Public Policy

  • September 05, 2025

    Ga. Ban On Trans Prisoner Healthcare Paused, Class Certified

    A Georgia federal judge has reached what he described as a "straightforward" decision to temporarily pause the state's law banning the use of state resources for hormone replacement therapies for transgender state prisoners, and is considering granting the plaintiffs' request for permanent injunctive relief.

  • September 05, 2025

    Mo. House Resolution Seeks Vote On Narrowed Property Tax

    Missouri would ask voters to decide if the state should amend its constitution to designate real property as the only property classified for property tax purposes under a joint resolution filed in the state House of Representatives and submitted to a special legislative committee Friday.

  • September 05, 2025

    Ore. Court Finds Claim For Tax Sale Proceeds Untimely

    An Oregon county violated the U.S. Constitution when it retained the surplus proceeds of a tax sale, a state appeals court ruled, but the property owner's claim for the funds was untimely and a lower court was correct to dismiss it.

  • September 05, 2025

    Court-Ordered Programs Are Gov't Speech, 11th Circ. Says

    The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday affirmed a lower court's finding that Florida court-ordered batterers' intervention programs are government speech, upholding a win for the state over a Christian minister and counselor contesting the rejection of his Bible-based program.

  • September 05, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Irrigation Exemption For Calif. Water Project

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday rejected fishing industry groups' demand that the federal government require a Clean Water Act permit for a California agricultural water runoff project that's been operating without one for decades.

  • September 05, 2025

    Brown Univ. Prof Says Top Court Ruling Bolsters Habeas Bid

    A Lebanese nephrologist who teaches at Brown University under an H-1B visa argued last week that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling this summer in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, a case focusing on whether members of a U.S. government task force were constitutionally appointed, bolsters her argument that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who deported her lacked the authority to do so.

  • September 05, 2025

    NC Court Rejects ParkMobile's Bid To Escape Slander Case

    ParkMobile LLC lost its bid Thursday to dodge a slander lawsuit in which the city of Asheville claimed the company misrepresented that the two were affiliated, after a three-judge panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals dismissed ParkMobile's appeal.

  • September 05, 2025

    NC Elections Board Settles DOJ Suit Over Missing Voter Info

    North Carolina election officials have agreed to update the state's voter registration database to end a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit alleging they flouted federal regulations by failing to collect driver's license or Social Security numbers when registering voters.

  • September 05, 2025

    Judicial Nominee Expands On Testimony About Ky. Pardons

    A judicial nominee for the Eastern District of Kentucky continues to distance himself from the controversial pardons issued by former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, for whom he was counsel.

  • September 05, 2025

    FCC Chief Wants To Let Prisons Jam Contraband Cellphones

    The Federal Communications Commission plans to vote this month on a plan to allow state and local prisons to jam the signals of contraband cellphones obtained by prisoners.

  • September 05, 2025

    Mass. Justices Mull Privacy Issues In Era Of Online Records

    Massachusetts' highest court heard arguments Friday in a pair of cases asking the justices to balance the public's right to access court documents against the privacy interests of potential medical malpractice victims and people charged with but later cleared of crimes.

  • September 05, 2025

    Judges Warn ICE Is Turning Courts Into Deportation Traps

    As Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers violently arrest unauthorized immigrants in court buildings' hallways, former and current judges warn that the Trump administration is using courts as a dragnet, arresting people indiscriminately and expelling them with little to no due process in a bid to fulfill President Donald Trump’s goal of mass deportations.

  • September 05, 2025

    Court Denies Vape Interests' Bid To Halt Wisconsin E-Cig Law

    A Wisconsin federal judge on Friday rejected vaping interests' motion to halt enforcement of a new state law banning the sale of e-cigarettes not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, saying they were unlikely to succeed on claims the law was preempted.

  • September 05, 2025

    Ex-Mass. Trial Court Chief Justice Tapped As DA Integrity Chief

    A longtime Massachusetts superior court judge and retired chief justice of the state's trial court has been named chief of the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Integrity Review Bureau, tasked with investigating and reviewing potential wrongful convictions by the Boston-area district attorney's office.

  • September 05, 2025

    475 Detained In Immigration Raid At Georgia Hyundai Plant

    U.S. immigration authorities detained 475 people during a raid on a Hyundai manufacturing site in Georgia, a Homeland Security official said at a news conference on Friday.

  • September 05, 2025

    Trump Nominates 3 To Be DC Superior Court Judges

    President Donald Trump has nominated three people to serve on the District of Columbia's local courts, bringing the district one step closer to easing its vacancy crisis.

  • September 05, 2025

    DHS Lets Immigration Officers Make Arrests, Carry Guns

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services finalized a regulation Friday to expand the agency's law enforcement authority by allowing its officers to carry guns, execute warrants and carry out arrests related to the investigation and enforcement of civil and criminal immigration violations.

  • September 05, 2025

    Tribal Groups Urge Justices To Address Religious Violations

    Three Native American advocacy groups are backing a former Louisiana prisoner's U.S. Supreme Court petition for damages after guards forcibly shaved his head, arguing that the case presents issues vital to Indigenous cultural survival.

  • September 05, 2025

    EU Fines Google $3.5B For Giving Leg Up To Co.'s Ad Tech

    European Union antitrust enforcers hit Google with a €2.95 billion ($3.5 billion) fine Friday for the same conduct targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice's successful monopoly case, intentional efforts to give its advertising placement technology business a leg up over the competition.

