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Public Policy
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August 01, 2025
NC Man Warns Justices Of 'Odor Alone' Pot-Search Dangers
A North Carolina man who pled guilty to firearms charges after police found a weapon in his vehicle after smelling cannabis is urging the state's Supreme Court to find that the odor alone is not enough to establish probable cause, saying the current state of the law means anyone carrying state-legal hemp effectively gives up their Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable searches.
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August 01, 2025
IP Owners Largely Win In Stewart's Newest Discretion Orders
Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart dismissed most of the 50 petitions for inter partes review addressed in her latest decisions over discretionary denials at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
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August 01, 2025
NJ Court Will Mull Legality Of Habba's US Atty Appointment
If Alina Habba was illegally appointed acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey, a pair of defendants in a drug trafficking case are not entitled to dismissal of the indictment, but it "appears appropriate" that Habba would be barred from prosecuting them, a federal judge ruled Friday.
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August 01, 2025
Right-Wing Duo Cop To Robocall Voter Suppression Charges
Two Virginia-based right-wing activists accepted a plea on felony charges on Friday for leading a misinformation robocall campaign that discouraged Black voters from voting by mail in the 2020 election, the Michigan attorney general's office announced.
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August 01, 2025
DC Circ. Upholds FERC's Limited Review Of Texas Pipeline
The D.C. Circuit on Friday backed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision to limit its review of a Texas pipeline to a 1,000-foot section near the U.S.-Mexico border, saying the agency had reasonably explained why a broader review wasn't required.
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August 01, 2025
USPTO Tightens Rules On Patent Challengers' Arguments
Patent challengers at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board will no longer be able to skirt a requirement that they must identify where all the elements of the patent are found in prior art patents or printed publications, according to a notice from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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August 01, 2025
GOP Reps Eye Reforms To Landmark Bank Data Privacy Law
Republican lawmakers have kicked off a review that could lay the groundwork for new financial data privacy legislation, soliciting public input on whether and how to overhaul a law that governs financial institutions' handling of consumer financial records.
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August 01, 2025
Judge Suspends Expedited Removals Of Parolees
A D.C. federal judge on Friday paused the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's ability to subject noncitizens who were paroled into the country to expedited removal proceedings, finding that DHS' use of the practice on this population exceeded the agency's authority.
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August 01, 2025
Trade Deals And Tariff Delays Leave Some Details Unclear
President Donald Trump again delayed higher tariff rates that were set to take effect Friday, pushing their implementation another week as trade lawyers seek technical details associated with the latest announced framework trade deals, including how transshipped goods will be defined.
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August 01, 2025
AGs Sue Trump Over 'Onslaught Of Pressure' On Trans Care
The Trump administration has improperly "weaponized" federal laws against drug misbranding, false claims and female genital mutilation as part of a pressure campaign to undermine state protections for gender-affirming care, a coalition of state attorneys general argued in a new suit Friday.
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August 01, 2025
SEC To Explore Internal Use Of AI With New Task Force
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday that it plans to ramp up its internal use of artificial intelligence tools with a new task force led by a veteran staffer who's recently led the agency's fintech efforts.
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August 01, 2025
Calif. Tribe Can't Halt Tobacco Ruling Amid Ninth Circuit Fight
A California federal court won't order the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to remove the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians from a noncompliance list over the alleged sale of cigarettes to non-Native customers while the tribe appeals the decision to the Ninth Circuit.
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August 01, 2025
Del. Bankruptcy Judge Will Retain Ga. Dorm Operator's Ch. 11
A Delaware bankruptcy judge refused to move the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of dorm operator Corvias Campus Living-USG LLC to Georgia, entering an order Friday denying a bid by the University System of Georgia's board of regents to relocate the proceedings.
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August 01, 2025
7th Circ. Tosses Rehab's Zoning Row With Ind. Town
The Seventh Circuit affirmed an Indiana town's win on Friday in an Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act suit lodged by companies that wanted to convert a local nursing home into a rehab facility.
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August 01, 2025
En Banc 9th Circ. Backs LA Schools In Vax Mandate Fight
A majority en banc Ninth Circuit has affirmed a lower court's decision upholding Los Angeles Unified School District's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees, while two partially dissenting judges disagreed with the majority's conclusion that the policy passes constitutional muster.
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August 01, 2025
Village Ordinance Wrongly Bans Wind Farms, Ill. Panel Says
An Illinois state appellate court majority on Friday reversed a village's summary judgment win in a lawsuit targeting an ordinance purportedly setting wind power generation limits, saying the ordinance effectively bans commercial wind farms without statutory authority.
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August 01, 2025
Normal Wear Is On Landlord's Dime, Not Renters', Court Says
Massachusetts' highest court on Friday concluded that landlords cannot ding a tenant's security deposit for normal wear and tear like scuffs on walls, nor can they force a tenant to pay for professional cleanings during a moveout.
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August 01, 2025
States Urge High Court To Keep NIH Grant Funds Flowing
A coalition of 16 states pressed the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to reject the Trump administration's push to resume the mass termination of scientific research grants, saying a district judge had authority to pause the cuts.
