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Appellate
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July 18, 2025
Fla. Court Reverses Conviction Over Judge's Guilt Directive
A Florida appeals court Friday ordered that a woman accused of battery against an elderly person be given a new trial after a trial judge required her attorney to concede her client's guilt as a condition of the court giving certain jury instructions on self-defense.
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July 18, 2025
Texas Panel Says RE Funds Can Bar Manager, For Now
A Texas appellate court mostly kept intact a court order barring the former manager of multiple commercial real estate funds from interfering with the funds going forward, saying the funds had done enough to show the former manager was undercutting their financial interests.
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July 18, 2025
Trade Legal Matters To Watch: Midyear Report
Aggressive, sweeping tariff actions have defined the first six months of President Donald Trump's second term, altering the global trade environment in attempts to return manufacturing to the U.S. and reset trading deficits, but legal challenges to certain duties may obstruct Trump's long-term trade strategy in ongoing negotiations later this year.
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July 18, 2025
Competence Questions Prompt New Calif. Murder Trial
A potentially intellectually disabled man who was found guilty of killing a woman and burying her body in his backyard is entitled to a new trial, a California state appeals court has ruled, finding that the lower court didn't properly determine his competency.
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July 18, 2025
Judge Says She'd Block Birthright Order For Nationwide Class
A Maryland federal judge has said she can't rule on a bid to block President Donald Trump's birthright citizenship executive order for a proposed nationwide class since another preliminary injunction is on appeal, but that she would grant the request if the Fourth Circuit remanded to let her do so.
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July 18, 2025
Ill. Man Gets New Murder Trial Due To Improper Evidence
An Illinois state appeals court has reversed a murder conviction for a man for a second time after finding the lower court incorrectly allowed evidence of unrelated crimes to be brought up at trial.
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July 18, 2025
Boeing Urges 4th Circ. To Decertify 737 Max Investor Class
Boeing told the Fourth Circuit on Friday that a Virginia district court flouted U.S. Supreme Court precedent by certifying a class of investors alleging the company misrepresented the safety of its 737 Max 9 fleet after a door plug blowout, saying there's zero evidence backing the plaintiffs' damages theories.
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July 18, 2025
Oxford Shooting Victim's Estate Can Sue Cops, Court Finds
A Michigan appellate panel reopened a lawsuit from the father of a student killed in the Oxford High School shooting alleging state police failed to act on tips about the threat of an attack, finding a provision designed to extend filing deadlines for estates applies to claims against the state.
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July 18, 2025
4th Circ. Remands Insurance Award Feud Over FAA Confusion
In a published decision that refers to the Federal Arbitration Act as "not a triumph of legislative draftsmanship," the Fourth Circuit on Friday overturned the enforcement of an arbitral award favoring health insurance service providers that is being challenged over an arbitrator's alleged conflict of interest.
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July 18, 2025
Texas Appeals Court Says City Wanted Too Much In Royalties
A Texas appeals court affirmed a lower court's ruling against the city of Crowley, Texas, on Thursday, finding that the city's energy agreement with TotalEnergies E&P USA Inc. requires gas royalty payments to be calculated solely based on the market value of the gas at the point of sale.
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July 18, 2025
MSN Urges Fed. Circ. To Allow Launch Of Generic Entresto
MSN Pharmaceuticals asked the Federal Circuit on Friday to lift a temporary injunction and allow the company to launch a generic version of the blockbuster heart drug Entresto, a move MSN says would benefit the public by reducing costs for Medicare and Medicaid.
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July 18, 2025
Fed. Circ. Frees Medtronic From $125M Patent Judgment
The Federal Circuit on Friday overturned a more than $125 million judgment against Medtronic's CoreValve unit for infringing a Colibri Heart Valve LLC patent, saying changes made to the patent during examination mean that Medtronic should not have been found to infringe.
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July 18, 2025
DC Circ. Affirms Toss Of Tax Pros' PTIN User Fee Challenge
A D.C. federal court properly dismissed a lawsuit by tax return preparers challenging the IRS' process for issuing their special identification numbers, the D.C. Circuit ruled Friday, saying the suit violated rules against filing duplicate claims.
