemical compound causes drivers to be impaired; another is a chemical that stays in people's systems for weeks after they've smoked marijuana but doesn't affect impairment.

Bowing to the Obama administration, a federal appeals court Monday gutted its own decision that had dramatically narrowed the government’s search-and-seizure powers in the digital age.

First Circuit Court of Appeals finds that a state law banning recording of police officers in public is unconstitutional

WASHINGTON -- A police officer can't pull you over and arrest you just because you gave him the finger, a federal appeals court declared Thursday. In a 14-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that the "ancient gesture of insult is not the basis for a reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or impending criminal activity."