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Public Policy
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September 05, 2025
Democrat Slaughter Asks Justices To Let Her Stay On FTC
Democratic Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday not to pause her reinstatement while the Trump administration challenges lower court decisions holding that her firing was illegal, saying those decisions were plainly correct and she's in no danger of sowing "chaos."
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September 05, 2025
SEC, CFTC Set Sights On Crypto In Regulatory Collab
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Friday they are moving forward with a broad regulatory harmonization effort that they hope will encourage innovation in growing markets, and lawyers tell Law360 they expect the focus to be writing rules governing the crypto sector.
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September 05, 2025
Calif. Judge Preserves TPS For Venezuelans, Haitians
A California federal judge on Friday set aside the Trump administration's swift attempt to unwind temporary protected status for Venezuela and Haiti, finding the executive branch exceeded its authority by vacating Biden-era TPS extensions and faulting it for rushing to terminate designations.
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September 05, 2025
Judge Doubts DOE Stance On Ending Mental Health Grants
A Seattle federal judge hinted on Friday that 16 states have valid claims against the U.S. Department of Education for arbitrarily discontinuing mental health funding for public schools, expressing frustration with the federal government's argument that it could terminate grant funding the same way it could fire a landscaper under contract. Â
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September 05, 2025
FTC Drops Appeal For Rule Banning Noncompetes
The Federal Trade Commission officially abandoned its appeal Friday in a case that set aside a Biden administration rule banning the use of most employee noncompete clauses, but the agency said it plans to bring enforcement actions on a case-by-case basis instead.
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September 05, 2025
NJ Court Won't Push Affordable Housing Project Through
A New Jersey state appeals court affirmed Friday that a developer can't bypass a municipality's zoning rules and obtain approvals for an affordable housing project, even though the development is part of the municipality's plan to meet its affordable housing obligations.
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September 05, 2025
9th Circ. Deems COVID Jobless Pay Constitutionally Protected
A Ninth Circuit panel has ruled a Washington state resident has standing to bring a proposed class action against the Washington State Employment Security Department for allegedly underpaying COVID-era benefits, declaring the plaintiff's property interest in the benefits is constitutionally protected.
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September 05, 2025
Top Groups Lobbying The FCC
Lobbying slowed toward the end of the dog days, but the Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates nearly 100 times in August on issues like next-generation TV, satellite spectrum rules and 900 megahertz broadband.
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September 05, 2025
Judge Grills Gov't On Details Of IRS-ICE Info-Sharing Deal
A D.C. senior judge pressed a government attorney Friday over the specifics of the IRS' disclosure of tax return information to immigration enforcement agencies, saying the details were crucial to weighing a coalition of organizations' bid to block the practice.
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September 05, 2025
FDA Explains Rejection Of MDMA Therapy For Treating PTSD
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected a historic new drug application to treat post-traumatic stress disorder with the psychedelic MDMA due to concerns with the drug's safety and effectiveness and with the design of the clinical trials behind the bid, according to an agency letter made public Thursday.
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September 05, 2025
DOJ Defends Expert Who Says Agri Stats Helps Hike Prices
The U.S. Department of Justice pushed back on Agri Stats' efforts to strike key testimony from an economist backing Minnesota federal court allegations that turkey, chicken and pork producers "use Agri Stats information to raise prices on customers," arguing the company made "fundamental mistakes" about the analysis.
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September 05, 2025
3rd Circ. Affirms Feds' Primacy Over Pa. Grid Project
The Third Circuit ruled in a precedential decision on Friday that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission's blocking of a transmission line project in the state was unconstitutional because it hampered federal objectives, affirming a lower court's ruling that the commission lacked the authority to halt construction.
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September 05, 2025
Miner Must Show Why Chuckwalla Suit Belongs In Mich.
A Michigan federal judge has ordered a Michigan resident challenging the Chuckwalla National Monument's protected status to show why the lawsuit should remain in the Great Lakes State, suggesting that the case seems to fit better in California where the vast desert acreage is located.
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September 05, 2025
Former Boston Pol Gets 1 Month For Kickback Scheme
A former Boston city councilor was sentenced on Friday to a month in prison for a public corruption scheme in which she demanded a $7,000 kickback from an employee bonus at a time she was facing a state ethics commission fine.
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September 05, 2025
Ex-Ill. Speaker Asks 7th Circ. To Stay Prison Term For Appeal
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has asked the Seventh Circuit to stay his impending surrender to serve a seven-year prison sentence for bribery and wire fraud as he appeals that conviction to the appellate court, saying his appeal is likely to succeed.Â
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September 05, 2025
Ga. Ban On Trans Prisoner Healthcare Paused, Class Certified
A Georgia federal judge has reached what he described as a "straightforward" decision to temporarily pause the state's law banning the use of state resources for hormone replacement therapies for transgender state prisoners, and is considering granting the plaintiffs' request for permanent injunctive relief.
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September 05, 2025
Mo. House Resolution Seeks Vote On Narrowed Property Tax
Missouri would ask voters to decide if the state should amend its constitution to designate real property as the only property classified for property tax purposes under a joint resolution filed in the state House of Representatives and submitted to a special legislative committee Friday.
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September 05, 2025
Ore. Court Finds Claim For Tax Sale Proceeds Untimely
An Oregon county violated the U.S. Constitution when it retained the surplus proceeds of a tax sale, a state appeals court ruled, but the property owner's claim for the funds was untimely and a lower court was correct to dismiss it.
