Appellate

  • April 15, 2026

    Trump's 8th Circ. Pick Pressed On Leonard Leo Ties

    President Donald Trump's nominee for the Eighth Circuit, who represented Trump in the two cases brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, came under scrutiny Wednesday for his affiliation with groups linked to longtime Federalist Society executive and Republican fundraiser Leonard Leo.

  • April 15, 2026

    Nadine Menendez Seeks Bail Pending 2nd Circ. Appeal

    Nadine Menendez urged a Manhattan federal judge to keep her free while she challenges her conviction, arguing that prosecutors deprived her of her constitutional right to the counsel of her choice.

  • April 15, 2026

    Penn State Beats Hazing Appeal Over Failed Title IX Claim

    The Third Circuit declined Wednesday to reinstate Pennsylvania State University and its ex-football coach in a hazing lawsuit filed by a former player, ruling a Title IX claim cannot survive because the alleged harassment was not based on the plaintiff's sex.

  • April 15, 2026

    Rhode Island To Appeal Order Freezing Cannabis Licensure

    Rhode Island cannabis regulators will ask the First Circuit to reconsider a court order halting social equity and adult-use cannabis licensure, according to a notice of appeal filed Wednesday.

  • April 15, 2026

    Mass. Justices Say 24-Hour Delay Makes Traffic Stop Unlawful

    Massachusetts' highest court overturned a drug trafficking conviction Wednesday because police waited a full day after observing a traffic violation before stopping the driver and finding cocaine.

  • April 15, 2026

    Pa. Justices Hint Union Row Hinges On Arbitrator's Power

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday considered if an arbitrator had the authority to waive deadlines in a dispute involving union-represented Allegheny County Jail employees, with one justice suggesting that deadlines are a procedural matter within her control, rather than a contract provision that she couldn't ignore.

  • April 15, 2026

    Leo Says Missteps Sank $50M SpaceX Investment In Appeal

    The Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday grappled with whether a fund manager's handling of a failed $50 million SpaceX investment crossed the line into fiduciary misconduct, as attorneys for both sides clashed over causation, fairness and a controversial $16 million fee award stemming from the dispute.

  • April 15, 2026

    1st Circ. Again Orders Resentencing In Drug And Gun Case

    A Puerto Rico man whose seven-year prison sentence on drug and firearm charges was previously tossed has won a second appeal challenging his resentencing to a 5.5-year term, with the First Circuit finding that a district court didn't adequately explain why it had applied an aggravating factor.

  • April 15, 2026

    Groups Say Ariz. Voter ID Stay Could Extend Purge Threat

    Two Arizona nonprofits are asking a federal district court to deny the state's request to put a remanded Ninth Circuit dispute over voter roll purges on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on the overall litigation, arguing the bid underestimates the potential delay a stay would cause.

  • April 14, 2026

    9th Circ. Orders ICE Agent Resentenced For Child Enticement

    A former U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement supervisor sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for trying to entice a 13-year-old girl cannot challenge the evidence against him or argue he was conducting a human trafficking investigation, but he should be resentenced, the Ninth Circuit said Monday.

  • April 14, 2026

    4th Circ. Revives Pharma Bid To Block Maryland's 340B Law

    A split Fourth Circuit panel on Tuesday tossed a Maryland district court's order denying a preliminary injunction to pharmaceutical manufacturers that have challenged a state law addressing drug delivery in the federal 340B discount program, pointing to its recent ruling that West Virginia's similar statute is likely preempted.

  • April 14, 2026

    Ex-UCLA Gynecologist Pleads Guilty Before Sex Abuse Retrial

    A former University of California, Los Angeles, gynecologist on Tuesday pled guilty to sexually assaulting five patients and was once again sentenced to 11 years in prison, entering the plea at a pretrial hearing two months after a California appellate court tossed his initial convictions and ordered a new trial.

  • April 14, 2026

    Justices Told That Eli Lilly's FCA Qui Tam Challenge Too Late

    A whistleblower who secured a $183 million trial win against Eli Lilly urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to reject its constitutional challenge over his ability to sue for the federal government, arguing the drugmaker's arguments came too late.

