Public Policy

  • November 20, 2024

    Judge Opens Path For Ex-Yale Student's Asylum Bid

    A Connecticut federal judge has illuminated a potential path for an expelled Yale student to send his sex assault accuser's name to immigration officials, suggesting that submitting a state trial transcript would "not seem to run afoul" of a magistrate judge's ban on otherwise naming the woman.

  • November 20, 2024

    Mountain West Says Trans Athlete Policy Was No Secret

    The Mountain West Conference has said that a motion for an emergency injunction that would force it to ban a transgender athlete from competition ahead of a volleyball tournament comes way too late and is a "manufactured" emergency, while Utah State University lodged an intervening complaint in support of banning the athlete.

  • November 20, 2024

    DEA Accused Of Colluding With Reform Foes In Pot Row

    Cannabis reform advocates have alleged that the Drug Enforcement Administration "stacked the deck" by colluding with anti-legalization interests and giving them improper opportunities to participate in upcoming hearings on a proposal to loosen federal restrictions on the drug.

  • November 20, 2024

    Fed. Judges Still Seek New Bench Seats Amid Dems' Loss

    The Federal Judges Association is urging the House to pass the bipartisan bill that would expand the federal courts in order to meet rising caseloads, even as the Biden administration appears to be cooling on the idea it once supported.

  • November 20, 2024

    Fla. Couple Ask To Revive Suit Over Unclaimed Property

    A Florida couple asked the Eleventh Circuit Wednesday to revive their proposed class suit against the state's chief financial officer over a law that allows officials to hold unclaimed money indefinitely, arguing that it is a taking without just compensation because the state never pays interest on the amount held.

  • November 20, 2024

    Apple Says DOJ Case Has Too Much Speculation To Survive

    Apple's attorneys pressed a New Jersey federal judge Wednesday to toss the U.S. Department of Justice's monopolization lawsuit, asserting in oral arguments that the government is simply trying to force them to work with rivals when attacking controls imposed on iPhone app developers.

  • November 20, 2024

    CPSC Misunderstands Magnet Risks For Kids, Court Told

    An attorney for the magnet industry told the Tenth Circuit on Wednesday that consumer safety regulators wrongly focused on the size of magnets when trying to protect children from the danger of swallowing them, when the real danger of high-powered magnets comes from swallowing multiple magnets, regardless of size, not single magnets that may be small enough to swallow.

  • November 20, 2024

    DC Circ. Skeptical Of Texas AG's Bid To Revive X Probe

    A D.C. Circuit panel seemed skeptical Wednesday of the Texas attorney general's claims that Media Matters lacks a valid claim to challenge the state enforcer's investigation into the media watchdog's reporting about the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, but one judge expressed uncertainty about the suit's readiness for judicial review.

  • November 20, 2024

    FERC Says There's No Need To Ref Mich. Grid Upgrade Fight

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission defended its decision that Michigan Electric Transmission Co. failed to establish that shared ownership of new grid updates needed to serve a Michigan solar farm was necessarily precluded, telling the D.C. Circuit the electric utility hasn't shown how it's harmed.

  • November 20, 2024

    Cross-Border Sales Were Unlawful Monopoly, Feds Say

    Prosecutors have urged a Texas federal judge to deny a dismissal bid from two people accused of using violence to monopolize cross-border sales of used cars, saying the individuals were not operating the lawful clerical service they claimed to be running.

  • November 20, 2024

    Gas Bill Challenge Finds Little Purchase With Colo. Justices

    Colorado Supreme Court justices questioned Wednesday why a state regulator-backed plan to charge customers for extra natural gas ahead of a snowstorm was unreasonable, appearing to dash a company's challenge to its utility bill.

  • November 20, 2024

    Colo. Justices Doubtful Students' COVID Fee Suit Will Survive

    Colorado's justices were skeptical Wednesday that Colorado State University students seeking fee refunds for coronavirus campus shutdowns can bring an unjust enrichment claim, with one justice saying the students' attorney is advocating for an "enormous" extension of existing law.

  • November 20, 2024

    Ga. Judge Cuts Claims From Jail Book Policy Challenge

    A Georgia federal judge Tuesday dismissed several claims in a bookstore's lawsuit alleging a Georgia sheriff and jail commander imposed an unlawful policy of only allowing books into the county jail from authorized retailers, only keeping alive claims against the two men in their official capacities.

  • November 20, 2024

    En Banc DC Circ. Eyes Court Power Over FEC

    The D.C. Circuit's decision to sit for its first en banc rehearing since 2021 might signal that the court is inclined to reconsider an oft-challenged precedent barring judges from second-guessing federal election regulators when they decline to take enforcement actions, experts say.

  • November 20, 2024

    Amid Legal Challenge, La. Hemp Law On Hold

    A Louisiana law that would issue new regulation on the potency of hemp-derived intoxicants along with where they can be sold will not go into effect until the end of March, allowing time for briefing from state officials and hemp interests challenging the law.

  • November 20, 2024

    11th Circ. Told Everglades Project Will Reduce Water Supplies

    Several Florida sugar growers urged the Eleventh Circuit Wednesday to reverse a decision allowing an Everglades flood control project to proceed, saying a lower court wrongly accepted a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers impact analysis that will result in water supply loss to the surrounding area.

  • November 20, 2024

    Uber, Lyft, Chicago Ignored Due Process, Banned Driver Says

    A former Uber and Lyft driver has sued the platforms in Illinois federal court for deactivating her accounts over false claims she spit on a passenger, and she also sued the city of Chicago over its ordinance allowing rideshare platforms to ban drivers without notice or an opportunity to defend themselves.

