EPA Looks To Rescind Biden Era Rule On Tribal Water Rights

By Joyce Hanson

A North Dakota federal judge is letting red states' lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over a tribal water rights rule remain on hold for now after the EPA said it will begin new rulemaking procedures to rescind the original rule made under the Biden administration.

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Judge Won't Block Millions In Salmon Hatchery Tribal Awards

By Crystal Owens

A Washington federal judge won't block millions in Pacific salmon hatchery grants or set aside $22 million for two Indigenous nations that allege they were unfairly deemed ineligible for the funding, saying the tribes don't meet the standard for relief and are unlikely to succeed on the merits.

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NC Judge Rebuffs Perdue's DOL Whistleblower Challenge

By Hayley Fowler

Perdue Farms Inc. lost its case challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. Department of Labor's administrative proceedings for whistleblower complaints after a North Carolina federal judge found such proceedings don't flout Perdue's Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial.

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Vegan Eatery Chain's Ch. 11 Converted To Liquidation

By Emily Lever

A Delaware bankruptcy judge has ordered the Chapter 11 case of vegan restaurant group Planta to be converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation, after the debtor said it has no other option. 

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Colo. Broadens Farm, Ranch Definitions For Property Taxes

By Zak Kostro

Colorado broadened its definitions of farms and ranches for property tax purposes to allow more agriculture producers to qualify for tax advantages under a bill signed by Gov. Jared Polis.

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Grill Co. Failed To Warn Of Brush Risk, Class Action Says

By Zak Kostro

Grill maker Weber failed to warn U.S. consumers that metal bristles could detach from its grill brushes and cause internal injuries, according to a proposed class action in Illinois federal court that follows a recall of more than 3 million brushes.

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Calif. Woman Sues Pet Food Co. Over Synthetic Preservatives

By Mike Curley

A San Diego woman is suing the makers of Instinct Pet Foods in California federal court, alleging its products are falsely advertised as having no artificial preservatives because they contain synthetic citric acid and tocopherols.

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Lessons From Justices' Split On Major Questions Doctrine

The justices' varied opinions in Learning Resources v. Trump, which held the International Emergency Economy Powers Act did not confer the power to impose tariffs, offer a meaningful window into the U.S. Supreme Court's perspective on the major questions doctrine that will likely shape lower courts' approach to executive action challenges, say attorneys at Venable.

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Military Attys In DOJ 'Erodes Democratic Norms,' Ex-JAGs Say

By Lauren Berg

Nearly a dozen former military lawyers raised the alarm about the Trump administration appointing judge advocate officers to U.S. attorneys' offices, urging a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to bar an Army lawyer from prosecuting a case that accuses a civilian of assaulting federal immigration enforcement agents.

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DOJ Official Faces Ethics Case Over Georgetown DEI Letters

By Alison Knezevich

U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin has been hit with disciplinary charges in the nation's capital over threatening letters he sent to Georgetown University Law Center last year while he was interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.

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Dems Confront Roberts At Wide-Ranging Judiciary Gathering

By Jeff Overley

The federal judiciary's top administrator voiced "serious and urgent concerns" Tuesday regarding threats of retribution against judges, a warning that coincided with a judicial gathering where Democrats discussed security fears and controversial U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

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Prosecutor Resigns, Judge Shows Slide Deck On AI Errors

By Abigail Harrison

A federal prosecutor told a North Carolina federal court Tuesday that he was separating from the office after admitting in open court to using artificial intelligence to help draft a response brief, what he called "the worst decision I've ever made in my 30-year career."

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Calif. Atty Gets Over 11 Years For Solar $1B Ponzi Scheme

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge has sentenced a corporate attorney to 11 years and five months behind bars after he pled guilty to nearly two dozen charges for his role in DC Solar's $912 million Ponzi scheme, which duped major investors including Berkshire Hathaway, Progressive and SunTrust Equipment Finance & Leasing.

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Ex-Moses & Singer Partner Admits Tax Crimes, Will Pay $2.8M

By Aaron Keller

A former Moses & Singer LLP partner admitted to practice in New York and North Carolina courts has pled guilty to three counts of failing to file personal income tax returns and will pay $2.8 million in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced Monday.

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Judiciary Approves Supreme Court Public Defender Office

By Katie Buehler

The federal judiciary approved a new office Tuesday aimed at improving the quality of representation for indigent defendants with cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. 

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Judge Fumes As Live Nation Antitrust Trial Remains In Limbo

By Stewart Bishop

The status of Live Nation Entertainment's antitrust trial and proposed settlement over federal and state government claims of anticompetitive conduct remained up in the air Tuesday amid pushback by several states, while the Manhattan federal judge overseeing the case upbraided the parties for keeping him out of the loop about negotiations.

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DOJ Unveils Superseding Policy For Corporate Criminal Cases

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday released its first-ever, department-wide, corporate enforcement policy for criminal matters, outlining how it will decline to prosecute companies that voluntarily disclose misconduct, cooperate with investigators and remediate wrongdoing.

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DLA Piper Can't Rep Itself At Bias Trial, Fired Atty Says

By Pete Brush

DLA Piper should not be permitted to represent itself at trial in a pregnancy discrimination case brought by a senior associate who was fired in 2022, lawyers for the plaintiff told a Manhattan federal judge.

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Judge Nixed Over MAGA Op-Ed Seeks Reinstatement

By Emily Sawicki

A retired Illinois state trial court judge pursuing First Amendment claims against the state Supreme Court after his right-wing opinion column resulted in his removal from a temporary judgeship has moved for immediate reinstatement to the Cook County Circuit Court.

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Wisconsin Judges Decline To Extend Interim US Atty's Term

By Courtney Bublé

A majority of judges in the Eastern District of Wisconsin have declined to extend the tenure of interim U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel, according to an announcement Tuesday.

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J&J Opposes Beasley Allen Reinstatement Bid In NJ Talc Fight

By Emily Sawicki

Johnson & Johnson is urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to not take the "extraordinary step" of intervening in an appellate panel ruling that disqualified Beasley Allen from representing hundreds of women in product liability litigation against the pharmaceutical giant after the Georgia-based firm "knowingly collaborated" with a former Johnson & Johnson outside counsel.

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