WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has thrown out an appeals court ruling ordering the disclosure of photographs of detainees being abused by their U.S. captors.
In doing so Monday, the high court cited a recent change in federal law that allows the pictures to be withheld.
The justices issued a brief, and expected, order Monday directing the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York to take another look at a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union to obtain the photos of detainee abuse. President Barack Obama at first didn’t oppose the release, but he changed his mind, saying they could whip up anti-American sentiment overseas and endanger U.S. troops.
In other decisions, the court:
• Will hear oral arguments Wednesday over whether a nearly 7-mile stretch of beach is public or private after the state of Florida dumped sand on the eroding beach and designated it public property, angering residents who think their property extends to the water.
• Cleared the way for the retrial of a central Pennsylvania man, Edward Hummel, who allegedly murdered his wife and then shot himself in the head, leaving him delusional and a paraplegic.
• Heard arguments from lawyers for Merck & Co., who said investors waited too late and didn’t do all of the necessary investigations to sue the drug maker over whether it properly warned about the risks of its blockbuster painkiller Vioxx.
• Rejected an appeal from a California death-row inmate, Kevin Cooper, who was convicted in the murders of four people in 1983.
• Left in place an $82.6 million award to a California woman, Benetta Buell-Wilson, who was paralyzed after her Ford Explorer rolled over.
