U.S. Supreme Court rejects appeal of fired teacher
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a public school science teacher who was fired for promoting the theory of creationism and refusing to remove religious materials from his classroom.
The justices on Monday let stand an Ohio Supreme Court ruling that found the Mount Vernon school district had grounds to fire John Freshwater in 2011 for insubordination for keeping religious books and a poster of a praying president.
The state court said the district infringed on Freshwater's constitutional rights by ordering him to remove his personal Bible from his desk, but found he was insubordinate for keeping the other items.
Freshwater's attorney had argued that the firing violated the teacher's free speech rights.
U.S. court lets stand terrorism conviction
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court has left in place the terrorism conviction of a man who argued that his online activities were free speech, not tangible support for al-Qaida.
The justices did not comment Monday in rejecting an appeal from Tarek Mehanna of Massachusetts that challenged his conviction and 17 1/2-year prison sentence.
Mehanna was convicted of four terror-related charges and three charges of lying to authorities.
Prosecutors said he traveled to Yemen seeking terrorist training and intended to fight U.S. soldiers in Iraq. When that failed, they said, he returned home and promoted violent jihad online.
Mehanna's lawyers said he didn't give any tangible support to al-Qaida, and his online activities were protected free speech.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston previously denied his appeal.
Court won't hear appeal over judge's conduct
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a conservative lawyer and activist in his long-running dispute with a federal judge.
The justices on Monday did not comment in letting stand lower court decisions dismissing Larry Klayman's lawsuit against U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
Klayman claimed the judge harbored a personal bias against him, leading to adverse rulings against him and his clients in multiple cases. He filed an ethics complaint against Kollar-Kotelly and asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to remove her from the bench. The appeals court declined to take any action against the judge and dismissed Klayman's complaint.
Klayman founded the government watchdog group Judicial Watch in 1994 and has filed hundreds of lawsuits against the federal government. Klayman left the group in 2003.
Court rejects appeal in SC redistricting case
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court has left intact South Carolina's redrawn state house and congressional maps.
The justices on Monday rejected without comment an appeal from black South Carolina voters who wanted the justices to take another look at the state's new lines for state house and congressional districts.
The high court previously upheld the new lines in a 2012 decision. But opponents asked a lower court to set aside that ruling in light of another recent Supreme Court decision that struck down a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The lower court found no need to re-examine its previous findings that the state's districts are fair and don't discriminate against racial minorities.
Supreme Court catches Wisconsin clerks by surprise
MILWAUKEE (AP) - County clerks and other public officials in Wisconsin are scrambling to figure out how to respond the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of the state's appeal in its gay marriage case.
The Supreme Court on Monday did not comment in rejecting appeals from Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. The action paves the way for same-sex marriages to begin in those states and elsewhere.
Hundreds of couples married in Wisconsin during a week in June before a federal judge's decision overturning the state's ban on gay marriage was put on hold.
Milwaukee County Deputy Clerk George Christenson says officials in his office are meeting with the county attorney to determine how to proceed now.
High court order on gay marriage under review
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - County clerks across Indiana are reviewing the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to reject appeals from Indiana and four other states seeking to ban same-sex marriages.
Monroe County Chief Deputy Clerk Nicole Brown says she expects the clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the county's attorney reviews Monday's events.
The high court made no comment in rejecting appeals from Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. Its order immediately ends delays on marriage in those states and leaves lower court rulings in place.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in September that gay-marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin were unconstitutional.
Groups ask U.S. high court to shelve election rules
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Opponents of a voting law backed by North Carolina's Republican leaders urge the U.S. Supreme Court to block parts they say will discourage minorities from casting ballots.
Lawyers for civil rights groups and voters expressed their views in court documents filed with the Supreme Court. State officials turned to the nation's high court last week after an appeals court put two key provisions on hold for next month's elections.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled last week that state law eliminating same-day registration during the in-person early voting period and counting votes cast outside a voter's assigned precinct on Election Day should be set aside while litigation continues.
The documents filed late Sunday say maintaining the two election practices would not cause voter confusion.
