Jurors Sentenced S.D. Killer Charles Rhines to Death for Being Gay and the Supreme Court is Okay With That

On Monday, the Supreme Court announced it won’t interfere in a South Dakota jury’s decision to execute Charles Rhines. Rhines, convicted of murder, is homosexual—a fact his peers purportedly took to mean he’d enjoy life behind bars. During deliberations leading up to Rhines’ verdict, jurors discussed the killer’s sexuality. The man’s preference for other men


City of Phoenix Settles Lawsuit for $10M After Child is Hit and Dragged by Police Cruiser

The city of Phoenix recently agreed to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit related to a 2016 accident that resulted in a 3-year-old girl being critically injured. Back on August 16, 2016, Vanessa Andrade was “run over by a police cruiser when she walked across the street after buying ice cream.” Of the $10 million settlement, $7.2 million will be paid by the city and another $2.8 million will be covered by the city’s insurance policy. So what happened? How did a police cruiser hit a child walking in the street?


Supreme Court Rules Against Organized Labor in the Public Sector

The Supreme Court dealt a sharp blow to organized labor on Wednesday. In a 5-4 vote, the justices ruled that government workers who turn down union membership can’t have their pay docked to fund collective bargaining. Writing for the conservative-led majority, Justice Samuel Alito Jr. opined that wage deductions pose a constitutional violation. “We conclude


Family Agrees to $13M Settlement Over Fatal DUI Crash

A wrongful death lawsuit involving the city of Seattle and the family of a Kokomo couple who died after being “struck by a habitual driver” recently settled for $13 million. The lawsuit was filed by the couple’s family against the city of Seattle and claimed that city “officials were negligent in keeping track” of the driver, Mark Mullan. Prior to the accident, Mullan had “five previous drunk driving arrests,” according to the lawsuit. Because of that, the family argued throughout the court proceedings that, “had Mullan been properly supervised, he would not have been behind the wheel on the day of the crash.”



Supreme Court Upholds Trump’s Travel Ban

In a much-awaited Tuesday decision, the Supreme Court upheld President Donald Trump’s travel ban. The justices split primarily along party lines, voting 5-4 to affirm the president’s power to curb immigration in the interest of national security. The latest version of the ban—which was issued several times before being sent to the Supreme Court—places travel


Lyon County School District Discrimination Lawsuit Ends with Settlement

A settlement was recently reached between two African-American students, the city of Yerington, and the Lyon County School District. In a federal discrimination lawsuit filed earlier this year, the students, 15-year-old sisters, Jayla Tolliver and Taylissa Marriott were allegedly subjected to “repeated racial bullying at their rural Nevada high school.” The bullying and discrimination occurred when the sisters were freshmen at Yerington High. Their parents decided to file the lawsuit back in January alleging the girls “had been subjected to repeated racial slurs and threats for at least six months.”




Kari Dunn’s Family Awarded $42M in Wrongful Death Suit Against Husband, Hotel

Losing a parent is a difficult ordeal for any child, but even more difficult when both parents are lost. Sadly, this is exactly what happened to the children of Kari Dunn, a woman who was needlessly murdered back in 2013. As a result of her death, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed that recently settled in favor of the late mother’s family after a jury determined that “Kari’s estranged husband and killer Brad Dunn as well as the hotel he fatally stabbed her at, were both at fault for her death.” The jury deliberated for a handful of hours before agreeing to award the family $42 million in damages.