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Taking a page from the Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in Seattle School District, the 6th Circuit struck down Michigan’s affirmative action ban late last week on the grounds that it violates the Equal Protection Clause’s prohibition of legislative changes that burden a minority’s ability to participate in the political process. Though limited to those within the court’s jurisdiction, the decision could have far-reaching implications, as at least 6 other states have also banned affirmative action in higher education....

Thousands of Microsoft Zune players worldwide were rendered inoperable on December 31st due to a bug in the media player’s internal clock, but Microsoft says it has identified the problem and is offering instructions to Zune owners on how to resolve the issue. According to Reuters, the problem “was caused by an error in the way the device accounts for leap years,” and the issue arose on December 31st because 2008 had 366 days....

Regina Terry went into her house during a fight with her neighbors and came out with a pot of hot grease. Then she threw it at them. The North Carolina woman evaded police after the incident but was arrested on Monday, some 70 miles from the scene of the crime. The content of the argument is unclear but it escalated over the course of the afternoon, according to the Charlotte Observer....

The NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practice is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Monday, finding that the policy violated the Fourth Amendment as well as equal protection principles. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed to appeal the ruling, according to The New York Times. Despite Bloomberg’s assertion that stop-and-frisk has eliminated “thousands of illegal guns,” Judge Shira A. Scheindlin stated in her ruling that the tactic allowed police to stop innocent people with no objective reason to suspect them of a crime....

Reese Witherspoon has made a fortune being a smart blonde actress playing a simple southern gal you could sip lemonade with on the porch. She says she likes to dress up for church, tailgate, and enjoy iced tea (sometimes spiked?). So she decided to capitalize on that image with a jewelry line called Draper James, inspired by her personal style. She did this after being approached by East Coast designers who just didn’t get her, says Witherspoon....

TJX Cos., the company that owns discount retail stores Marshalls and TJ Maxx, announced that computer hackers had accessed online customer records that may include information on more than 45 million credit cards. According to a company filing recorded with the Securities Exchange Commission, the information that was stolen dates back to 2002, although the company does not know the exact nature or amount of the records that were accessed....

Alleged subway pusher Erika Menendez will be charged with murder as a hate crime for killing Sunando Sen. The 31-year-old woman is accused of pushing Sen into the path of an oncoming train last Thursday. Menendez apparently did not know Sen, and the alleged crime was seemingly motivated by Sen’s race, reports the The New York Times. Following her arrest, Menendez allegedly told police that she pushed the 46-year-old Indian immigrant to his death because she hated Muslims and Hindus....

Any Star Wars fan will tell you that Jedi mind tricks are cool and all, but having some sick lightsaber skills is where it’s at. Perhaps that’s why so many academies have popped up across the country, promising to teach self-styled padawans in the ways of the Force and lightsaber choreography. But George Lucas’s empire is striking back. Lucasfilm has filed a federal lawsuit against the owner of Lightsaber Academy, claiming the schools infringe on the films’ trademarks without authorization, and sending legal ripples throughout the galaxy....

An Australian tourist could be spending the next few years in jail for allegedly causing a Jet Ski accident that resulted in the death of a 16-year-old girl in Hawaii. Tyson Dagley appeared in court wearing a neck brace and answered to charges of negligent homicide, reports Hawaii News Now. Dagley, 20, is accused of goofing off on his jet ski and running full-speed into another jet ski ridden by Kristen Fonseca....

Hostess’ bankruptcy is raising fears that HoHos may soon be history. But the Twinkie will never be forgotten by the criminal justice system, thanks to the so-called “Twinkie defense.” What is the Twinkie defense? It dates back to a 1979 murder case in San Francisco (dramatized in the movie “Milk”) in which ex-cop-turned-politician Dan White shot and killed fellow politicians Harvey Milk and George Moscone. News reports called White’s defense the “Twinkie defense,” but in reality, Twinkies were barely even mentioned at trial....

