Supreme Court developments

On Monday, the Supreme Court:

* Declined to hear terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui's appeal of a key ruling upholding the Bush administration's power to bar certain witnesses at trial. Moussaoui is the only person charged in the United States in connection with the Sept. 11,2001, attacks.

* Refused to consider whether President Bush overstepped his bounds in naming William Pryor to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals while Congress was on a short break. The appeals argued that Pryor's temporary appointment was an end-run around the Senate's right to confirm or reject judicial nominees.

* Heard arguments in the case of a woman whose three daughters were killed by her estranged husband wants to sue the local police department for not doing more to stop the murders. At issue is whether cities can be sued for failing to enforce restraining orders.

* Declined to reinstate a lawsuit by the parents and husband of a murdered Colorado woman who claim authorities bungled the investigation. The move lets stand a lower court ruling that also rebuffed attempts by the parents and husband of Buffy Rice Donohue to question journalists who covered the investigation.

-- AP