Public Policy

  • July 22, 2024

    Colo. Judge Blocks Zoning Ban On Church's Shelter Program

    A Colorado federal judge preliminarily blocked a town from enforcing zoning regulations to prevent a church from allowing homeless people to live in RVs on church property, finding the church could likely prove such enforcement unlawfully violates its religious freedom.

  • July 22, 2024

    Nebraska AG Stops Shops From Selling Synthetic THC

    Six Nebraska smoke shops have agreed to stop selling synthetic THC products, according to an announcement by the state's Attorney General's Office, which has sued more than a dozen retailers for violations of state consumer protection and food safety laws.

  • July 22, 2024

    Fla. City's Anti-Panhandling Law Deemed Unconstitutional

    A Florida federal judge has declared unconstitutional a Daytona Beach ordinance that criminalizes panhandling in certain parts of the city, ruling that the law violates the First Amendment.

  • July 22, 2024

    Ex-Lobbyist Asks To Be Severed From Madigan RICO Case

    The former Commonwealth Edison lobbyist on track to face a jury alongside former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan this fall asked a federal judge Friday to sever his corruption case from Madigan's, saying a joint trial would be unfair because Madigan's lawyers intend to act as "second prosecutors" against him.

  • July 22, 2024

    NC State Resolves Cancer Patient's Fight To Test Building

    North Carolina State University and a professor with cancer have ended a dispute over testing a campus building that contains cancer-causing chemicals, with the school telling the state's highest court the parties are ready to move on from that part of the legal dispute.

  • July 22, 2024

    In Transfer Row, Live Nation Calls DOJ Case Merger Deal 2.0

    Live Nation and Ticketmaster formally asked a skeptical New York federal judge to transfer the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit to Washington, D.C., arguing the case clearly grows out of an underlying 2010 deal clearing the merger the government now wants unwound.

  • July 22, 2024

    NY Appeals Court Revives Cayuga Lake PFAS Suit

    A Finger Lakes conservation group can challenge a permit state regulators issued for a solid waste facility over possible "forever chemicals" pollution to Cayuga Lake, a New York state appeals court ruled, holding that the group has standing to try to get the permit thrown out.

  • July 22, 2024

    Groups Ask 3rd Circ. To Reverse Medicare Drug Price Rulings

    A conservative group was one of several organizations to file amicus curiae briefs with the Third Circuit on Friday urging it to reverse a lower court's finding that Medicare's ability to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies does not run contrary to the companies' constitutional rights.

  • July 22, 2024

    NY Judge Declares Migrant Challenge To Housing Policy Moot

    A New York federal court swept aside asylum-seekers' challenge to county-level housing restrictions that they say were designed to bar them, agreeing with local officials that the case was moot after they issued new policies.

  • July 22, 2024

    Native Villages Push For Injunction In Fed Broadband Row

    Two Alaskan tribes are urging a federal judge to step in and yank back $70 million in broadband infrastructure funds that they say the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave away to someone else after falsely marking them served.

  • July 22, 2024

    Wash. Jury Says Seattle Port Owes Fired Police Chief $24.2M

    A Washington state jury said Monday that the Port of Seattle owes its ex-police chief $24.2 million, capping off a six-week trial on his claims that the port axed him as punishment for complaining about lack of due process in workplace misconduct investigations.

  • July 22, 2024

    DHS Adds Environmental Economics To List Of STEM Fields

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Monday that foreign students on F-1 visas who earn degrees in environmental and natural resource economics can now seek up to three years of employment in the U.S. after graduation.

  • July 22, 2024

    Texas Wants Place In Fight Over Biden's Asylum Law

    The state of Texas is seeking to intervene in a D.C. federal court lawsuit challenging a new federal policy that restricts asylum at the southern border, saying that it does not trust the Biden administration to defend the executive authority used to issue the rule.

  • July 22, 2024

    Secret Service Ripped By Lawmakers For Trump Rally 'Failure'

    U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Monday acknowledged a security failure during a July 13 campaign rally that ended in an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, as she was battered with resignation calls from a bipartisan group of lawmakers frustrated by her evasiveness during the investigation.

  • July 22, 2024

    RFK Jr. Says Atty Can't Fight Presidential Bid In NJ Court

    Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged a New Jersey state judge to throw out an election attorney's challenge to his candidacy in the Garden State, arguing the attorney failed to file an objection to Kennedy's petition to be on the ballot nor is he a candidate or representing a candidate for office.

  • July 22, 2024

    Ga. Dems Challenge 'Cronyism' Behind Fundraising Law

    A special campaign finance committee created by Georgia Republicans three years ago to sidestep limits on political fundraising is in the crosshairs of a recent lawsuit filed by the state's Democratic Party, which alleges the law creates an "asymmetrical campaign contribution scheme" designed to protect incumbents.

  • July 22, 2024

    Croke Fairchild Adds Litigation Attys Including Ex-Ill. Justice

    Chicago-based Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres LLC has added a former Illinois Supreme Court justice and a former Hinshaw & Culbertson attorney as litigation partners.

  • July 22, 2024

    FCC Waives 5.9 GHz Rules To Allow For Smart Car Tech

    The Federal Communications Commission has voted to waive certain restrictive connectivity rules for cars, allowing automobile equipment manufacturers to make use of the 5.9 gigahertz band for Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything technology.

  • July 22, 2024

    Former Judge On Trump Assassination Attempt Panel

    A former federal judge who previously sat on an oversight panel for the Secret Service was among those the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on Sunday would conduct an independent review of the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

  • July 22, 2024

    Biofuel Groups Back EPA Fuel Regs In DC Circ. Fight

    Several biofuel trade groups are urging the D.C. Circuit to reject arguments the oil and fuel industry and environmentalists are making in challenges to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's renewable fuel blending requirements.

