The day's top stories from Courthouse News in short takes with links.
1.) Republican Grills Judge Koh at Hearing on Ninth Circuit Opening
A Republican senator grilled U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh on Wednesday about why she said police need warrants to access cellular location data.
2.) Utah Ordered to Fund Planned Parenthood
Federal dollars may continue to flow to Planned Parenthood of Utah, the 10th Circuit ruled on Wednesday, voiding Gov. Gary Herbert's order to block $275,000 in contracts after the release of purported undercover videos by a California anti-abortion group.
3.) 'New' GM Must Defend Ignition-Switch Claims
General Motors' sale to its new corporate owner seven years ago cannot allow it to escape potentially billions of dollars in liability for the ignition-switch debacle that spawned nationwide litigation, the Second Circuit ruled Wednesday.
4.) Judge Harpoons StingRay Search in Victory for Privacy
In an unprecedented rebuke of the "stingray" surveillance system, a federal judge said the government "may not turn a citizen's cellphone into a tracking device."
5.) China Talking Tough Over South China Sea
China warned other countries Wednesday against threatening its security in the South China Sea after an international tribunal handed the Philippines a victory by saying Beijing had no legal basis for its expansive claims there.
6.) Scandal-Plagued Oakland PD Blasted for Lack of Reforms
In the wake of a police sex scandal exposing Oakland's dysfunctional system for disciplining officers even after a federal judge ordered a system overhaul, members of the public safety committee questioned Tuesday whether city agencies were taking the reforms seriously.
7.) Ninth Circuit Chucks Invasive Subpoena of Ex-Oregon Governor
The Ninth Circuit agreed Wednesday to quash a subpoena related to the influence-peddling scandal that drove Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber from office, holding the subpoena created "a clear potential for the violation of Kitzhaber's rights."
8.) Sacajawea's Bitterroot Puts Idaho Miners at 2nd Fiddle
In a second rebuke to the U.S. Forest Service, a federal judge said it failed to sufficiently analyze whether a mining project would harm an endangered plant species in Idaho wilderness.
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