5) Apple v. Samsung: The suit that the Cupertino company Apple brought out against its rival the South Korean tech company Samsung Electronics grabbed the attention of not just tech fanatics, but the media and general public as well.
The court ruling, which granted Apple over one billion in the patent infringement case certainly has raised questions on the patent issue. Apple won a huge patent infringement case in California against Samsung. In August, a court ruling said Samsung "willfully infringed" on a number of Apple's patent devices, granting them $1.05 billion.
After months of anticipation the jury finally reached a verdict in the Apple v. Samsung lawsuit granting Apple Inc. $1 billion for patent infringement. The jury of nine ruled that Samsung Electronics Co. did in fact "rip off" Apple Inc. by copying the company's revolutionary designs for the computer tablet iPad and smartphone iPhone. The jury decided that the South Korean company should pay $1.05 billion to Apple.
A jury of nine granted Apple $1.05 billion in its year-long patent infringement suit against Samsung, although Apple's original claim was $2.5 billion, the verdict can definitely been seen as an Apple victory.
The jury ruled against all of Samsung's counter claims amounting up to $400 million.
4) George Zimmerman: The Trayvon Martin shooting certainly was and continues to be a media favorite. The case has raised issues about racism and has catapulted a national debate about the role racism played in the untimely death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman was arrested in February for the killing of the 17-year-old, Zimmerman who was armed shot Martin after claiming that he was attacked by the teenager and fired in an act of self-defense. The 28-year-old Zimmerman has maintained the claim to self-defense from the beginning of the case.
In July, the Florida judge set Zimmerman's bail for $1 million, after previously revoking a $150,000 bond, for misleading the court about his finances.
He has been released from jail on bond, but under strict conditions including a round the clock GPS monitoring system.
Court hearing for trial has been set for June 10 of 2013.
3) James Holmes: The tragedy of the Aurora theater massacre still resonates with the American people; James Egan Holmes, who opened fire at a mid-night premier of the Dark Knight Rises was arrested soon after the incident. The 24-year-old is currently on trial.
Currently, the alleged shooter Holmes is being held in a detention facility of Arapahoe County in solitary confinement. The past few weeks have resulted in some revealing details of Holmes mental state. Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers told News Day that she is considering pursuing the death penalty, but only after consulting with the victims and their families.
On July 20, at a midnight screening of the cult-inducing Dark Knight Rises film at a movie house in Aurora, Colorado, Holmes, opened fire killing 12 people and injuring 59 others. He was arrested that morning and placed in custody.
2) Jerry Sandusky: In 2012, the Penn State University football team saw the fall of their former Assistant Football coach, Jerry Sandusky, who was accused and convicted of sexually abusing children during his reign at a charity foundation.
In May, a jury of seven women and five men found Sandusky guilty of 45 out of the 48 counts against him for sexual abuse of ten young boys over a span of 15 years.
Sandusky is currently serving his 30-year prison term, but says he will be filing for appeal shortly.
1) Health Care: The Supreme Court decision to uphold the Affordable Health Care has impacted the entire nation.
It was the most awaited decision of the year, the Supreme Court ruled to uphold the most controversial part of the healthcare plan. The individual mandate clause, which requires every American to have healthcare or incur a financial penalty, was upheld as being within the constitutional authority of the federal government to impose taxes. The Affordable Healthcare Act aka Obama care was upheld in a 5-4 vote.
Justice John Roberts provided the tie-break vote. Roberts vote does in deed surprise, since he is known to be a conservative judge appointed by former President George Bush in 2005. Roberts stated that since there was sufficient precedence establishing the federal government's powers in tax-measures and interstate commerce, the individual mandate clause was perfectly constitutional.
