Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Appellate
-
August 22, 2025
4th Circ. Rules Virginia Gov. Can Deny Felon Voting Rights
A formerly incarcerated Virginia man convicted of attempted murder as a minor couldn't argue his constitutional rights had been violated by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who refused to allow him to vote, the Fourth Circuit said, finding the state's process of vesting reenfranchisement in its top executive was constitutional.
-
August 22, 2025
7th Circ. Backs TSA's Cybersecurity Rules For Railroads
The Seventh Circuit on Thursday rejected the challenge from a pair of railways to recent cybersecurity mandates from the Transportation Security Administration, saying the agency wasn't required to first take notice and comment and that it has "broad authority to identify cybersecurity threats and craft appropriate responses."
-
August 22, 2025
Russian Urges 2nd Circ. To Scrap Superyacht Seizure Ruling
Russian billionaire Eduard Khudainatov told the Second Circuit a New York federal judge authorized the U.S. government to sell off his seized superyacht without giving him a fair chance to fight assertions he was a "straw owner" for a sanctioned oligarch.
-
August 22, 2025
Under Trump, White Collar Crypto Defense Gets New Playbook
White collar lawyers are crafting new blueprints for crypto-related civil and criminal defense amid the Trump administration's embrace of the industry and the financial world’s growing acceptance of cryptocurrency as a legitimate asset.
-
August 22, 2025
Trump Admin To Appeal Susman Godfrey Exec Order Ruling
The Trump administration announced Friday its intention to appeal a June ruling that struck down as unconstitutional an executive order targeting Susman Godfrey LLP, after the court said the order was issued in retaliation for its representation of clients and causes the president opposes.
-
August 22, 2025
Seton Hall Flags 'Dangerous Precedent' In NJ Venue Dispute
Seton Hall University is urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to review a decision moving a whistleblower case from its former president from Essex to Hudson County, saying letting that action stand would set a "dangerous precedent" regarding case transfers.
-
August 22, 2025
Judge Can't Become Public Defender After Not Practicing Law
A California state appellate panel has ruled that a sitting superior court judge is ineligible to serve as public defender because he had not been a practicing attorney in the state's courts for the year before he sought the appointment.
-
August 22, 2025
$785K Legal Malpractice Judgment Against Pa. Firm Upheld
A debt collection agency did not provide enough evidence to show it deserved prejudgment interest on a $785,000 jury award it received from a malpractice suit against two former Hartman Valeriano Magovern & Lutz attorneys who allegedly botched a real estate transfer that cost the agency $1.4 million, according to a recent decision from the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
-
August 22, 2025
Tribe Member Can't Discharge Tax Debt, 10th Circ. Affirms
An Oklahoma federal court correctly affirmed a bankruptcy court's refusal to reopen a case brought by a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation who claimed his tax debt should have been discharged in bankruptcy, the Tenth Circuit said.
-
August 22, 2025
1st Circ. Says Muralist Filed Copyright Case Too Late
The First Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a copyright infringement lawsuit that a muralist had brought against the organizers of a Massachusetts state fair over promotional videos for the event that used her artwork without crediting her, finding that even though this was the third time she sued, a federal district court was right to declare her latest claims time-barred.
-
August 22, 2025
DC Circ. Rejects NM Ranchers' Bird Protection Challenge
The D.C. Circuit on Friday rejected New Mexico ranchers' challenge to the federal government's decision to preserve Endangered Species Act protections for a small, migratory songbird.
-
August 22, 2025
9th Circ. Tosses Wash. City's Win In Military Leave Suit
A Ninth Circuit panel threw out a Washington federal judge's ruling that a City of Ocean Shores firefighter was not entitled to pay for military leave after the state's top court decided otherwise.
-
August 22, 2025
Fla. Appeals Order To Wind Down Detention Center Operations
A Florida official filed notice late Thursday that the state will appeal a federal judge's ruling ordering the government to begin winding down operations at the Everglades immigration detention center after finding the plaintiffs challenging it are likely to prevail on their environmental claims.