  • November 20, 2024

    Texas Offers Up Land To Help Trump's Mass Deportation Plan

    The Texas General Land Office is offering up 1,400 acres of ranch land near the U.S.-Mexico border to the incoming Trump administration to construct deportation facilities to support the president-elect's plan for mass removals.

  • November 20, 2024

    NJ Court Must Revisit Assessor's Workplace Retaliation Claim

    A New Jersey trial court must revisit a municipal tax assessor's workplace retaliation claim as the case used by the court in its decision doesn't exempt assessors from the state's employee protection law, an appellate panel ruled Wednesday.

  • November 20, 2024

    Insurance Mogul Seeks Transfer To Fla. Halfway House

    A billionaire businessman embroiled in a host of criminal and civil suits centered on his crumbling insurance empire wants to relocate to a halfway house in Florida as he awaits sentencing on federal bribery charges, saying restrictions at the county jail have hamstrung his ability to talk to his defense attorneys.

  • November 20, 2024

    Judge Keeps Emails Redacted In Apple Foe's FOIA Row

    The patent office convinced a D.C. federal judge Wednesday to keep in place redacted portions of six emails detailing the agency's response to a Freedom of Information Act request from a longtime legal foe of Apple Inc. that is suing the agency to find out more about administrative decisions that wiped out a $533 million jury verdict.

  • November 20, 2024

    'Rip And Replace' Woes Underscored By Senate Hearing

    A major industry group has again called on lawmakers to address the lack of funding needed to completely remove risky Chinese-made gear from U.S. telecommunications networks.

  • November 20, 2024

    FERC Made Climate Case For Tennessee Pipeline, DC Circ. Told

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission properly considered the climate change benefits of a Tennessee pipeline project that will serve a Tennessee Valley Authority gas-fired power plant set to replace a coal-fired plant, the project's developers and customers told the D.C. Circuit.

  • November 20, 2024

    PBMs Sue To Block FTC's In-House Insulin Pricing Case

    Caremark Rx, Express Scripts and OptumRx have lodged a constitutional challenge of the Federal Trade Commission's in-house case accusing the pharmacy benefits managers of artificially inflating insulin prices through unfair rebate schemes.

  • November 20, 2024

    Trump Seeks Dismissal Of Central Park Five Defamation Suit

    President-elect Donald J. Trump has told a Pennsylvania federal judge that a lawsuit brought by the Central Park Five should be dismissed, calling their allegations that he defamed them with comments about their criminal case "meritless" and saying his statements are protected as public expression under the state's anti-SLAPP statute.

Expert Analysis

  • Boosting Confidence In Pennsylvania's Election System

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    As Election Day nears, Pennsylvania is facing an intense flurry of litigation, including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court centered on mail-in and provisional ballots, but the state's election system is robust, and attorneys from all practice areas have an important role to play in ensuring confidence in and access to our election system, says Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie.

  • Takeaways From The IRS' Crypto Doc Summons Win

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    A recent First Circuit decision holding that taxpayers do not have a Fourth Amendment reasonable expectation of privacy in cryptocurrency transaction records should prompt both taxpayers and exchanges to take stock of past transactions and future plans, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • A Novel Expansion Of Alien Tort Statute In 9th Circ.

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    The Ninth Circuit's Doe v. Cisco rehearing denial allows a new invocation of the Alien Tort Statute to proceed, which could capture the U.S. Supreme Court's attention, and has potentially dramatic consequences for U.S. companies doing business with foreign governments, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

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    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • Election Outcome Could Reshape Financial Industry

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    The policies of the next presidential administration and Congress will shape the landscape of financial services in the U.S. — including banking, mortgage, investment and credit services — for years to come, affecting Wall Street investors and aspiring homeowners alike, say Alexander Hecht and Frank Guinta at Mintz.

  • How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

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    Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • 3 Steps For Companies To Combat Task Scams

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    On the rise in the U.S., the task scam — when scammers offer a victim a fake work-from-home job — hurts impersonated businesses by tarnishing their name and brand, but companies have a few ways to fight back against these cons, says Chris Wlach at Huge.

  • NY Tax Talk: Questions In Corporate Franchise Tax Regs Case

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    In the first challenge to New York's Corporate Franchise Tax regulations — Paychex v. Department of Taxation and Finance — the court has an important opportunity to provide clarity on a major retroactive application issue, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Bitnomial Suit Highlights Crypto Turf War Between SEC, CFTC

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    An outcome favoring Bitnomial in its recent lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could reinforce the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's authority and limit the SEC's reach in the crypto arena, illustrating the need for Congress to delineate boundaries between the agencies, says Tonya Evans at Penn State Dickinson Law.

  • False Patent Marking Claims Find New Home In Lanham Act

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    While the Patent Act may have closed the courthouse doors for many false patent marking claims, the Federal Circuit, in its recent decision in Crocs v. Effervescent, may be opening a window to these types of claims under the Lanham Act, says John Cordani at Robinson & Cole.

  • Jarkesy May Short-Circuit FERC Enforcement Cases

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    As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's June decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently suspended an enforcement proceeding under the Natural Gas Act — and the commission's customary use of administrative hearings in such proceedings could face major changes, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • Digging Into CFPB's Overdraft Fee Consent Guidance

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    Although a recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau circular may seem unassuming, a closer read reveals the bureau is escalating its clampdown on nonconsensual debit card overdraft fees by expanding financial institutions' record-retention obligations beyond a two-year statutory requirement, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Justices Face Tough Question On HHS Hospital Pay Formula

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    In Advocate Christ Medical Center v. Becerra, the U.S. Supreme Court will determine whether the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services properly applied certain Medicare reimbursement adjustments to hospitals — a decision that could significantly affect hospitals' ability to seek higher Medicare reimbursement for low-income patients, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

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    Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.

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