Public Policy

  • May 13, 2026

    Mich. Panel Revives FOIA Suit, Finds Defense Frivolous

    A Michigan appellate panel partly revived a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against a Detroit-area prosecutor's office, ruling that the office failed to adequately justify withholding records related to threats against the prosecutor and her staff, while also finding that one of its legal defenses was frivolous and sanctionable. 

  • May 13, 2026

    Feds' Sanctuary City Suit Against Boston Scrutinized

    A Massachusetts federal judge appeared poised Wednesday to throw out a Trump administration lawsuit against the city of Boston over its "sanctuary city" policy limiting cooperation with federal immigration agents.

  • May 13, 2026

    Conn. PFAS Plaintiffs Deny Forum Shopping In Montana Suit

    The City of Stamford and a local fire district are pushing back against a bid by 3M and others to sanction them for moving their claims from Connecticut to Montana, saying the sanctions bid misrepresents the facts and circumstances motivating them to join the litigation.

  • May 13, 2026

    Israel, Diplomat Hit With Suit Alleging Damage To Ga. Home

    The state of Israel and an Israeli diplomat owe a property owner thousands of dollars over homeowners association violations, lease breaches and damage done to his Atlanta home when it was leased for the diplomat and her family to live in, according to a suit filed Wednesday in Georgia federal court.

  • May 13, 2026

    10th Circ. Doubts Bid To Undo Colo. Land Swap

    A Tenth Circuit panel appeared unsure that an appraisal of a land exchange between the federal government and a private landowner must be publicly disclosed under federal law, despite claims to the contrary from an attorney representing Colorado Wild Public Lands at oral argument Wednesday.

  • May 13, 2026

    Native Activist Urges Justices To Uphold Assault Ruling

    An Indigenous activist is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a federal government petition that looks to overturn a Tenth Circuit decision that said he can't be convicted of simple assault under the Major Crimes Act, telling the justices that the government's "bizarre" arguments flout the law's plain text.

  • May 13, 2026

    Lawmakers Float Allowing Charitable Gifts From 401(k) Plans

    A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a bill that would allow workers to make tax-free charitable donations directly from their employer-sponsored retirement plans, building on a section of the retirement policy overhaul known as Secure 2.0.

  • May 13, 2026

    Calif. Gas Station Leak Suit Came Too Late, Judge Says

    A California federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Tesoro Companies of failing to handle carcinogenic exposure from a gas station, saying the claims were brought too late.

  • May 13, 2026

    Creek High Court Ends Freedmen Citizenship Contempt Bid

    The (Muscogee) Creek Supreme Court won't hold the tribe's citizenship board or executive branch in contempt over an order that gives citizenship to those once enslaved by the Indigenous nation, saying the governmental entities have shown that they're taking steps to comply with the directive, albeit slowly.

  • May 13, 2026

    Mass. Audit Fight Not Over As AG Is Ripped For Comments

    Massachusetts' auditor said Wednesday that she may file more litigation over her ongoing bid to audit the state legislature, sharply pushing back on statements by the state attorney general that suggested any review would be cabined.

  • May 13, 2026

    Bipartisan Bill Would Require ICE Training On Tribal IDs

    A bipartisan bill aims to improve how immigration officials interact with Native Americans following reports that members of Indigenous communities are getting swept up in immigration raids and of officers not accepting their Tribal IDs despite them being U.S. citizens. 

  • May 13, 2026

    Mass. Justices OK Lotto License Denial Over 'Moral Character'

    Massachusetts' highest court on Wednesday reinstated a decision by state regulators to deny a lottery license to the owner of several convenience and liquor stores based on a finding that he lacked "good moral character" despite being acquitted on rape charges.

  • May 13, 2026

    DOJ Fraud Division Set To Shake Up White-Collar Enforcement

    President Donald Trump's administration created the U.S. Department of Justice's National Fraud Enforcement Division with a narrow focus on combating government program fraud, but a move to retain federal prosecutors focused on other types of fraud could signal a wider scope with potential ripple effects across white-collar enforcement.