-
August 22, 2025
DC Circ. Leaves Judge Newman's Suspension Intact
The D.C. Circuit on Friday affirmed the dismissal of 98-year-old Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's lawsuit against her colleagues for barring her from hearing cases, holding that she failed to show that the statute that was used to suspend her is unconstitutional.
-
August 21, 2025
9th Circ. Dissenters Rip Judge's 'Weaponization Of Sanctions'
A half-dozen Ninth Circuit judges Thursday denounced six-figure sanctions against attorneys for prominent politicians challenging Arizona election procedures, accusing a lower court of "twisting and contorting" allegations in order to punish lawyers "based on the nature of the complaint and the clients that they represented."
-
August 21, 2025
1st Circ. Rejects Flyers' $34M Fee Bid In JetBlue-Spirit Case
Passengers who launched an antitrust challenge to the since-scrapped JetBlue-Spirit Airlines merger are not eligible to collect up to $34 million in legal fees, the First Circuit ruled Thursday, finding that because the deal was blocked in a parallel government case, the passengers are not actually the prevailing parties.
-
August 21, 2025
Pa. Court Revives Fired County Worker's Whistleblower Claim
A Pennsylvania appeals court on Thursday sent back a dispute to a lower court over a fired county employee's whistleblower allegation tied to her reporting that a union representative secretly taped meetings, determining the union official acted as a county employee when she made the recordings.
-
August 21, 2025
Pa. Biz Groups, Providers, Uber Want Fault Loophole Closed
Uber and a coalition of organizations often targeted by injury lawsuits urged a Pennsylvania appeals court to close a legal loophole that they claim largely undermines the purpose of the Fair Share Act, which limits a defendant's liability to their portion of fault.
-
August 21, 2025
Challenge To Fed. Layoffs A 'Fishing Expedition,' 9th Circ. Told
A federal government attorney told a Ninth Circuit panel Thursday that a group of unions, nonprofits and cities challenging President Donald Trump's massive layoffs of federal workers have no right to communications and documents showing what went into the layoff decisions, saying it's a "fishing expedition in search of a viable legal theory."
-
August 21, 2025
Ga. Panel Backs Obstruction Charge Over ID Refusal
The Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a felony and three misdemeanor counts of obstruction of a law enforcement officer for the passenger of a car who refused to produce her driver's license during a traffic stop, despite possessing a valid license.
-
August 21, 2025
Family Urges 5th Circ. To Hold Penske Liable For Fatal Crash
The family of a man killed in a 2018 collision has told the Fifth Circuit that freight broker Penske cannot claim ignorance to escape liability for negligently hiring the unsafe motor carrier and driver who caused the Texas accident.
-
August 21, 2025
Appeals Court Says Dallas Must Release Discrimination Records
A Texas appeals court ruled Thursday that the city of Dallas has to turn over records on a federal housing discrimination investigation to The Dallas Morning News, saying the information was not exempt from public disclosure.
-
August 21, 2025
Amazon Must Yield To DOL Expense Subpoena, 9th Circ. Says
Amazon has to comply with the U.S. Department of Labor's demands for data on travel reimbursements paid to supervisors sent to New York to dissuade warehouse workers from unionizing, a Ninth Circuit panel said on Thursday, concluding the information is germane to an agency probe of potential reporting violations. Â
-
August 21, 2025
6th Circ. Reinstates Fired USPS Worker's Medical Leave Suit
The Sixth Circuit on Thursday told a lower court to reassess a fired USPS employee's medical leave suit alleging the agency illegally faulted him for sickle cell anemia-related absences, saying the trial judge erred by using a doctor's estimate to cap his time off.
-
August 21, 2025
Consumer Advocates Blast FERC Inaction On Power Auction
Consumer advocates and municipal utilities have told the D.C. Circuit that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission can't use a Third Circuit ruling to claim it is powerless to prevent the rerunning of a flawed electricity capacity auction that overcharged consumers by $183 million.
Expert Analysis
-
9th Circ. Leaves Scope Of CIPA Applicability Unclear
Three recent Ninth Circuit decisions declined to directly address whether all of the California Invasion of Privacy Act's provisions actually apply to internet activity, and given this uncertainty, companies should heed five recommendations when seeking to minimize CIPA litigation risk, say attorneys at Skadden.
