Supreme Court Notebook

Court: Calif. can't ban violent video game sales WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court says the state of California cannot ban the rental or sale of violent video games to children. The high court on Monday agreed with a federal court's decision to throw out California's ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Sacramento said the law violated minors' U.S. constitutional rights. The law would have prohibited the sale or rental of violent games to anyone under 18. Retailers who violated the act would be fined up to $1,000 for each violation. The court on a 7-2 vote said that law was unconstitutional. More than 46 million American households have at least one video-game system, with the industry bringing in at least $18 billion in 2010. U.S. high court rejects Abu Ghraib lawsuit WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from former detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq who wanted to sue defense contractors over claims of abuse. The justices turned aside the appeal Monday from Iraqis who said they or their relatives were abused by interrogators employed by two firms, CACI International Inc. and Titan Corp. A divided federal appeals court dismissed the lawsuits. The firms provided interrogators or interpreters to assist U.S. military guards at the prison that served as the backdrop for pictures of grinning U.S. soldiers posing with detainees, some naked, being held on leashes or in painful and sexually humiliating positions. Military investigators later concluded that much of the abuse happened in late 2003 -- when CACI and Titan's interrogators were at the prison. Court to review rules on slaughter of downed pigs WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court will decide whether the state of California can block the slaughter of sick pigs. The high court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from the National Meat Association. California strengthened regulations against slaughtering so-called "downer" animals after the 2008 release of an undercover Humane Society video showing workers abusing cows at a Southern California slaughterhouse. Under California law, the ban on buying, selling and slaughter of "downer" cattle also extends to pigs, sheep and goats. That law was blocked by a federal judge at the urging of pork processors. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the state law could be enforced. Meat processors want the Supreme Court to overturn that decision. The case is National Meat Association v. Brown, 10-224. High court to rule on FCC indecency policy WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court will take up the First Amendment fight over what broadcasters can put on the airwaves when young children may be watching television. The justices said Monday they will review appeals court rulings that threw out the Federal Communications Commission's rules against the isolated use of expletives as well as fines against broadcasters who showed a woman's nude buttocks on a 2003 episode of ABC's "NYPD Blue." The Obama administration objected that the appeals court stripped the FCC of its ability to police the airwaves. The U.S. television networks argue that the policy is outdated, applying only to broadcast television and leaving unregulated the same content if transmitted on cable TV or over the Internet. Supreme Court to review warrantless GPS tracking WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court will weigh in on an important privacy issue for the digital age, whether the police need a warrant before using a global positioning system device to track a suspect's movements. The justices said Monday they will hear the Obama administration's appeal of a court ruling that favored a criminal defendant. The federal appeals court in Washington overturned a criminal conviction because the police had no warrant for the GPS device they secretly installed on a man's car. Other appeals courts have ruled that search warrants aren't necessary for GPS tracking. The Justice Department argued that warrantless use of GPS devices does not violate the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches. It also said prompt resolution of the divergent court opinions is critically important to law enforcement. Published: Tue, Jun 28, 2011