Appellate

  • May 27, 2026

    Ill. Panel Won't Rethink 45-Year Sentence For Teen Murder

    An Illinois appeals court has ruled that a man convicted of a first-degree murder he committed in 2008 when he was a teenager is not eligible for a sentence reduction despite dramatic changes in state and federal law surrounding sentencing for juvenile offenders.

  • May 27, 2026

    NJ Justices Revive Eye Injury Suit For 'Gatekeeping' Test

    The Supreme Court of New Jersey revived a woman's suit alleging she suffered serious eye injuries because of a defect in Allergan USA Inc.'s product Ozurdex, ruling Wednesday that the trial court failed to conduct the gatekeeping inquiry required when there is a dispute over the reliability of expert testimony.

  • May 27, 2026

    10th Circ. Affirms Dentist's 3½-Year Sentence For Tax Evasion

    A dentist's sentence of almost 3½ years for evading over $1.6 million in personal taxes through an abusive-trust tax scheme was affirmed by the Tenth Circuit on Wednesday, as the appellate court rejected his argument that his sentence is both procedurally and substantively unreasonable.

  • May 27, 2026

    Ga. Panel Orders New Trial In Highway Collision Case

    A Georgia appeals panel has ordered a new trial for a woman who was injured when her stopped vehicle was struck by a speeding Ford F-150 truck on a Georgia highway, finding that the jury was improperly instructed on the "sudden emergency" doctrine.

  • May 27, 2026

    6th Circ. Backs Insurer In Michigan Jewelry Store Flood Fight

    A Michigan jewelry store's insurer does not have to cover water damage from a historic rainstorm that overwhelmed a Detroit area sewer system, the Sixth Circuit said, finding that the policy's flood exclusion barred coverage. 

  • May 27, 2026

    Conn. Justices Fault Bank In Lost Mortgage Note Dispute

    The Connecticut Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's appellate and trial court wins in a foreclosure case surrounding a lost $751,000 mortgage note, finding officials at a mortgage servicing firm submitted deficient and contradictory affidavits to support the bank's right to collect money.

  • May 27, 2026

    US Tells Justices To Hold 'Lightning Rod' Health Ministry Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court should hold out on deciding whether a New Mexico insurance law violates the religious rights of nonprofit healthcare-sharing ministries that provide cheap, Christian-focused health insurance options while the justices decide a similar case, the U.S. solicitor general told the court. 

  • May 27, 2026

    6th Circ. Upholds Prison Term Despite Sentencing Amendment

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Tuesday affirmed that a Michigan man's 103-month prison sentence should not be shortened, despite a recent change to sentencing guidelines, because his modest rehabilitation was not enough to justify a reduction.

  • May 27, 2026

    11th Circ. Told YouTube Copyright Win Doesn't Merit Fees

    A Spanish film production company has urged the Eleventh Circuit to uphold a Florida federal judge's refusal to award YouTube attorney fees after the video platform prevailed in a dispute over pirated movies, arguing that the unsuccessful copyright claims raised a novel legal issue and were brought in good faith.

  • May 27, 2026

    NJ Disbars Attorney After He Lied To Prison Officials

    A criminal defense attorney who was disbarred in New York after being convicted of lying to the Bureau of Prisons in an effort to get an early release for a client and being sentenced to probation and community confinement has also been disbarred in New Jersey.

  • May 27, 2026

    Florida Panel Says ADA Doesn't Entitle Pro Se Filer To Use AI

    A Florida state appeals court on Wednesday sanctioned a pro se filer for using artificial intelligence to generate filings containing misleading arguments and false citations, banning him from making future filings with the court unless they are signed by a member of good standing with the Florida bar.

  • May 27, 2026

    3rd Circ. Mulls 401(k) Plan Terms In 2 Forfeiture Fights

    The Third Circuit Wednesday seemed inclined to revive a Siemens worker's proposed class action alleging the technology company misspent 401(k) forfeitures, but appeared more skeptical of a Honeywell ex-worker's bid to revive a similar class action given differences in plan language.

  • May 27, 2026

    Robinhood Urges 1st Circ. To Revive Mass. Regulatory Fight

    Robinhood has told the First Circuit it's time for a Massachusetts federal court to decide whether sports event contracts can be regulated by the state gambling commission, arguing "no legitimate basis exists" to wait for a state court to rule first.

  • May 27, 2026

    3 States Back Advocate's Challenge To DOJ Medical Pot Rule

    The anti-cannabis advocacy organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana will be joined by three states in its legal challenge to the U.S. Department of Justice's final rule loosening federal restrictions on medical marijuana.

  • May 27, 2026

    Trump Taps Ohio Appeals Judge For Federal Bench

    President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he's nominating state Judge Matthew Byrne as a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Ohio.

  • May 27, 2026

    NJ Pot Law Lets Workers Sue Over Hiring Bias, Panel Finds

    A New Jersey appeals panel has found that the state's cannabis law grants a private right of action to employees who allege they were fired or denied work solely because of a positive cannabis test, reviving a woman's suit alleging she was denied a job because of her recreational cannabis use.

  • May 26, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Wash. City Workers' Vax Mandate Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel Tuesday put an end to city workers' lawsuit challenging Bellingham, Washington's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, ruling that a lower court appropriately dismissed the action and barred the workers from amending their claims.

  • May 26, 2026

    Seattle Hospital Loses Appeal Of Dr.'s $21M Race Bias Verdict

    A Washington Court of Appeals panel Tuesday upheld a $21 million verdict against Seattle Children's Hospital in a Black ex-medical director's lawsuit claiming he faced racism in the workplace and retaliation for complaining about systemic inequities, ruling "substantial evidence" justified the jury's findings and damages award.

