Public Policy

November 18, 2025
Severe SC Abortion Bill Falters in Committee

A South Carolina bill that would have further criminalized abortion and subjected patients and doctors to up to 30 years in prison failed to advance out of a Senate committee on Tuesday, with antiabortion committee members raising concerns that the bill went too far.
November 18, 2025
Groups Seek More Time To Comment On SEC's RMBS Plan

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association is among those calling for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to grant more time to provide feedback on a plan that could change how the agency regulates residential mortgage-backed securities, citing the recent government shutdown as a reason for extending the deadline.
November 18, 2025
Flagstar Urges 9th Circ. Redo For Escrow Interest Ruling

Flagstar Bank pushed the entire Ninth Circuit to reconsider its prior ruling in a putative class action that accused the bank of violating a California law that requires banks to make interest payments for escrow accounts connected to certain types of residential mortgage loans, arguing that the court deciding that the state law is not preempted by the National Bank Act clashes with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in a similar case.
November 18, 2025
6th Circ. Revives Deadly Force Suit Against Mich. Police

A divided Sixth Circuit panel found Tuesday that a pair of Lansing, Michigan, police officers are not entitled to qualified immunity for shooting and killing a man outside his home, reviving an excessive force claim against the officers.
November 18, 2025
NJ Justices Asked How 'Beneficial Use' Should Affect Zoning

A Garden State town urged the New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday to provide a blueprint for how municipal zoning boards should evaluate variance applications under a nearly three-decade-old amendment to the state's land use law, arguing that a lower court did not give the update proper consideration when it overturned the town's denial of a senior living facility.
November 18, 2025
OCC Clears Banks To Hold Crypto For Blockchain Fees

Banks may hold digital assets required to pay crypto transaction fees and test new crypto platforms, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency confirmed in a Tuesday interpretive letter.
November 18, 2025
Court Says Keeping Tribe's Suit Alive Respects Federal Law

An Oklahoma city can't dodge a jurisdictional challenge by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, a federal judge determined Tuesday, saying, "The boundary between state authority and tribal sovereignty in Indian Country was marked long before the dispute arose, and nothing in the record suggests Congress has moved it."
November 18, 2025
Feds Tell DC Circ. Congress OK'd Quick Removal Of Parolees

The Trump administration urged the D.C. Circuit to undo a federal judge's order placing limits on expedited removals, arguing that its hands are being tied in lawful efforts to deport noncitizens who were paroled into the country.
November 18, 2025
Asst. Gets New Try At Religious Bias Suit Over Wash. Vax Rule

A divided Washington state appeals court panel said Tuesday a lower court was wrong to dismiss a legal assistant's lawsuit accusing the Washington State Attorney General's Office of wrongfully refusing her request for a religious accommodation to the state's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, reopening the suit.
November 18, 2025
Noem Says US Security Behind Job Denial, Not Religious Tea

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem countered a job applicant's lawsuit alleging religious discrimination, telling a Florida federal court that the judiciary system lacks the authority to scrutinize the department's national security decisions.
November 18, 2025
Trump Can't Revive $475M Libel Suit Against CNN At 11th Circ.

The Eleventh Circuit upheld a ruling Tuesday tossing President Donald Trump's $475 million lawsuit alleging CNN defamed him by repeatedly calling Trump's 2020 presidential election fraud claims a "Big Lie," agreeing with the lower court that Trump failed to adequately allege CNN's "subjective" statements about Trump's conduct were false.
November 18, 2025
Texas Redistricting Blocked Over Racial Gerrymandering

A Texas federal judge on Tuesday struck down Texas' newly redrawn congressional map, ruling that the state likely engaged in unconstitutional racial gerrymandering and ordering the state to revert to its 2021 map for next year's midterm elections.
November 18, 2025
9th Circ. Doubts Suit Over Seattle's Response To BLM Protest

The Ninth Circuit appeared skeptical Tuesday about reviving claims that the city of Seattle violated the constitutional rights of two businesses by abandoning several city blocks during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, with one judge questioning whether city officials put them in a "more dangerous situation" than others in the neighborhood.
November 18, 2025
FCC's Carr Backing Universal Service Reform After Court Win