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September 05, 2025
Court-Ordered Programs Are Gov't Speech, 11th Circ. Says
The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday affirmed a lower court's finding that Florida court-ordered batterers' intervention programs are government speech, upholding a win for the state over a Christian minister and counselor contesting the rejection of his Bible-based program.
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September 05, 2025
9th Circ. Affirms Irrigation Exemption For Calif. Water Project
The Ninth Circuit on Friday rejected fishing industry groups' demand that the federal government require a Clean Water Act permit for a California agricultural water runoff project that's been operating without one for decades.
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September 05, 2025
Brown Univ. Prof Says Top Court Ruling Bolsters Habeas Bid
A Lebanese nephrologist who teaches at Brown University under an H-1B visa argued last week that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling this summer in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, a case focusing on whether members of a U.S. government task force were constitutionally appointed, bolsters her argument that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who deported her lacked the authority to do so.
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September 05, 2025
NC Court Rejects ParkMobile's Bid To Escape Slander Case
ParkMobile LLC lost its bid Thursday to dodge a slander lawsuit in which the city of Asheville claimed the company misrepresented that the two were affiliated, after a three-judge panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals dismissed ParkMobile's appeal.
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September 05, 2025
NC Elections Board Settles DOJ Suit Over Missing Voter Info
North Carolina election officials have agreed to update the state's voter registration database to end a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit alleging they flouted federal regulations by failing to collect driver's license or Social Security numbers when registering voters.
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September 05, 2025
Judicial Nominee Expands On Testimony About Ky. Pardons
A judicial nominee for the Eastern District of Kentucky continues to distance himself from the controversial pardons issued by former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, for whom he was counsel.
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September 05, 2025
FCC Chief Wants To Let Prisons Jam Contraband Cellphones
The Federal Communications Commission plans to vote this month on a plan to allow state and local prisons to jam the signals of contraband cellphones obtained by prisoners.
Expert Analysis
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Lessons From Crackdown On Mexican Banks With Cartel Ties
Recent U.S. Treasury Department orders excluding three major Mexican financial institutions from the U.S. banking system for laundering drug cartel money and processing payments for fentanyl precursor chemicals offer guidance for companies in reviewing their procedures and controls to ensure they are not the next targets, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.
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Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss
Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Tips For Cos. From California Climate Reporting FAQ
New guidance from the California Air Resources Board on how businesses must implement the state's sweeping climate reporting requirements should help companies assess their exposure, understand their disclosure obligations and begin documenting good-faith compliance efforts, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.
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FDA's Hasty Policymaking Approach Faces APA Challenges
Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has abandoned its usual notice-and-comment process for implementing new regulatory initiatives, two recent district court decisions make clear that these programs are still susceptible to Administrative Procedure Act challenges, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.
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DOJ Crypto Enforcement Is Shifting To Target Willfulness
Three pending criminal prosecutions could be an indication of how the U.S. Department of Justice's recent digital assets memo is shaping enforcement of the area, and show a growing focus on executives who knowingly allow their platforms to be used for criminal conduct involving sanctions offenses, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Legal Considerations Around Ibogaine As Addiction Therapy
Recent funding approval in Texas pertaining to the use of ibogaine for the potential treatment of substance use disorders signals a growing openness to innovative addiction treatments, but also underscores the need for rigorous compliance with state and federal requirements and ethical research standards, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
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Unpacking DOJ's Suit Against Maryland Federal Bench
Political hoopla aside, the Trump administration’s suit naming the Maryland federal district court and all of its judges, which challenges a standing order that delays deportation upon the filing of a habeas petition, raises valid questions about both the validity of the order and the DOJ’s approach, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits
As California continues to grapple with an increasing number of wildfire claims, a state court's recent Aliff v. California FAIR Plan decision serves as a clear directive to insurers that policy language that narrows the scope of fire coverage below the California Insurance Code's minimum standards is impermissible, say attorneys at Wood Smith.
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Wash. Law Highlights Debate Over Unemployment For Strikers
A new Washington state law that will allow strikers to receive unemployment benefits during work stoppages raises questions about whether such laws subsidize disruptions to the economy or whether they are preempted by federal labor law, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.
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Why SEC Abandoned Microcap Convertible Debt Crackdown
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently dismissed several cases targeting microcap convertible debt lenders, a significant disavowal of what was a controversial enforcement initiative under the Biden administration and a message that the new administration will focus on clear fraud, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
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Justices' Resentencing Ruling Fortifies First Step Act Tools
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Hewitt v. U.S. ruling clarifies that resentencing after vacatur must reflect the law in effect at the time of the new sentencing, ultimately strengthening the strategic tools available to defense attorneys under the First Step Act, says Benson Varghese at Varghese Summersett.
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The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine
The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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A Rapidly Evolving Landscape For Noncompetes In Healthcare
A wave of new state laws regulating noncompete agreements in the healthcare sector, varying in scope, approach and enforceability, are shaped by several factors unique to the industry and are likely to distort the market, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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New PTAB Denial Processes Grow More And More Confusing
Guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office about the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's new workload management and discretionary denial processes has been murky and inconsistent, and has been further muddled by the acting director's seemingly contradictory decisions, say attorneys at Finnegan.
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Arguing The 8th Amendment For Reduction In FCA Penalties
While False Claims Act decisions lack consistency in how high the judgment-to-damages ratio in such cases can be before it becomes unconstitutional, defense counsel should cite the Eighth Amendment's excessive fines clause in pre-trial settlement negotiations, and seek penalty decreases in post-judgment motions and on appeal, says Scott Grubman at Chilivis Grubman.