Legal Affairs

Backup driver pleads guilty for first death caused by fully autonomous car

Backup driver pleads guilty for first death caused by fully autonomous car

Aug. 3 (ZFJ) — Rafaela Vasquez, 49, pled guilty to endangerment on Friday, July 28, for failing to stop a fully self-driving car from hitting and killing a 49-year-old woman. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge David W. Garbarino sentenced her to three years of supervised probation. Her charge will be designated a misdemeanor once she completes her sentence. On March 18, 2018, Vasquez was the backup driver for a test vehicle belonging to Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group (ATG).
Middlesex County man admits to threatening attack on synagogue

Middlesex County man admits to threatening attack on synagogue

July 16 (ZFJ) – A Middlesex County man admitted to threatening to attack a synagogue and Jewish people via the internet. 19-year-old Omar Alkattoul pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting a threat in interstate and foreign commerce on Wednesday, July 12, regarding a crime committed around November 1, 2021. Alkattoul used social media to share a link of his manifesto titled “When Swords Collide.” The document detailed his plans to attack a synagogue.
Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action in college admissions

Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action in college admissions

July 3 (ZFJ) — Affirmative action in college admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, ruled the Supreme Court in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (20-1199) and SFFA v. University of North Carolina (21-707) on Thursday, June 29. The EPC prohibits racial discrimination by the government. Reversing the lower courts’ decisions, the Court struck down the admissions programs used by Harvard and UNC by a 6-2 and 6-3 vote, respectively.
Supreme Court limits federal authority over wetlands with stricter test

Supreme Court limits federal authority over wetlands with stricter test

May 28 (ZFJ) — The federal government can only regulate wetlands with “a continuous surface connection” to adjacent “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act (1972), ruled the Supreme Court on Thursday, May 25, in Sackett v. EPA (21-454). The CWA is the primary federal law regulating water pollution and prohibits the “discharge of any pollutant,” including “chemical wastes,” “rock,” and “sand,” into “navigable waters,” defined as “the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.