  • April 14, 2026

    Judiciary Panel Backs Legal Finance Project, Subpoena Rules

    Federal judiciary advisers agreed Tuesday to develop transparency obligations for litigation funders despite "vehement" views in the defense and plaintiffs bars, while also advancing controversial subpoena rules involving remote testimony and process servers.

  • April 14, 2026

    2nd Circ. Mulls Bid To Save Walmart, E-Commerce Co. IP Case

    A Second Circuit panel on Tuesday grappled with a group of businesses' attempt to revive its copyright and trademark case against Walmart and an e-commerce company, with the judges wondering whether the businesses impermissibly expanded their safe harbor arguments on appeal.

  • April 14, 2026

    4th Circ. Revives Suit Over Undercover Drug Bust Shooting

    The Fourth Circuit has reinstated a civil rights suit alleging a Virginia police officer fired his gun into an immobilized vehicle during a drug sting operation, injuring the driver.

  • April 14, 2026

    VLSI's Calif. IP Suit Against Intel Revived By Fed. Circ.

    The Federal Circuit breathed new life into one of VLSI Technology's patent infringement suits against Intel Corp. on Tuesday, concluding a California federal judge wrongly interpreted an agreement between the companies to limit the scope of litigation.

  • April 14, 2026

    Colo. Justices Weigh Bid To Restore Trans Youth Care

    Colorado's justices pushed Children's Hospital Colorado on Tuesday to explain how its decision to halt gender-affirming care for transgender youth patients is not discriminatory, even amid the federal government's threats to cut funding for providers that offer the care to children and adolescents.

  • April 14, 2026

    Trump Signs Revised HEAR Act For Nazi-Looted Art

    President Donald Trump has signed into law the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025, which amends the original 2016 act to establish procedures for civil claims seeking to recover artwork and other property lost between 1933 and 1945 due to Nazi persecution.

  • April 14, 2026

    'Women Only Have Tattoos?' Judges Doubt Bias At RTX Unit

    Connecticut appellate judges sounded skeptical Tuesday that a female mechanic could support a gender bias claim against RTX Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney division by citing her short stature and tattoos, noting that those characteristics are not gender-specific.

  • April 14, 2026

    11th Circ. Grounds Jet Co.'s Defamation Suit Against Chase

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday backed JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s early win in a lawsuit brought by a jet chartering company alleging it was defamed as it was placed on an internal blacklist, ruling that the bank hadn't made any false statements in explaining to customers why it blocked the company's transactions.

  • April 14, 2026

    Colo. Justices Hesitant Of Facial Challenge To Agent Rule

    The Colorado Supreme Court appeared hesitant Tuesday to affirm a ruling from a Colorado state appeals court that invalidated a campaign finance requirement for ballot issue committees to list their registered agent on election communications.

  • April 14, 2026

    Ill. Panel Says $2.6M Rear-Ending Verdict Not Excessive

    An Illinois appeals court on Tuesday affirmed a $2.56 million verdict awarded to a woman who was rear-ended at a drive-through ATM, saying that although the verdict might be "surprisingly" high, it's not so shocking that a new trial is warranted.

  • April 14, 2026

    Wash. Appeals Court Revives Podiatrist Trade Secrets Case

    An appeals court in Washington state has reinstated a case brought by a Seattle-area podiatry practice against a former employee accused of stealing patient data for his separate practice.

  • April 14, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Affirms On-Sale Bar Ax Of Car Software Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday upheld a decision invalidating a patent on modifying vehicle engine software because the invention was on sale before the patent was sought, siding with auto equipment maker Powerteq LLC and rejecting an argument that the ruling was based on hearsay.

Expert Analysis

  • Human Authorship Is Still Central To Copyright Eligibility

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    In declining to review the D.C. Circuit's ruling in Thaler v. Perlmutter — holding that a work purely generated by artificial intelligence cannot be copyrighted — the U.S. Supreme Court has reinforced the human authorship requirement, so it is critical for creators of AI-assisted projects to document their involvement, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Resolving The Conflict In 2nd Circ. Foreign Discovery Rulings

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    The Second Circuit recently issued two seemingly inconsistent decisions regarding the federal statute that permits U.S. discovery for purposes of a foreign proceeding, but the unifying feature appears to be the broad scope for district court discretion under Section 1782, say attorneys at Katsky Korins.