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July 18, 2025
Miami Official Loses Appeal To Toss $63.5M Judgment
The Eleventh Circuit has dismissed Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo's appeal of the $63.5 million judgment against him for targeting a pair of business owners after they supported a political opponent, finding that he prematurely filed the appeal and then failed to amend it.
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July 18, 2025
3rd Circ. Says Gun Possession Requires Control Of Property
A Pennsylvania man convicted of drug charges should not have also been found guilty of illegal gun possession, the Third Circuit ruled Friday in a precedential opinion that addressed novel issues, reasoning that prosecutors failed to show how the home where the firearms were found was under his control.
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July 18, 2025
Texas Court Tosses Cities' Challenge To 'Death Star' Bill
A state appeals court tossed three Texas cities' challenge to a bill nicknamed the "Death Star," writing that they hadn't properly shown they'd be injured by the bill's mandate that state law preempt local ordinances.
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July 18, 2025
Off The Bench: Latest NASCAR Win, Trans Athlete Fights Ban
In this week's Off The Bench, Michael Jordan's racing team fails to bounce back right away from a tough defeat in its battle with NASCAR, a transgender woman fights a last-minute expulsion from a college women's track and field event, and a football player sees his window to playing an extra college season slammed shut by the NCAA and the Seventh Circuit.
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July 18, 2025
'Lost Services' Damages OK In Child Death Suits, Court Rules
A mother can pursue damages against a Detroit hospital for the loss of household services she would have received if her infant son had lived to adulthood, even after a recent Michigan Supreme Court ruling narrowed the available recovery, an appellate panel held.
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July 18, 2025
3rd Circ. Won't Halt Corteva Pension Judgment For Appeal
The Third Circuit has refused to halt judgment against Corteva Inc. and DuPont while they challenge a verdict in favor of employees who claimed the chemical companies failed to inform them about benefit changes stemming from a merger and spinoff, which netted the plaintiffs' counsel nearly $6.4 million in fees and costs.
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July 18, 2025
6th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Ruby Tuesday Execs' Benefits Fight
The Sixth Circuit refused to reopen a suit from former Ruby Tuesday managers and executives alleging Regions Bank inadequately protected their retirement plan benefits that were liquidated in bankruptcy, concluding a lower court was right to end the case in the bank's favor.
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July 18, 2025
7th Circ. OKs FBI Withholding Of Ex-Atty's Informant Records
The Federal Bureau of Investigation did not violate the Freedom of Information Act by providing only some of the documents former lawyer Joel Brodsky requested related to his work as a confidential informant on corruption and murder investigations, the Seventh Circuit found on Friday, ruling that the FBI had properly justified its rationale.
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July 18, 2025
Cannabis And The Courts: A Midyear Litigation Review
In the first half of 2025, lawsuits taking aim at state hemp restrictions, putative residency criteria in cannabis licensure programs and the federal policy that keeps users and convicted sellers of pot from lawfully owning guns were all briefed in multiple appellate courts across the country.
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July 18, 2025
Meet The New Georgia Supreme Court Justice
The Georgia Supreme Court's incoming justice, Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Benjamin A. Land, touted his judicial restraint in a panel decision he authored that was later affirmed by the state's justices, while attorneys who've worked with him as a trial lawyer say he's "the most prepared lawyer in the courtroom."
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July 18, 2025
4th Circ. Backs $9M Classification Ruling Against Staffing Co.
A split Fourth Circuit panel will not scrap a $9 million judgment against a medical staffing company that the U.S. Department of Labor won in a suit alleging the company misclassified more than 1,000 nurses.
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July 18, 2025
Trump Asks Supreme Court To Decline Early Tariff Challenge
President Donald Trump's administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a request from Illinois-based toy makers to hear their challenge against the White House's global tariffs, arguing the justices should not "leapfrog" parallel proceedings in circuit courts.
Expert Analysis
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Attacks On Judicial Independence Tend To Manifest In 3 Ways
Attacks on judicial independence now run the gamut from gross (bald-faced interference) to systemic (structural changes) to insidious (efforts to undermine public trust), so lawyers, judges and the public must recognize the fateful moment in which we live and defend the rule of law every day, says Jim Moliterno at Washington and Lee University.
