In a 5-4 decision last week, the high court said the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act that Congress passed and President Bush signed in 2003 does not violate a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion.

It was the first time the court had upheld a ban on a specific abortion procedure.

The 1999 Missouri law sought to ban the procedure, generally performed in the second or third trimester, but the law was put on hold by a federal judge one day after the legislature enacted it by overriding a gubernatorial veto.

The law created the crime of “infanticide,” defined as intentionally causing the death of a baby “when the infant is partially born or born.”

Doctors violating the ban could have been charged with a felony similar to murder.

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon had appealed the 8th Circuit’s ruling.

Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said Nixon planned to file a motion Monday asking the 8th Circuit to vacate its injunction against enforcing the Missouri law.

That would allow the law to take effect immediately.

Doctors who violate the federal law face up to two years in prison.

The law had never taken effect, pending the outcome of the legal fight.

Peter Brownlie, president of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, said Monday that he was unaware of any doctors in Missouri who were performing the procedure or who had performed it in recent years.

“On a practical level, the decision has very little bearing in terms of day-to-day medical care (in Missouri),” he said.

He said he was concerned, though, about the Supreme Court decision’s future effect because the federal ban it upheld did not contain an exception for the health of the mother.

Pam Fichter, president of Missouri Right to Life, said she was “very gratified that the courts have ruled that there are limits to what can be construed as the health of the mother.”

The high court’s ruling is expected to spur efforts at the state level to place more restrictions on abortions.

The Supreme Court of California ruled against Brendlin in 2006, holding that passengers are not automatically seized during a traffic stop, and allowed the evidence to be used in the trial. Brendlin is now backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and NAACP, which fear that a judgment for the state would give police broad power to stop vehicles to search passengers. Brendlin's conviction may stand regardless of the Court's ruling, as at the time of arrest he was wanted for an unrelated parole violation, which itself may have justified the state's search. AP has more.

The Supreme Court also heard oral arguments in two other cases Monday. In United States v. Atlantic Research Corp, 06-562, the Court must decide whether owners of areas contaminated by hazardous materials that must be cleaned up under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) can recover contribution from other responsible parties before they are subject to a government enforcement action. In Hinck v. United States, 06-376, the Court will decide whether tax courts have exclusive jurisdiction to review an IRS decision to deny a taxpayer’s request for interest abatement or whether district courts and Federal Claims Court also have such jurisdiction.

The Games will be held in Shanghai, People's Republic of China on October 2-11. Because the Games are a major event for China and Shanghai, the GEC is planning a world-class Opening Ceremony on October 2 to be broadcast throughout China and made available worldwide.

“China is the first Asian country to host the Summer Games, and we are honored to be chosen to represent the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games Executive Committee for such an important event in China celebrating humanity, culture and human nature,” said Catherine Sun, chair of the firm's Asia Practice. “We are committed to assisting GEC with making the Games a great success.”

Sun, who recently joined Foley from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, will oversee the firm's relationship with the GEC. She will work with attorneys on the firm's Entertainment & Media Industry Team such as Ken Suddleson and James Nguyen, who will provide entertainment law, new media and intellectual property counseling, and transaction services.  

“We are happy to collaborate with Foley and appreciate Foley's commitment and support to the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games. The Games Opening Ceremony promises to be a grand gathering where people with intellectual disabilities from all over the world unite for friendship and a joyful stage where people of different ethnic groups and cultural backgrounds celebrate and communicate,” said Dr. Derong Shi, CEO of the GEC.

The Foley team will draft and help negotiate all agreements for international talent who will perform or appear at the Opening Ceremony, the creative and production team for the Opening Ceremony, and international vendors and suppliers. The Foley team also will advise on international broadcast and new media deals, and any additional legal issues the GEC may encounter related to the Opening Ceremony.

The engagement with the GEC follows Foley's announcement that it filed an application with the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China requesting approval to open a representative office in Shanghai.

The 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games will mark the first time the World Summer Games will be held in Asia and only the second time they will be held outside the United States. In addition to 7,000 athletes, Special Olympics expects the 2007 World Summer Games to draw 40,000 volunteers, 3,500 event officials and thousands of families, volunteers, spectators and journalists from every continent. More information on the Games can be found by accessing the event's Web site at: http://www.2007specialolympics.com. Please click “English” on the top right hand corner for an English version.

Foley & Lardner LLP provides the full range of corporate legal counsel. Our attorneys understand today's most complex business issues, including corporate governance, securities enforcement, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property counseling and litigation, outsourcing and information technology, labor and employment, and tax. The firm offers total solutions in the automotive, emerging technologies, energy, entertainment and media, financial services, food, golf and resort services, insurance, health care, life sciences, nanotechnology, and sports industries.

Prosecutors alleged he took two girls to an underground room, bound them with duct tape, raped them and left them to die because the room had no air supply. The girls said they managed to free themselves and escape.

Hinson said the sex was consensual and that he hid in the bunker because he thought police wanted him on drug charges. He testified that he built the room to package marijuana.

Had he been found guilty, Hinson would have faced a mandatory life sentence without parole because he was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl in 1991.

According to the statement of facts to which Robirds pleaded, on Feb. 12, 2006, Robirds instructed Joshua Hill, then 21, of Coffeyville, to shoot her husband, Steven Means, 49, at the family home east of Lenapah.

Following this act, Robirds enlisted her teenage children to assist in removing Means’ body to a location in rural Labette County, where the body was weighted down with cement blocks and dumped into a creek. Robirds and her children then attempted to remove evidence of the crime with home cleaning products.

Robirds waived her right to remain in the county jail for an additional 10 days and asked to be delivered to the custody of the Department of Corrections as soon as possible. She will be held by Nowata County Sheriff Jim Hallett until that time.

According to District Attorney Rick Esser, Hill is scheduled to also plead to murder on May 11.