  • May 26, 2026

    Feds, Unified Patents, AT&T Push Back On High Court Bids

    The U.S. Supreme Court received objections to three patent petitions on Tuesday, with Unified Patents fighting Dolby's appeal of its own Patent Trial and Appeal Board win; AT&T and Nokia protesting an attempt to revive a $181 million trial loss; and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office opposing inventor Gilbert Hyatt's challenge to prosecution laches.

  • May 26, 2026

    BofA Borrowers Urge High Court To Revisit NY Escrow Suit

    New York borrowers have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to again revive their claims for millions in mortgage escrow interest from Bank of America, arguing the Second Circuit's recent decision to free the bank for a second time still gets federal banking preemption wrong.

  • May 26, 2026

    Investors, Schwab Defend Antitrust Settlement At 5th Circ.

    Charles Schwab and its investors have urged the Fifth Circuit to affirm a final deal they reached in Texas federal court to conclude an antitrust suit over its merger with TD Ameritrade, arguing among other things that Iowa's attorney general lacks standing to appeal the class settlement.

  • May 26, 2026

    Colo. Justices Say Debt Buyer Must Show It Owns The Debt

    A debt buyer seeking to collect a debt must attach to its complaint a writing that shows the debt buyer owns the debt, the Colorado Supreme Court said Tuesday in ruling for a consumer who incurred a $671.29 credit card debt.

  • May 26, 2026

    Air Force Urges Justices To Unravel Guam Munitions Ruling

    The U.S. Air Force has told the U.S. Supreme Court that the Ninth Circuit erred in holding that the military branch was required to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act before seeking to renew a permit to dispose of hazardous waste at Tarague Beach on Guam. 

  • May 26, 2026

    Ohio Panel Says Immigration Oversight Sinks Plea Deal

    An Ohio state appeals court on Tuesday ruled that an Uzbekistan national should be given a second shot at withdrawing his plea agreement after he claims his attorney did not properly explain the potential immigration consequences of his no-contest plea.

  • May 26, 2026

    Conn. Justices OK In-Court ID After Tainted Police Photo Array

    The Connecticut Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed a man's murder and firearms convictions, ruling a trial judge properly allowed an eyewitness to point to the defendant in court after suppressing the same witness's earlier out-of-court identification as the product of "unnecessarily suggestive and unreliable" police questioning during a photo array.

Expert Analysis

  • A Fed. Circ. Blueprint For Drafting Medical Device Patents

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    The Federal Circuit's decision in Constellation Designs v. LG last month, among other recent rulings, underscores the importance of emphasizing engineering, rather than clinical goals, when drafting patent claims for medical devices and software as a medical device, says Brandon Theiss at Volpe Koenig.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: EU's Arb. Defense From Russia

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    The EU's latest package of restrictive measures against Russia marks a significant shift from merely resisting Russian jurisdictional tactics to proactively protecting arbitration and exclusive jurisdiction agreements, elevating the procedural importance of dispute resolution clauses, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.

  • Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

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    Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

  • Nielsen Appeal Tests Antitrust Limits Of Pricing And Bundling

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    In Cumulus v. Nielsen, the Second Circuit is considering a structural pattern in which a monopolist exploits upstream market power to foreclose downstream competition, which could potentially offer broad insight into how courts will assess exclusionary bundling and pricing defenses under antitrust law, says Luke Hasskamp at Bona Law.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • 'Skinny Label' Arguments Spotlight Induced Infringement Risk

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    Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in Hikma Pharmaceuticals v. Amarin Pharma highlight the uncertain boundary between lawful generic competition through so-called skinny labels and induced patent infringement, with potential implications for patent holders’ communication, enforcement and causation strategies across industries, says Anton Hopen at Trenam.

  • A Framework For Habeas Relief After 5th Circ. Bond Ruling

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    Following the Fifth Circuit’s recent Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi decision foreclosing statutory bond for detained nonimmigrants not deemed admitted to the U.S., lawyers should adopt a framework that requests habeas relief pursuant to the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • 4th Circ. Ruling Will Rewrite Class Action Litigation Strategies

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    The Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Oliver v. Navy Federal Credit Union is the first from a federal circuit court to hold that motions to strike are inappropriate vehicles for challenging class allegations at the pleading stage, invalidating a tactic that had been used for decades, says Jim Francis at Francis Mailman.

  • Startup Founder Disputes Increasingly Turn On Governance

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    Recent Delaware developments suggest that as courts place increasing emphasis on board process, independence and oversight in founder-led startups, the growing intersection of governance, technology risk and investor oversight is accelerating both the emergence and escalation of founder disputes, says mediator Frank Burke.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • Salt-N-Pepa Suit May Shake Up Music Copyright Issue

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    James v. UMG Recordings is a copyright termination rights case that provides an opportunity for the Second Circuit to make concrete choices about grant language, authorship, work-for-hire status and survival of derivative works, says attorney Abdul Abdullahi.

  • Opinion

    5th Circ.'s Abortion Pill Order Is Shaky On Multiple Grounds

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent order in Louisiana v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, reinstating an in-person dispensing requirement for the abortion medication mifepristone, seems to turn federalism upside-down, and is also questionable for several other reasons, says Gregory Curtner at Curtner Law.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • 5 Takeaways From Justices' Subpoena Fight Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in First Choice v. Davenport fortifies a line of First Amendment associational privacy cases stretching back nearly 70 years, and ensures that organizations subject to government demands for donor information have a meaningful federal forum in which to defend their constitutional rights, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

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