  • May 13, 2026

    Atkore's $136M Deals In PVC Pipe Antitrust Row Get Initial OK

    An Illinois federal judge Wednesday granted preliminary approval to two settlements totaling over $136 million that Atkore Inc. has agreed to pay to resolve allegations it conspired with other polyvinyl chloride pipe producers to fix prices.

  • May 13, 2026

    Union, Federal Workers Sue USDA Over Religious Messaging

    The National Federation of Federal Employees and a group of federal workers are accusing the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture of unlawfully imposing her religious views on a "captive audience" of agency employees through agency emails, according to a lawsuit filed in California federal court Wednesday.

  • May 13, 2026

    Legalizing Pot Leads To Fewer Arrests, Report Says

    The pro-legalization advocacy organization Marijuana Policy Project recently made public a report culling data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's crime data explorer showing that states with legalized cannabis have seen dramatic decreases in marijuana-related arrests.

  • May 13, 2026

    6th Circ. Presses DOJ On Bid For Mich. Unredacted Voter List

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Wednesday questioned if a civil rights statute requires Michigan to turn over an unredacted statewide voter registration list to the U.S. Department of Justice, focusing on whether the law covers a modern, continuously updated voter database. 

  • May 13, 2026

    Prosecutor's Office Must Face Suit Over Lost Vacation Time

    A New Jersey appellate panel revived a lawsuit from a Sussex County Prosecutor's Office chief detective over deleted vacation days, finding factual disputes barred summary judgment after he said he canceled time off during a transition to a new county prosecutor based on assurances the leave could be carried over.

  • May 13, 2026

    NJ Cannabis Regulator Tapped To Head Alcohol Control Unit

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has nominated the head of compliance at the state Cannabis Review Commission with a decade of public service experience to lead the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

  • May 13, 2026

    Trump 1st-Term Tariff Hikes On China Legal, Feds Tell Justices

    President Donald Trump's first administration was well within its legal authority to increase tariffs on Chinese goods under a law utilized to address unfair trading practices, and the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't need to consider a challenge to those measures, the government told the justices.

  • May 13, 2026

    FCC Ramps Up Focus On Cybersecurity In Telecom Biz

    The Federal Communications Commission will kick off a pair of public workshops this week aiming to find ways to elevate cybersecurity in the telecom space.

  • May 13, 2026

    Provider Says NY Is On The Hook For $3.3M Medicaid Shortfall

    The New York State Department of Health's refusal to enforce payment obligations by Medicaid managed care organizations has cost a Queens-based safety net provider at least $3.3 million in underpayments for behavioral health services, according to a suit filed in New York federal court.

  • May 13, 2026

    6th Circ. Says Kentucky Judicial Hopefuls May Tout Ideology

    Kentucky judicial hopefuls are cleared to discuss their political leanings on the campaign trail, according to a precedential ruling by the Sixth Circuit, which permanently enjoined the state's Judicial Conduct Commission from pursuing an enforcement action against two candidates who described themselves as "conservatives" and "Republicans" amid the 2022 election season.

  • May 13, 2026

    Canada Allocating Over $3.4M To Firms Hit By US Tariffs

    The Canadian government has announced a total of over CA$4.7 million ($3.4 million) in grants to support small or medium-size aluminum businesses this week to help the companies cope with U.S. tariffs, including nearly CA$2.1 million in funding Wednesday.

  • May 13, 2026

    Warsh Confirmed As Trump's Next Federal Reserve Chair

    The U.S. Senate signed off Wednesday on the White House's choice of Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, capping off a monthslong process that became entangled in the Trump administration's push to criminally investigate outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Expert Analysis

  • A Core Weakness In The Challenge To Birthright Citizenship

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    The government’s recent oral arguments against birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara would have the Supreme Court use modern immigration classifications as markers for a constitutional boundary that is not expressed in the Fourteenth Amendment, making the theory easier to administer but weaker as a matter of text and history, says attorney Tara Kennedy.

