Federal Courts

Alva Mae "Granny" Groves died in federal prison last week. The 86-year-old grandmother was 13 years into a 24-year sentence for cocaine distribution charges she always said were punishment for failing to snitch on her children.

A federal grand jury looking into marijuana sales by growers hiding behind medical marijuana laws has issued subpoenas for the medical records of 17 Oregon patients. That's a first, and patients and advocates are determined to squash it.

It was the biggest heroin bust in California history, but thanks to overzealous law enforcement, the charges have now been dropped.

Eleven years ago, no Americans had the protection of a state medical marijuana law. Now, some 50 million do, but that means some 250 million don't. While progress has been made, it has been slow, and there is plenty more to do.

In the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case, the Supreme Court has upheld the right of schools to prohibit speech advocating illegal drug use, but has also held the schools may not bar speech advocating political positions.

A pair of North Dakota farmers have been granted state permits to grow hemp, but the DEA has refused to act on their federal license applications. Now the farmers are going to federal court to ask that the agency be told to butt out.

Passengers in vehicles stopped by police are effectively "seized" and may challenge the constitutionality of that seizure, the Supreme Court ruled in an unanimous opinion Monday.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a Virginia man sentenced under the harsh federal crack cocaine laws. This is the third case having to do with federal sentencing the court has taken in recent months.

Federal prosecutors managed to win another conviction against Ed Rosenthal after he was prevented from mounting a medical marijuana defense, but he won't do another day in jail, and his continuing persecution has sparked a novel form of civil disobedience in the courtroom.

Police need a search warrant to peruse the contents of a cell phone, even if its owner has been arrested or is being booked, a federal court in San Francisco held.