Judiciary
Split verdict conviction tossed for ex-NFL star's killer

By Kevin Mcgill Jan. 12, 2021 01:11 PM EST
The U.S. Supreme Court has thrown out the manslaughter conviction for the man who shot former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith to death in 2016. ...

FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 16, 2019, file photo, Curtis Flowers flanked by sister Priscilla Ward, right, exits the Winston Choctaw Regional Correctional Facility in Louisville, Miss. The NFL says it is honoring Flowers, a Black man from Mississippi who was imprisoned more than 22 years. He was freed in late 2019, months after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the last of his several convictions in a quadruple murder case. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
NFL honors Mississippi man freed after 22 years in prison

By Emily Wagster Pettus Dec. 24, 2020 03:06 PM EST

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2020, file photo, Los Angeles Rams offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth during an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Inglewood, Calif. In the wake of the civil unrest this year, Rams players established a social justice fund and veteran tackle Andrew Whitworth pledged to match all his teammates’ contributions. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, File)
NFL players take leading role on social justice front

By Barry Wilner Dec. 22, 2020 03:06 PM EST

FILE - In this Feb. 19, 2019, file photo, a sign is posted outside of Orchids of Asia Day Spa, in Jupiter, Fla. A Florida appeals court ruled Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020, that police violated the rights of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and others when they secretly video recorded them paying for massage parlor sex acts, barring the tapes' use at trial and dealing a potentially deadly blow to their prosecution. (Hannah Morse/Palm Beach Post via AP, File)
Women plead guilty in sex sting involving Patriots owner

Dec. 01, 2020 05:57 PM EST

Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook (33) runs up field between Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis (26) and safety Xavier Woods (25) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings 11/22/2020

Nov. 22, 2020 04:50 PM EST

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins warms up before the start of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears 11/16/2020

Nov. 16, 2020 07:32 PM EST

In this June 29, 2020 file photo, the Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Supreme Court allows antitrust suit against NFL to proceed

Nov. 02, 2020 10:04 AM EST

Green Bay Packers' Mason Crosby warms up before an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)
Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers 11/1/2020

Nov. 01, 2020 12:22 PM EST

FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2015, file photo, former professional wrestler Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka leaves Lehigh County Courthouse in Allentown, Pa. A federal appeals court on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020, dismissed a lawsuit filed by 50 former professional wrestlers, including Snuka, who claimed World Wrestling Entertainment failed to protect them from repeated head trauma including concussions that led to long-term brain damage. (Michael Kubel/The Morning Call via AP, File)
Former WWE wrestlers' lawsuit over brain damage is dismissed

By Dave Collins Sep. 09, 2020 12:59 PM EDT

File-Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Rick Mirer (3) is sacked for a seven-yard-loss by Kevin Henry (76) of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter of their NFL game in Seattle, Wash., Sunday, Dec. 26, 1993. Dementia tests in the NFL concussion litigation allow doctors to use different baseline standards for Black and white retired players, making it more difficult for Blacks to show injury and qualify for awards, lawyers for two ex-players argued in court filings Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. Lawyers for ex-players Henry and Najeh Davenport said their clients were denied awards “based on a discriminatory testing regime" that weighs sociological factors including race. Both men would have qualified for awards had race not been considered, they said. (AP Photos/Gary Stewart, File)
Lawyers: NFL concussion awards discriminate against Blacks

By Maryclaire Dale Aug. 25, 2020 05:37 PM EDT

Bowlen family feud trial pushed back from September to 2021

By Arnie Stapleton Aug. 06, 2020 10:09 PM EDT
ENGLEWOOD, Colorado (AP) — The Denver Broncos ownership trial that was supposed to begin next month has been pushed back to next year because of the...

FILE- In this April 30, 2019, file pool photo, Karen Herzog, a Florida Department of Health inspector, shows a photo she took of beds in a room during her inspection of Orchids of Asia Day Spa, during a motion hearing in the Robert Kraft prostitution solicitation case in West Palm Beach, Fla. Florida prosecutors will try to save their prostitution solicitation case against New England Patriots owner Kraft when they argue before an appellate court Tuesday, June 30, 2020, that his rights weren't violated when police secretly video recorded him allegedly paying for sex at a massage parlor. (Lannis Waters/The Palm Beach Post via AP, Pool, File)
Patriots owner's prostitution case heads to appellate court

By Terry Spencer Jun. 29, 2020 01:33 AM EDT

FILE - These are 2020 file photos showing District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, left, and Washington Redskins NFL football team owner Dan Snyder, right. The recent national conversation about racism has renewed calls for the Washington Redskins to change their name. D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser called the name an "obstacle" to the team building its stadium and headquarters in the District, but owner Dan Snyder over the years has shown no indications he'd consider it. (AP Photo/File)
Debate on racism renews calls for Redskins to change name

By Stephen Whyno Jun. 17, 2020 05:36 PM EDT

FILE - In this July 18, 2014, file photo, lawyer Craig Mitnick speaks as he stands in front of a photograph that lists some of the approximately 1,400 players in NFL concussion litigation he represented, in Haddonfield, N.J. After several years of infighting over $112 million in legal fees in the NFL concussion case, a federal appeals court has approved a plan to give nearly half the money to New York-based Seeger Weiss. The decision Thursday, May 7, 2020, grants New York-based Seeger Weiss firm over $51 million, more than 10 times the amount of any other firm, including the lawyers who filed the first cases in 2012. Mitnick, whose split of the legal fees was left at about $675,000, felt the appeals court did not sufficiently explain its reasoning. Oral arguments in the case were cancelled amid the COVID-19 courthouse shutdown, he said. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
1 law firm gets lion's share of $112M in NFL concussion fees

By Maryclaire Dale May. 08, 2020 03:46 PM EDT

New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond speaks at Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards' daily coronavirus press briefing via conference call on Friday, April 10, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La. Aymond is recovering from COVID-19. (AP Photo/Melinda Deslatte)
Saints emails, lawsuits could be buried in church bankruptcy

By Jim Mustian And Michael Rezendes May. 05, 2020 02:40 PM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2012, file photo, New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith appears before an NFL football game against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J. The man convicted of killing former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith has asked for a new trial because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that split verdicts are unconstitutional in state criminal cases. Appeal attorney Eric Santana filed a request Wednesday, April 22, 2020, asking for a new trial for Cardell Hayes based on the 6-3 decision handed down Monday, news outlets reported. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)
New trial sought in Saints star's death over split verdict

Apr. 23, 2020 01:09 PM EDT

Supreme Court won't send St. Louis to arbitration with Rams

Apr. 20, 2020 08:33 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition from the Los Angeles Rams to send a lawsuit regarding their relocation from St. Louis into...

Washington Nationals fans boo as Houston Astros players walk onto the field for a spring training baseball game in West Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP)
MLB tells court attempts at cheating are a part of sports

By Ronald Blum Feb. 24, 2020 01:05 PM EST

FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2019, file photo, Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Greg Robinson smiles during an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz. Robinson was being held Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in a Texas jail on a pending drug distribution charge from a federal agency, records show. Robinson, 27, was booked Tuesday, according to El Paso County jail records.(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
NFL free agent Greg Robinson jailed in Texas on pot charge

Feb. 19, 2020 01:57 PM EST

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2009, file photo, Peter Fonda, poses atop a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Glendale, Calif. Fonda, the son of a Hollywood legend who became a movie star in his own right both writing and starring in counterculture classics like "Easy Rider," has died. His family says in a statement that Fonda died Aug. 16, 2019, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 79. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2019

By Bernard Mcghee Dec. 23, 2019 10:13 AM EST