Justices side with police in Kansas case
WASHINGTON -- Police can pull over a car when they know only that its owner's license is invalid, even if they don't know who's behind the wheel, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The court said in an 8-1 decision that unless there's reason to believe otherwise, it's common sense for an officer to think the car's owner will be driving.
"Empirical studies demonstrate what common experience readily reveals: Drivers with revoked licenses frequently continue to drive and therefore to pose safety risks to other motorists and pedestrians," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the court.
Only Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented in the case, Kansas v. Glover, No. 18-556. "The majority today has paved the road to finding reasonable suspicion based on nothing more than a demographic profile," she wrote.
The high court reversed a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that found police violated Charles Glover Jr.'s constitutional rights when they stopped his pickup based only on information that the truck owner's license had been revoked.
The Kansas court had ruled that the deputy had made two unreasonable assumptions: that a vehicle's registered owner is "likely the primary driver" and that people whose driver's licenses are suspended or revoked "will likely disregard the suspension or revocation and continue to drive."
Police: Virus fears spur murder-suicide
JOLIET, Ill. -- The bodies of a man and a woman were found inside their suburban Chicago home in what authorities say was a murder-suicide that was apparently prompted by the man's concern that the two of them had the coronavirus, authorities said.
Deputies who were dispatched to a home in Lockport Township to conduct a welfare check Thursday discovered the bodies of Patrick Jesernik, 54, and Cheryl Schriefer, 59, the Will County sheriff's office said in a news release. The two, whose bodies were found in separate rooms in the residence, had each been shot once and a gun was near Jesernik's body.
The investigation determined that Jesernik had shot Schriefer in the back of the head before shooting himself. They had lived together for several years but were not married, sheriff's officespokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said.
According to the release, relatives told detectives that Jesernik had been frightened that he and Schriefer had contracted the covid-19 virus and that Schriefer was having difficulty breathing.
The relatives told investigators that Schriefer had been tested earlier in the week but they did not believe she'd received the results. An autopsy determined that Jesernik and Schriefer tested negative for the virus, the release said.
Submarine USS Delaware added to fleet
WASHINGTON -- The first U.S. Navy submarine named after the state of Delaware was officially welcomed to the fleet over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Defense announced.
The USS Delaware, a fast-attack submarine, was commissioned administratively and transitioned to normal operations Saturday, Navy officials said in a statement. The submarine is the first Navy vessel to carry the state's name in nearly 100 years, officials said.
A public ceremony for the boat had been set for Saturday at the Port of Wilmington, but was canceled last month to protect against the spread of the new coronavirus.
The submarine is longer than a football field, weighs about 7,800 tons, can stay underwater for up to three months and can operate for more than 30 years without refueling, according to the Department of Defense. It is crewed by 135 sailors.
Jill Biden, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, christened the boat at a ceremony in Newport News, Va., in 2018.
Supreme Court rejects church's appeal
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from a Catholic church in Washington that sought to place religious-themed ads on public buses.
The justices are leaving in-place a federal appeals court ruling that found no fault with the Washington transit agency policy that banned all issue-oriented advertisements on the region's rail and bus system.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington sought to place an ad on the outside of public buses in the fall of 2017. The ad showed the silhouette of three shepherds and sheep accompanied by the text, "Find the Perfect Gift."
Justice Brett Kavanaugh took no part in the court's consideration of the case because he served on the three-judge panel that heard arguments at the appeals court where he served before joining the Supreme Court in 2018.
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a brief separate opinion to assert that the matter would have been different had Kavanaugh been a part of the case. "Because the full Court is unable to hear this case, it makes a poor candidate for our review. But for that complication, however, our intervention and a reversal would be warranted," Gorsuch wrote, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
A Section on 04/07/2020