Your Wednesday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News
Top eight stories for today including the European Parliament overwhelmingly approved the deal setting out the terms of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union; A federal judge rumored to be President Joe Biden’s pick for the Supreme Court should a vacancy arise appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee; New Jersey’s top court ruled virtual grand juries may continue during the Covid-19 pandemic, and more.
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National
1.) A federal judge rumored to be President Joe Biden’s nomination pick for the Supreme Court should a vacancy arise appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for confirmation hearings on Wednesday alongside four other judicial nominees.
2.) Hearing the case of a cheerleader kicked off her high school squad over a profane Snapchat post, U.S. Supreme Court justices asked attorneys hypothetical questions Wednesday to parse out what types of speech schools can regulate.
3.) In an apparent escalation of the Department of Justice’s investigation into the former New York City mayor’s business dealings in Ukraine, federal investigators searched Rudy Giuliani’s apartment and office Wednesday morning.
4.) After three hours of deliberation, a jury found Brendan Hunt guilty of threatening to murder members of Congress in online posts before and in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot at the United States Capitol.
Regional
5.) Virtual grand juries may continue in New Jersey during the Covid-19 pandemic, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, noting Zoom sessions are no less constitutional than in-person proceedings.
6.) Five men charged with conspiring to kidnap Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were hit with more charges Wednesday that could put them in prison for life, after a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment that added firearms violations and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.
7.) Ruling against a Texas man convicted for his leadership role in carrying out fraud and racketeering schemes that included the attempted murder of a Texas state judge, the Fifth Circuit held Wednesday that his own testimony placed him in the judge’s Austin neighborhood.
International
8.) The European Parliament overwhelmingly approved the deal setting out the terms of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, a stamp of approval that formalizes Brexit.
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