  • How 2nd Circ. Gave Loper Bright Real Force In SEC Cases

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Amah offers one of the first clear indications of how courts will operationalize Loper Bright, signaling that long-standing SEC enforcement theories resting on ambiguous definitional provisions are now subject to more rigorous judicial scrutiny, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Alpine Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skiing has shaped habits I rely on daily as an attorney — focus, resilience and the ability to remain steady when circumstances shift rapidly — and influences the way I approach legal strategy, client counseling and teamwork, says Isaku Begert at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Opinion

    Time To Fix The Accountability Gap In Freight Logistics

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    In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport, the U.S. Supreme Court must resolve an urgent question: whether freight broker selection in trucking accidents is categorically protected — meaning unreasonable safety decisions are insulated from liability — or subject to accountability under traditional negligence principles, says Amanda Demanda at Amanda Demanda Injury Lawyers.

  • 2 Strands Of Patent Law In High Court's 'Skinny Label' Case

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    Amarin v. Hikma, which is set for oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court this month, highlights the distinction between two different strands of intellectual property law — analogizing a patent to either a property deed or a home, says Jonas McDavit at Spencer West.

  • Justices' Geofence Ruling May Test 4th Amendment's Future

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    When the U.S. Supreme Court decides in Chatrie v. U.S. whether law enforcement may use geofence warrants to compel Google to disclose location history data, the ruling is likely to become an important statement about the future of Fourth Amendment law in data-driven investigations, says Duncan Levin at Levin & Associates.

  • Series

    NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    In the first quarter of 2026, New York's banking developments were headlined by initiatives to expand oversight of financial institutions and strengthen consumer protection laws, including a new framework for buy now, pay later lenders, a sweeping debt collection rule and a revised corporate self-disclosure program for financial crimes, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Seeking A Policy Fix As Merger Reporting Fight Continues

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    A recently announced request by the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice for public comment on the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger reporting requirements, as litigation challenging the commission's updated requirements continues, suggests the government's willingness to address how best to support modern merger enforcement without unduly burdening filing parties, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Opinion

    Wash. Amazon Ruling Should Reshape Suicide Liability

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    The Washington Supreme Court's reinstatement of negligence claims in Scott v. Amazon.com, brought by the families of people who died by suicide after purchasing chemicals online, signals a reckoning for digital commerce and the rejection of the defense that online marketplaces are merely passive technology platforms, says Donald Fountain at Clark Fountain.

  • Axed Trade Secret Award Cautions Against Bundling Damages

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent ruling in Trinseo v. Harper, vacating a $75 million jury verdict for trade secret misappropriation due to a bundled damages model, offers a strong reminder to apportion damages so a jury can award a nonspeculative figure when it credits only some alleged secrets, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • 2 Rulings Poke Holes In Mandatory Restitution Framework

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Ellingburg v. U.S., as well as the Third Circuit’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Abrams, provide criminal defense practitioners with new tools to challenge Mandatory Victims Restitution Act orders, and highlight several restitution-related issues that converged in the recent prosecution of former Frank CEO Charlie Javice, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Pivotal 6th Circ. Ruling Threatens Decades Of NLRB Decisions

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    The Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Brown-Forman v. National Labor Relations Board fundamentally challenged the NLRB's long-standing practice of establishing policies through adjudication rather than formal rulemaking, giving employers and unions a new avenue to procedurally attack the vast majority of its rules, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • What A Court Doc Audit Reveals About Erroneous Filings

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    My audit of 1,522 court documents from last month found that over 95% contained at least one verifiable error, with fewer than 1% showing clear indicators of artificial intelligence use — highlighting above all else that lawyers may want to focus most on strengthening their review processes, says Elliott Ash at ETH Zurich.

  • Exploring When Fraud Asset Freezes Limit Right To Pick Atty

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    The defendant’s claim in the Seventh Circuit’s pending U.S. v. Shah case that the government restrained his assets until he couldn’t afford his chosen counsel presents a useful case study in how criminal forfeiture procedure interacts with U.S. Supreme Court rulings on Sixth Amendment rights and appealing complex fraud convictions, says Elisha Kobre at Sheppard.

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