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August 01, 2025
1st Circ. Doubtful Of Trump's Stance On Birthright Citizenship
The First Circuit on Friday seemed inclined to say that the children of unauthorized immigrants are citizens if they were born on U.S. soil, citing both the 14th Amendment and a subsequent U.S. Supreme Court ruling and pushing back on an argument by President Donald Trump's administration.
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August 01, 2025
4th Circ. Says Richmond PD Bias Claims Can't Sink Indictment
The Fourth Circuit on Friday restored a federal grand jury indictment against a driver who fled police in Richmond, Virginia, finding a district court overstepped in blaming purported racial bias by the Richmond Police Department for the otherwise justifiable traffic stop.
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August 01, 2025
Texas Judge Says States Can Pursue BlackRock Coal Suit
A Texas federal judge Friday gave Texas and other states the go-ahead to pursue claims that BlackRock Inc. and other asset managers used market muscle to decrease coal production, saying the states plausibly showed that the asset managers breached antitrust laws.
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August 01, 2025
Dems Want Probe Of DOJ's HPE-Juniper Settlement
A quartet of Senate Democrats called Friday for the U.S. Department of Justice's internal watchdog to look for "improper business and political considerations" in the settlement permitting Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks.
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August 01, 2025
Alaskan Tribe's Breach Claim Axed In Gold Mine Permit Fight
An Alaska judge threw out a breach of trust claim against the federal government and a mining company in a challenge to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decision to issue a permit for an open gold mine near the Yukon border.
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August 01, 2025
Senate Bill Would Ramp Up Oversight Of FCC Broadband Map
A bipartisan pair of lawmakers filed a bill to ensure the Federal Communications Commission keeps tabs on the accuracy of broadband maps used to pinpoint where funding is needed for high-speed internet service.
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August 01, 2025
US Defends Bulk Denial Of Worker Credits At 9th Circ.
An Arizona federal court was right to deny a request by tax services firms to stop the IRS from issuing batch denials of thousands of pandemic-era worker credit claims, the U.S. told the Ninth Circuit, defending the agency's system for handling problems administering the tax credit.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma
Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.
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What To Expect As UK, US Gov'ts Develop Stablecoin Policies
While the U.K. and U.S. governments’ policies both suggest that fiat-backed stablecoins can improve efficiency and safety in payments systems, a perception that crypto-assets remain high risk means consumers are unlikely to use them in significant volume anytime soon, say lawyers at Cadwalader.
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Series
Texas Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2
In the second quarter of 2025, the Texas Business Court's newly expanded jurisdiction set the stage for rising caseloads, while the state Legislature narrowed an exception to state bank control requirements and closed a cryptocurrency dividends payments loophole, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Lawsuit, Exec Orders Should Boost Small Modular Reactors
A lawsuit in Texas federal court and a set of new executive orders from the White House may finally push the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow for accelerated deployment of small modular reactors — a technology that could change the country's energy future, says Aleksey Shtivelman at Shutts & Bowen.
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Opinion
4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding
As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
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Congress Crypto Movement Could Bring CFTC 'Clarity' At Last
The Clarity Act's arrival at the House floor during "Crypto Week" in Congress demonstrates enduring bipartisan support for legislation addressing digital assets and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's important role in a future regulatory structure, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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What Employers Can Learn From Axed Mo. Sick Leave Law
Missouri's recent passage and brisk repeal of Proposition A, which would have created a paid sick time benefit for employees, serves as a case study for employers, highlighting the steps they can take to adapt as paid sick leave laws are increasingly debated across the country, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.
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Preparing For Trump Pushback Against State Climate Laws
An April executive order from President Donald Trump mandated a report from the U.S. attorney general on countering so-called state overreach in climate policy, and while that report has yet to appear, companies can expect that it will likely call for using litigation, legislation and funding to actively reshape energy policy, say attorneys at Bracewell.
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Practical Implications Of SEC's New Crypto Staking Guidance
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent staff guidance that protocol staking does not constitute securities offerings provides a workable compliance blueprint for crypto developers, validators and custodial platforms willing to keep staking strictly limited to protocol-driven rewards, say attorneys at Cahill.
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Stablecoin Bills Present Opportunities, Challenges For Banks
Stablecoin legislation that Congress is expected to adopt in the coming weeks — the GENIUS and STABLE Acts — would create openings for banks to engage in digital asset activities, but it also creates a platform for certain tech-savvy nonbanks to directly compete, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery
E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.
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New FCPA Guidance May Flip The Whistleblowing Script
The U.S. Department of Justice’s updated Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines lay out a new incentive structure that may put multinational U.S.-based companies in an unusual offensive whistleblowing position, potentially spurring them to conduct external investigations of their foreign rivals, says Markus Funk at Perkins Coie.
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Opinion
GENIUS Act Could Muck Up Insolvency Proceedings
While some of the so-called GENIUS Act's insolvency provisions are straightforward, others run the risk of jeopardizing the success of stablecoin issuers' insolvency proceedings and warrant another look from Congress, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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How McKesson Ruling Will Inform Interpretations Of The TCPA
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.
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A Look At Florida's New Protected Series LLC Legislation
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.