-
5 Ways Lawyers Can Earn Back The Public's Trust
Amid salacious headlines about lawyers behaving badly and recent polls showing the public’s increasingly unfavorable view of attorneys, we must make meaningful changes to our culture to rebuild trust in the legal system, says Carl Taylor at Carl Taylor Law.
-
What Insurers Must Know About New La. Proof Of Loss Law
Insurers that comply with all the requirements under a Louisiana law effective this month may condition claim payments on receipt of proof of loss statements, but those that overlook even one prerequisite risk penalties and late payments, say attorneys at Phelps Dunbar.
-
Criminal Healthcare Fraud Takeaways From 4th Circ. Reversal
After the Fourth Circuit reversed a doctor’s postconviction acquittal in U.S. v. Elfenbein last month, defense attorneys should consider three strategies when handling complex criminal healthcare matters, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
-
Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses key takeaways from federal appellate decisions involving topics including antitrust, immigration, consumer fraud, birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, and product defects.
-
A Look At Justices' Rare Decision Not To Limit Agency Powers
The Supreme Court's recent denial of Alpine's cert petition in its long-running case against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority sends a strong signal that litigation strategies dependent on the elimination of government agencies merit caution, even from a court that lately hasn't been shy about paring back agency authority, say attorneys at Venable.
-
Notable Q2 Updates In Insurance Class Actions
Vehicle valuation challenges regarding the use of projected sale adjustments continued apace in insurance class actions this quarter, where insurers have been scoring victories on class certification decisions in federal circuit courts, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.
-
Series
Hiking Makes Me A Better Lawyer
On the trail, I have thought often about the parallels between hiking and high-stakes patent litigation, and why strategizing, preparation, perseverance and joy are important skills for success in both endeavors, says Barbara Fiacco at Foley Hoag.
-
6 Tips On Drafting Machine Learning Patents Post-Recentive
While the Federal Circuit's decision in Recentive v. Fox narrows the scope of patent-eligible machine learning applications, there are several drafting and prosecution strategies that may help practitioners navigate Section 101 challenges, say attorneys at BCLP.
-
Regulating Online Activity After Porn Site Age Check Ruling
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding an age verification requirement for accessing online adult sexual content applied a lenient rational basis standard, raising questions for how state and federal courts will determine what kinds of laws regulating online activity will satisfy this standard going forward, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
-
Opinion
3rd Circ. H-2A Decision Mistakenly Relies On Jarkesy
The Third Circuit's decision last month in Sun Valley v. U.S. Department of Labor found that the claims required Article III adjudication under the U.S. Supreme Court's Jarkesy decision — but there is an alternative legal course that can resolve similar H-2A and H-2B cases on firmer constitutional ground, says Alex Platt at the University of Kansas School of Law.
-
DC Circ. Ruling Augurs More Scrutiny Of Blanket Gag Orders
The D.C. Circuit’s recent ruling in In re: Sealed Case, finding that an omnibus nondisclosure order was too sweeping, should serve as a wake-up call to prosecutors and provide a road map for private parties to push back on overbroad secrecy demands, says Gregory Rosen at Rogers Joseph.
-
Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Negotiation Skills
I took one negotiation course in law school, but most of the techniques I rely on today I learned in practice, where I've discovered that the process is less about tricks or tactics, and more about clarity, preparation and communication, says Grant Schrantz at Haug Barron.
-
Conflicting Developments In Homelessness Legal Landscape
Looking at an executive order and Third Circuit opinion from last month highlights the ongoing tension in homelessness-related legal issues facing state and local governments, property owners, and individuals experiencing homelessness, says Josh Collins, an attorney for the City of South Salt Lake.
-
What Justices Left Unsaid About The Federal Tort Claims Act
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Martin v. U.S. rejected the Eleventh Circuit's interpretation of the Federal Tort Claims Act in the case of a botched police raid — but left unresolved many questions about plaintiffs' ability to hold the government accountable for officers' misdeeds, says Scott Brooks at Levy Firestone.