Federal Communications Commission chief Brendan Carr told rural network providers Tuesday that he's working closely with lawmakers on long-term fixes for the Universal Service Fund, which supports connectivity across the country.
November 18, 2025
States Can Intervene Over DOJ's HPE Merger Deal

A California federal court granted a request on Tuesday from state enforcers asking to participate in a review of the U.S. Department of Justice's controversial settlement allowing Hewlett Packard Enterprise to move ahead with its $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks.
November 18, 2025
Senate Dem Slams FCC's Carr Over Cybersecurity Plan

A top Senate Democrat on telecom issues blasted Brendan Carr, head of the Federal Communications Commission, on Tuesday for seeking to roll back an FCC cybersecurity ruling issued late in the Biden administration responding to the Salt Typhoon cyberattack.
November 18, 2025
Polaris Hits Back At 'Settled Expectations' Fed. Circ. Fight

Polaris PowerLED says Sandisk Technologies Inc.'s Federal Circuit challenge to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's denial of patent reviews based on a patent owner's "settled expectations" is not any different from similar cases that have been rejected by the circuit court.
November 18, 2025
4th Circ. Restores Trade Secrets Suit Against Insurance Execs

The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday revived insurer Sherbrooke Corp.'s claims of trade secrets theft against three former executives, disagreeing with a district judge who found that the company had not made enough of an effort to guard the software in question.
November 18, 2025
USPTO Petitioners Can Detail How They Found Prior Art

The head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has told all users of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that there will be a new option for patent challengers to explain how they found prior art they allege renders a patent invalid.
November 18, 2025
Ill. Justices Mull If Permits Override Pollution Exclusions

Counsel for a sterilization company and its former parent seeking defense costs for hundreds of lawsuits over ethylene oxide emissions at a suburban Chicago facility urged the Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday to find a pollution exclusion in their insurance policy doesn't apply to emissions allowed under a state permit, insisting the policyholders are not polluters under Illinois law or "in the general sense of the word."
November 18, 2025
Lower Costs No Cause For VA To Shirk Trade Act, Judge Says

A federal judge said the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs can't use the lower cost of drugs from countries not designated under the Trade Agreements Act to reject the higher prices of companies that propose to source them from compliant countries.
November 18, 2025
Judge Details Reasons For Goldstein's Pretrial Motion Losses

A Maryland federal judge explained in further detail Tuesday her decision against SCOTUSblog co-founder Tom Goldstein on several motions seeking to trim his tax evasion case as it heads to trial next year.
November 18, 2025
NY AG James Blasts 'Outrageous Conduct' Behind Indictment

New York Attorney General Letitia A. James has told a Virginia federal court to dismiss the U.S. government's indictment of her, calling it "patently unconstitutional" and "outrageous conduct."
November 18, 2025
Federal Watchdog Funds Released After Bipartisan Pushback

The independent agency for federal watchdogs has been brought back to life with the White House budget office restoring its funding.
November 18, 2025
NPR Wins $36M Grant As CPB Backs Off Plan To Cut Funds

National Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting have reached a settlement to keep nearly $36 million in public radio satellite interconnection funds with NPR, as CPB agreed not to implement an executive order requiring it to cut off NPR funding unless ordered to do so by a court.

Editor's Picks

Trump's Legal Battles

States, federal employee unions, various advocacy groups and several individuals have filed over 220 lawsuits challenging the Trump administration's implementation of executive orders and other initiatives. Law360 has created a database of those lawsuits, separated into categories based on their subject matter.