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Statistics Tools Chart A Path For AI Use In Expert Testimony
To avoid the fate of numerous expert witnesses whose testimony was recently deemed inadmissible by courts, experts relying on artificial intelligence and machine learning should learn from statistical tools’ road to judicial acceptance, say directors at Secretariat.
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High Court Birthright Case Could Reshape Judicial Power
Recent arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in cases challenging President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order primarily focused on federal judges’ power to issue nationwide injunctions and suggest that the upcoming decision may fundamentally change how federal courts operate, says Mauni Jalali at Quinn Emanuel.
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Ore. High Court Ruling Widens Construction Defect Coverage
A recent Oregon Supreme Court decision, Twigg v. Admiral Insurance, dispels the myth that a contractor's liability for defective work is uninsurable if pursued as a breach of contract, say attorneys at Stoel Rives.
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Justices Hand Agencies Broad Discretion In NEPA Review
By limiting the required scope of reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act, the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County could weaken the review process under NEPA, while also raising questions regarding the degree of deference afforded to agencies, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Appreciating Civil Procedure
If you’re like me, law school’s often complex and theoretical approach to teaching civil procedure may have contributed to an early struggle with the topic, but when seen from a practical perspective, new lawyers may find they enjoy mastering these rules, says Chloe Villagomez at Foster Garvey.
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Appellate Guidance Needed On California Chatbot Litigation
There is wide variation in how courts are applying the California Invasion of Privacy Act against website owners that allegedly help third parties spy on visitors via chatbots — and the lack of appellate rulings creates uncertainty, especially as these cases move toward the summary judgment stage, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Calif. Bar Exam Fiasco Shows Why Attys Must Disclose AI Use
The recent revelation that a handful of questions from the controversial California bar exam administered in February were drafted using generative artificial intelligence demonstrates the continued importance of disclosure for attorneys who use AI tools, say attorneys at Troutman.
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The Sentencing Guidelines Are Commencing A New Era
Sweeping new amendments to the U.S. sentencing guidelines — including the elimination of departure provisions — intended to promote transparency and individualized justice while still guarding against unwarranted disparities will have profound consequences for all stakeholders, say attorneys at Blank Rome.
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Justices Widen Gap Between Federal, Calif. Enviro Reviews
While the U.S. Supreme Court's recent opinion in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, narrowed the scope of National Environmental Policy Act reviews, it may have broadened the gulf between reviews conducted under NEPA and those under the California Environmental Quality Act, say attorneys at Hanson Bridgett.
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In 2nd Place, Va. 'Rocket Docket' Remains Old Reliable
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia was again one of the fastest civil trial courts in the nation last year, and an interview with the court’s newest judge provides insights into why it continues to soar, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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Foreign Sovereign Entities Should Heed 9th Circ. IP Ruling
After the Ninth Circuit recently held that four Chinese state-controlled companies were not immune from criminal indictment for alleged economic espionage, foreign sovereign-controlled entities should assess whether their operations and affiliation with their parent states qualify for sovereign immunity under the common law, say attorneys at Cleary.
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How Attorneys Can Become Change Agents For Racial Equity
As the administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and law firms consider pulling back from their programs, lawyers who care about racial equity and justice can employ four strategies to create microspaces of justice, which can then be parlayed into drivers of transformational change, says Susan Sturm at Columbia Law School.
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Opinion
9th Circ. Shopify Decision Gets Personal Jurisdiction Wrong
The Ninth Circuit's recent opinion in Briskin v. Shopify, rejecting the differential targeting requirement for personal jurisdiction, not only deviates from long-standing jurisprudence, but it also significantly expands the reach of internet-based claims under California law, says Matthew Pearson at Womble Bond.
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Seven County Ruling Should Trim Agency Enviro Analysis
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County provides needed clarity for infrastructure projects by expressly directing agencies to narrow environmental reviews, and reducing the threat of litigation if even tangential issues are not exhaustively evaluated, say attorneys at Dentons.