  • September 05, 2025

    DC Circ. Revives Emergency Defense Rule For Air Polluters

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday restored air pollution-emitting facilities' right to defend themselves against alleged violations of the Clean Air Act by blaming emergency circumstances, finding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's attempt to ban the practice was unlawful.

  • September 05, 2025

    Ørsted Investors Back $9.4B Rights Issue After US Order

    Ørsted AS said Friday that its shareholders have thrown their weight behind a 60 billion Danish kroner ($9.4 billion) rights issue, amid a legal battle against an order from the Trump administration to stop work on an offshore wind farm.

  • September 04, 2025

    Feds Seek Stay On Court Order Releasing Foreign Aid Billions

    The Trump administration urged the D.C. Circuit on Thursday to stay a federal judge's order that it release billions in frozen foreign aid pending its appeal, saying the disbursement will likely be "impossible" to recover according to the international aid organization plaintiffs' "own description of their financial condition."

  • September 04, 2025

    18 States Fight Trump Admin's Bid To End Haitian Protections

    A coalition of 18 states led by Massachusetts, California and New York has thrown its weight behind immigrants challenging the Trump administration's effort to remove temporary protected status for more than 250,000 Haitians in D.C. federal court, arguing TPS-eligible Haitians contribute $4.4 billion annually to the U.S. economy.

  • September 04, 2025

    11th Circ. Says 'Alligator Alcatraz' Can Stay Open For Now

    A split Eleventh Circuit Thursday paused a Florida federal judge's order that preliminarily ordered the federal government to begin winding down the immigration detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," saying the government likely didn't need to prepare an environmental impact report for the facility built on the Florida Everglades.

  • September 04, 2025

    Trump's DOJ Sets Sights On Boston's Sanctuary City Status

    The U.S. Department of Justice Thursday sued the city of Boston, its mayor, police commissioner and police department over the city's sanctuary laws, claiming that the city is illegally impeding the federal government from enforcing immigration laws.

Expert Analysis

  • How McKesson Ruling Will Inform Interpretations Of The TCPA

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, we can expect to see both plaintiffs and defendants utilizing the decision to revisit the Federal Communications Commission's past Telephone Consumer Protection Act interpretations and decisions they did not like, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

  • A Look At Florida's New Protected Series LLC Legislation

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    A new law in Florida enhances the flexibility of using limited liability companies as the entities of choice for most privately held businesses, moving Florida into a small group of states with reliable uniform protected series legislation for series LLCs, says Louis Conti at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The second quarter saw California become a more active protector of consumers in response to federal regulatory pullback, with regulators proposing a licensing framework for digital asset businesses, ending an enforcement exemption and otherwise signaling further expansions of oversight and enforcement, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

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    Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    New USPTO Leadership Must Address Low-Quality Patents

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    With John Squires in line to become the new director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the agency has an opportunity to refocus its mission on prioritizing quality in patent examination and taking a harsher stance against low-quality patents and patent trolls, says Jill Crosby at Engine Advocacy & Foundation.

  • Harmonized Int'l Framework May Boost Advanced Aircraft

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    International differences in the certification process for advanced air mobility aircraft make the current framework insufficient — but U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy's recent announcement of a standards harmonization effort may help promote these innovative aviation technologies, while maintaining safety, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Capital One Deal Approval Lights Up Path For Bank M&A

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    The federal banking regulators' recent approval of Capital One's acquisition of Discover signals the agencies' willingness to approve large transactions and a more favorable environment generally for bank mergers under the Trump administration, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Bills' Defeat Means Brighter Outlook For Texas Renewables

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    The failure of a trio of bills from the recently concluded Texas legislative session that would have imposed new burdens on wind, solar and battery storage projects bodes well for a state with rapidly growing energy needs, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Examining TCPA Jurisprudence A Year After Loper Bright

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    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, lower court decisions demonstrate that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act will continue to evolve as long-standing interpretations of the act are analyzed with a fresh lens, says Aaron Gallardo at Kilpatrick.

  • Opinion

    State Bars Must Probe Misconduct Claims, Even If It's The AG

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    The Florida Bar’s recent refusal to look into misconduct allegations against Attorney General Pam Bondi is dangerous for the rule of law, and other lawyer disciplinary bodies must be prepared to investigate credible claims of ethical lapses against any lawyer, no matter their position, say attorneys James Kobak and Albert Feuer.

  • New FCPA Guidance Creates 5 Compliance Imperatives

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    In light of new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines that mark a fundamental shift in enforcement priorities, companies should consider several specific steps to ensure compliance, from enhanced due diligence to robust whistleblower protections, says Andrew Wirmani at Reese Marketos.

  • How Justices' Ruling Limits Options To Challenge DHS Orders

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    In Riley v. Bondi, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a 30-day deadline for challenging deportation orders begins when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, opening the door for the government to effectively bar circuit court review in future similar cases, says Kevin Gregg at Kurzban Kurzban.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • Employer Tips As Deepfakes Reshape Workplace Harassment

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    As the workplace harassment landscape faces the rising threat of fabricated media that hyperrealistically depict employees in sexual or malicious contexts, employers can stay ahead of the curve by tracking new legal obligations, and proactively updating policies, training and response protocols, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Series

    NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    In the second quarter of the year, New York utilized every available tool to fill gaps left by federal retrenchment from consumer finance issues, including sweeping updates to its consumer protection framework and notable amendments to cybersecurity rules, say attorneys at Steptoe.

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