As the mid-season finale of The Good Wife, “The Trial,” features both an actual trial – Cary’s criminal conspiracy trial – as well as the continuing trials and tribulations of Alicia’s political campaign. In “The Trial,” Alicia is confronted by a joke shared with her daughter Grace that threatens to derail her campaign for State’s Attorney, forcing her to negotiate with a scheming teacher. At the same time, Cary and Diane also find themselves forced to the negotiating table with Assistant State Attorney Geneva Pine, who offers Cary six years in prison for a guilty plea in his criminal case....

A very small price hike has amounted to a pretty big problem for the 99 Cents Only Stores. The west coast retailer is facing two potential class action suits in Los Angeles County Superior court over the price hike. It seems that at most consumers didn’t realize a fractional price increase of .99 cents was now included in their “99 cent” price. The Los Angeles Times reports that some customers felt duped over the tiny price increase....

Morgan County Alabama Sheriff Greg Bartlett spent Wednesday night in jail. A federal judge sent him there for contempt of court regarding failure to make good on past promises to properly feed Morgan County jail inmates. In the past three years, Sheriff Bartlett has pocketed over $200,000 meant to feed the inmates. In Alabama, that’s not necessarily illegal. As reported by the New York Times, Alabama currently allocates $1.75 per day to feed inmates in county jails....

For the estate of the now-deceased former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith, the Supreme Court is not a friend. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling has ended Smith’s long-running posthumous battle for J. Howard Marshall’s estate, her deceased husband. Smith married Howard, a Texas oil tycoon, who was 63 years older than her, reports The New York Times. She was 26 at the time. He was 89, and he died around 14 months after their marriage, leaving behind a $1....

Normally, when Facebook and the police collide in the news about a criminal case, it’s because the social media site is handing over personal user information to law enforcement. Generally social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are required to comply with police warrants requesting user data, and convictions based on that information are upheld. But does it work the other way around? Can defense attorneys get access to the same social media user information if it may exonerate their client?...

For most people accused of a crime and jailed, the court may grant bail. If the defendant wants to leave jail, he’ll need to pay the bail or pay a bail bondsman to post the bail. However, bail can often be very expensive. If you can’t afford to pay your bail or a bail bondsman, can you challenge the bail amount? Eighth Amendment In some states, there is a guideline of bail amounts for certain crimes....

These days, there is never a dull moment when it comes to the great immigration debate. Between talks of amnesty, the wall, DACA, and deportation, there are plenty of issues to wrangle over. But there are also stories of real people and how this debate is playing out in their lives. After being detained and threatened with removal, one dreamer narrowly avoided deportation as a court ruled that ICE lied about his gang affiliation...

Debt settlement companies that may be preying on consumers’ financial desperation over credit card debts will need to pull back the curtain and explain what they’re really doing to help their customers, under a new investigation launched this week by the office of New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo. At least 14 companies and one law firm have been subpoenaed in connection with the probe. The subpoenas seek detailed information on the companies’ operations, and the impact on customers – specifically, how the companies’ fees for services are set and charged, the number of customers who have actually seen a benefit from the companies’ services, and the specific relief being provided to customers, according to a Press Release from the New York AG’s Office....

Do you let your children chat on chat rooms online? Do you know who they’re talking to? Your child could be talking to older men seeking sex with children. Florida police caught 22 such men in an undercover sting, reports The Huffington Post. Among the arrestees are several former workers for Disney’s Magic Kingdom, SeaWorld, and Universal Studios. How did authorities catch these alleged sexual deviants? In a sting operation involving two central Florida counties, officers posed as underage girls and boys on chatting apps like Grindr....

Will roadside marijuana testing soon be as common as alcohol breath tests? States are debating the issue of how to deal with stoned drivers, as scientists work on a new roadside saliva test for THC, the psychoactive ingredient in pot. Currently, all states prohibit driving under the influence of controlled substances, including alcohol and marijuana, the Associated Press reports. This applies even if a driver is a medical marijuana patient....