A conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court justice said Thursday he will not participate in a pending case that will determine whether tens of thousands of public sector workers regain collective bargaining rights that were taken away by a 2011 law.

Conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn's recusal puts the focus on whether liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz will also step away from the Act 10 case.

Hagedorn's recusal marks a major blow to Republicans' hopes of a favorable ruling in their quest to uphold the 2011 law that gutted public sector collective bargaining in Wisconsin

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected what is likely the final appeal of a South Carolina inmate the day before his scheduled execution for a 2001 killing of a friend found dead in her burning car

The nation’s highest court turned down a death row inmate’s request to halt his execution Thursday, clearing the way for him to face the death chamber. Marion Bowman, 44, is slated to die by lethal injection at 6 p.