  • July 22, 2024

    1st Circ. Doubts Calif. Law Governs DraftKings Job Fight

    A former DraftKings executive seeking to undo his noncompete contract appeared to make little headway with the First Circuit on Monday as he argued that Massachusetts law should take a backseat in the dispute to California's more worker-friendly statute.

  • July 22, 2024

    After Kindred Case, Questions Linger About Clerk Safeguards

    When Alaska federal Judge Joshua Kindred resigned, it was the culmination of an 18-month inquiry into a hostile and inappropriate work environment he'd fostered in chambers. During that investigation, it seems he continued to supervise law clerks. Experts say that may signal a gap in protections for clerks.

  • July 22, 2024

    NYC Says Migrant Busing Has Stopped Amid Border Curbs

    New York City retreated from its pending motion in state court to block eight charter bus companies from contracting with Texas to transport migrants to the city, saying the busing has already stopped after the Biden administration implemented new border policies.

  • July 22, 2024

    Conn. AG Accuses Solar Cos. Of Illegal Sales Tactics

    Connecticut Attorney General William Tong took three solar companies and two individuals to court for allegedly deceiving consumers into signing long-term contracts without informed consent and impersonating some people who refused so they could enter fraudulent solar contracts on those consumers' behalf.

  • July 19, 2024

    Santos Can't Duck Charges Ahead Of Trial, Judge Says

    A New York federal judge on Friday refused to throw out identity theft and theft of public money charges against former U.S. Rep. George Santos, rejecting his arguments that the charges were too vague to survive.

Expert Analysis

  • Reading Between The Lines Of Justices' Moore Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Moore v. U.S. decision, that the Internal Revenue Code Section 965 did not violate the 16th Amendment, was narrowly tailored to minimally disrupt existing tax regimes, but the justices' various opinions leave the door open to future tax challenges and provide clues for what the battles may look like, say Caroline Ngo and Le Chen at McDermott.

  • Series

    After Chevron: A Sea Change For Maritime Sector

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    The shipping industry has often looked to the courts for key agency decisions affecting maritime interests, but after the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright ruling, stakeholders may revisit important industry questions and coordinate to bring appropriate challenges and shape rulemaking, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    Post-Chevron, Good Riddance To The Sentencing Guidelines

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of the Chevron doctrine may signal the end of the U.S. sentencing guidelines, which is good news given that they have accomplished the opposite of Congress’ original intent to bring certainty, proportionality and uniformity to sentencing, say attorneys Mark Allenbaugh, Doug Passon and Alan Ellis.

  • Opinion

    Proposed Terminal Disclaimers Rule Harms Colleges, Startups

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    Universities and startups are ill-suited to follow the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers due to their necessity of filing patent applications early prior to contacting outside entities for funds and resources, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Impact On CFPB May Be Limited

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo is likely to have a limited impact on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory activities, and for those who value due process, consistency and predictability in consumer financial services regulation, this may be a good thing, says John Coleman at Orrick.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Series

    After Chevron: 7 FERC Takeaways From Loper Bright

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine, it's likely that the majority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's orders will not be affected, but the commission has nonetheless lost an important fallback argument and will have to approach rulemaking more cautiously, says Norman Bay at Willkie Farr.

  • Opinion

    Discount Window Reform Needed To Curb Modern Bank Runs

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    We learned during the spring 2023 failures that bank runs can happen extraordinarily fast in light of modern technology, especially when banks have a greater concentration of large deposits, demonstrating that the antiquated but effective discount window needs to be overhauled before the next crisis, says Cris Cicala at Stinson.

  • Opinion

    Cell Tech Patent Holdup Is Stalling Automaker Innovation

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    Courts and Congress should seek to stem anticompetitive harm caused by standard-essential patent holders squeezing automakers with unfairly high royalties for cellular connectivity technology, says Charles Haake at Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

  • Series

    After Chevron: USDA Rules May Be Up In The Air

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    The Supreme Court's end of Chevron deference may cause more lawsuits against U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, like the one redefining "unfair trade practices" under the Packers and Stockyards Act, or a new policy classifying salmonella as an adulterant in certain poultry products, says Bob Hibbert at Wiley.

  • Mitigating Risks Amid 10-Year Sanctions Enforcement Window

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    In response to recent legislation, which doubles the statute of limitations for actions related to certain U.S. sanctions and provides regulators greater opportunity to investigate possible violations, companies should take specific steps to account for the increased civil and criminal enforcement risk, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Creating New Hurdles For ESG Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, limiting court deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, could have significant impacts on the future of ESG regulation, creating new hurdles for agency rulemaking around these emerging issues, and calling into question current administrative actions, says Leah Malone at Simpson Thacher.

  • A Timeline Of Antisemitism Legislation And What It Means

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    What began as hearings in the House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce has expanded to a House-wide effort to combat antisemitism and related issues, with wide-ranging implications for education, finance and nonprofit entities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • California Adds A Novel Twist To State Suits Against Big Oil

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    California’s suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., one of several state suits that seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for climate-related harms, is unique both in the magnitude of the alleged claims and its use of a consumer protection statute to seek disgorgement of industry profits, says Julia Stein at UCLA School of Law.

  • Criminal Enforcement Considerations For Gov't Contractors

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    Government contractors increasingly exposed to criminal liability risks should establish programs that enable detection and remediation of employee misconduct, consider voluntary disclosure, and be aware of the potentially disastrous consequences of failing to make a mandatory disclosure where the government concludes it was required, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

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