This case went on and on through trial after trial, appeal after appeal, so the report of it goes on and on. The bolding is only on words that are key to seeing at a glance what a particular paragraph is all about, which lets readers decide whether they want to read that particular paragraph or skip on down in the material to something that does interest them. For those skimming the article, it helps do that. For those seriously reading it from one end to the other, what does it hurt?