  • Bet On Prediction Market Regulation To Accelerate

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    Watershed developments concerning prediction markets — such as the first insider trading charges, major speeches from U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission leadership, and the introduction of rulemaking and legislation — dominated the first quarter of 2026, a trend that will likely continue throughout the rest of the year, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Opinion

    Financial Meltdown Fears Don't Warrant Private Credit Regs

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    Recent withdrawals from business development companies have resurfaced theories that private credit growth poses a crisis-level risk to the financial system, but arguments that more regulation is needed should be viewed with beady and careful eyes, says James Deeken at Akin.

  • New Risks Emerge As States Push Proxy Voting Legislation

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    Recent state proxy voting laws have increasingly emphasized financial returns while intensifying scrutiny of proxy advisory firms and stewardship practices, creating new compliance challenges and risks, according to attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Suit's Dismissal Would Not Settle Gold Card Visa's Legality

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    The government’s recent assertion that the plaintiffs in American Association of University Professors v. Department of Homeland Security lack standing to challenge the Trump administration’s pay-to-play immigration program does not address whether an agency can deem a million-dollar gift evidence of eligibility for immigration benefits carefully defined by Congress, says Jun Li at Reid & Wise.

  • Enviro Ruling And A New Law Signal Shift In La. Legacy Cases

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    Together, a Louisiana state court decision in WMH Farms v. Apache Corp. and an incoming statutory regime signal a sea change for legacy litigation in Louisiana, as courts make it harder to establish proof of contamination, and lawmakers narrow available remedies once contamination is proven, says Philip Wood at Jones Walker.

  • DOJ's Stance On Antitrust And Patent Law Reflects Balance

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    Recent statements of interest in patent litigation and a speech from a key U.S. Department of Justice official communicate the view that strong patent rights and competition policy are complementary, and offer important guidance for intellectual property practitioners and businesses navigating patent enforcement, standard‑setting and licensing, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Ruling Shows How Texas Law Altered Derivative Suit Outlook

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    In the first test of S.B. 29's new ownership threshold requirement for shareholder actions, a Texas federal court recently dismissed Gusinsky v. Reynolds, a derivative action brought by a minority Southwest Airlines shareholder, offering key guidance for navigating the new Texas corporate litigation landscape, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

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    The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

  • NY Opioid Antagonist Mandate Leaves Employers Guessing

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    A recently enacted New York law will require employers that are federally mandated to maintain first-aid supplies to now include an opioid antagonist, but being that it is subject to a complicated Occupational Safety and Health Administration analysis, employers face several unanswered compliance questions, say attorneys at Conn Maciel.

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Repair USPTO's Inter Partes Review Process

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    To challenge recent changes to the inter partes review process issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Congress must establish clear statutory guardrails, transparency and meaningful judicial review so that questionable patents receive proper scrutiny, say Sean Tu at the University of Alabama, Arti Rai at Duke University and Aaron Kesselheim at Harvard.

  • Calif. Case Raises Questions For Medical Practice Investors

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    The California attorney general's amicus brief in Art Center v. WCE and the California Medical Association's response highlight how the California appeals court's ruling could significantly affect the structure and enforceability of succession arrangements in medical practice ownership, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Previewing FDA Preapproval Access In Psychedelics EO

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    The second of two pathways for psychedelic drug access outlined in President Donald Trump's recent executive order constitutes an unprecedented expansion of the Right to Try Act, which could fundamentally alter the psychedelic access landscape while presenting significant regulatory, operational and legal challenges, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • How Data Center Accounting May Draw Enforcement Scrutiny

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    As public and media scrutiny of the data center industry intensifies, regulators, enforcement authorities and Congress will likely focus on accounting judgments that rely on aggressive assumptions, opaque financing structures or rapidly evolving collateral classes, heightening the risk of investigations and inquiries, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • NY's Growing Enviro Reg Framework Will Transform Projects

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    Three closely connected environmental rulemakings in New York state — concerning greenhouse gas reporting, remediation standards and amendments to the State Environmental Quality Review Act — have reached critical stages, and taken together, they will have major impacts on business operations, construction project timelines and transactional risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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