Expert Analysis

Surveying The Healthcare Policy Landscape Post-Shutdown

With last week's agreement to reopen the federal government, at least through the end of January, key healthcare legislation that has been in limbo since a December 2024 spending bill fell apart may recapture the attention of Congress, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
Litigation Funding Could Create Ethics Issues For Attorneys

A litigation investor’s recent complaint claiming a New York mass torts lawyer effectively ran a Ponzi scheme illustrates how litigation funding arrangements can subject attorneys to legal ethics dilemmas and potential liability, so engagement letters must have very clear terms, says Matthew Feinberg at Goldberg Segalla.
Ill. State Farm Suit Tests State Insurance Data Demand Limits

The Illinois Department of Insurance's recently filed suit against State Farm, seeking nationwide data on its homeowners insurance, raises important issues as to the breadth, and possible overreach, of a state's regulatory authority, says Stephanie Pierce at Kutak Rock.
How New FinCEN FAQs Simplify Suspicious Activity Reporting

New guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and federal banking agencies that gives financial institutions more flexibility in meeting suspicious activity reporting obligations indicates the administration is following through on its promise to streamline the U.S. anti-money laundering regime, say attorneys at Davis Polk.
What Shutdown's End Means For Worker Safety Enforcement

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Mine Safety and Health Administration may emerge from the government shutdown struggling to juggle complaint backlogs, litigation delays and newly enacted policies with a reduced and demoralized workforce, so employers should stay alert, say attorneys at Conn Maciel.
SEC's Dual Share Class Approval Signals New Era For ETFs

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent approval of the dual share class structure marks a landmark moment for the U.S. fund industry, opening the door for asset managers to benefit from combining mutual fund and exchange-traded fund share classes under a single portfolio, say Ilan Guedj at Bates White and Brian Henderson at George Washington University.
Calif. Species Protections Will Increase Compliance Burdens

California's recently enacted A.B. 1319 automatically protects species when the federal government rolls back its own protections — which could mean an onslaught of state-level compliance mandates for the regulated community that come with no advance notice or public hearings, says attorney David Smith.
E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Dynamic Databases

Several recent federal court decisions illustrate how parties continue to grapple with the discovery of data in dynamic databases, so counsel involved in these disputes must consider how structured data should be produced consistent with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, say attorneys at Sidley.
Assessing The SEC's Changing Approach To NFT Regulation

Early U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission actions on nonfungible tokens pushed for broad regulation, but subsequent court decisions — including a recent California federal court ruling in Adonis Real v. Yuga Labs — and SEC commissioners' statements have narrowed the regulatory focus toward a more fact-specific approach, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.
Comey Case Highlights Complex Speedy Trial Rights Calculus

Former FBI Director James Comey’s decision to waive his Speedy Trial Act rights in the false statement prosecution against him serves as a reminder that the benefits of invoking these rights are usually outweighed by the risks of inadequate preparation, but it can be an effective strategy in the right case, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
Breaking Down Article 12 Of The Uniform Commercial Code

Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have enacted Article 12 of the Uniform Commercial Code, providing the alternative to perfection by control of assets like cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens, but before accepting these assets as collateral, lenders and creditors should consider how to best maintain priority, say attorneys at Miller Nash.
Why Foreign Cos. Should Prep For Increased SEC Oversight

With the recent trading suspensions of 10 foreign-based issuers listed on the Nasdaq, an enforcement action against a U.K. security-based swap dealer and the announcement of a cross-border task force, it's clear that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will expand oversight on foreign companies participating in the U.S. capital markets, says Tejal Shah at Cooley.
How Litigating Antitrust Fix Helped GTCR Prevail In Court

An Illinois federal judge's recent denial of the Federal Trade Commission's injunction request in the GTCR acquisition of Surmodics joins a developing series of cases in which deal parties have prevailed against government antitrust challenges by proposing a post-complaint fix and litigating the as-amended deal, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.
What Narrower FinCEN Reporting Spells For Industry

As compliance costs soar, the potential slimming down of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime is welcome news for banks, and would allow a shift in resources to ever-evolving cybercrime threats, say attorneys at Quarles & Brady.
Revisiting Jury Trial Right May Upend State Regulatory Power

Justice Neil Gorsuch’s recent use of a denial of certiorari to call for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the Seventh Amendment jury trial right extends to states, building off last year's Jarkesy ruling, could foretell a profound change in state regulators' ability to enforce penalties against regulated companies, say attorneys at Sidley.