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Public Policy

  • August 18, 2025

    Del. OKs Property Tax Installment Payments, Refund Change

    Delaware made property tax changes, including allowing installment payments and changing refund rules, under bills signed by the governor.

  • August 18, 2025

    Electronics-Makers Urge FCC To Extend Hearing Aid Standards

    The wireless industry and its device manufacturers are once again defending their request that the Federal Communications Commission delay the expiration of interim hearing aid compatibility standards for wireless handsets, saying a lack of device testing capacity could create a major bottleneck and disrupt the "vibrant market for new wireless handsets."

  • August 18, 2025

    3rd Circ. Backs Pittsburgh In Row Over Zoning Board Conflict

    The Third Circuit has backed the dismissal of a mixed-use project developer's million-dollar lawsuit against the Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustment over variance delays caused by a conflict of interest dispute, saying its due process rights weren't violated.

  • August 15, 2025

    DOJ Backs Small Biz In Gender Dysphoria Coverage Dispute

    The U.S. Department of Justice told a New Hampshire federal court Friday that employers are not required under federal anti-discrimination laws to provide medical coverage for gender dysphoria, and that federal religious freedom law protects a turbomachinery company from covering a transgender employee's treatment for the disorder.

  • August 15, 2025

    18 AGs, Governors Sue To Block DOE Funding Cap

    A coalition of 19 states and Washington, D.C., on Friday hauled the U.S. Department of Energy into Oregon federal court, challenging a policy they say places a new cap on reimbursements for administrative and staffing costs, and thus slashes funds needed for state-run energy programs.

  • August 15, 2025

    'Alarm Should Ring': Judge Blocks FTC's Media Matters Probe

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge Friday preliminarily blocked the Federal Trade Commission from moving forward with its investigation into the left-leaning Media Matters for America, saying the investigation is likely a retaliatory response to an article reporting that ads on Twitter appeared next to antisemitic posts following Elon Musk's acquisition.

  • August 15, 2025

    Stewart Issues Dozens More Discretionary Denial Decisions

    Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart denied numerous petitions challenging patents on discretionary grounds this week, while referring a smaller number of cases to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • August 15, 2025

    Judiciary Starts Rule Debate Spanning AI, Subpoenas, More

    The federal judiciary's comment clock officially started ticking Friday for rulemaking efforts spanning a smorgasbord of subjects, from high-tech testimony utilizing artificial intelligence to the low-tech tasks of hand-delivering subpoenas and paying witness fees.

  • August 15, 2025

    DOJ Ramps Up Assault On Calif. Truck Emissions Standards

    The Trump administration increased its assault on California's stringent emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks, saying Friday that it has intervened in lawsuits to strike down the Golden State's attempts to still enforce its standards in defiance of federal law.

  • August 15, 2025

    Baby Co. Says CPSC's 'False' Safety Concerns Tanked Sales

    Baby sleep sack maker Dreamland Baby Co. has filed a $90 million suit against the federal government, claiming that former Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. ruined its reputation and damaged its sales by falsely suggesting that weighted infant sleep products aren't safe.

  • August 15, 2025

    Fla. Book Ban Law Struck Down For Vagueness

    A Florida federal judge has found a state law restricting books in school libraries to be unconstitutionally overbroad and vague, handing a win to the publishing houses, parents of schoolchildren and bestselling authors who had teamed up to fight it.

  • August 15, 2025

    Eric André's Airport Stop Suit Partially Revived By 11th Circ.

    The Eleventh Circuit has partially revived comedian Eric André's lawsuit alleging he was subjected to a "degrading" search and seizure by police at an Atlanta airport, restoring his Fourth Amendment claims Friday while backing the dismissal of his allegations that he was racially profiled.

  • August 15, 2025

    White Supremacist's Sentence Upheld Despite Discovery Error

    The Fourth Circuit ruled Friday that a leader of a white supremacist street gang can't escape his 25-year prison sentence, rejecting the argument that his plea agreement was invalid since prosecutors' discovery was missing pages.

  • August 15, 2025

    NetChoice Sues Colo. Over Social Media Warnings For Minors

    A trade association representing social media giants Meta, YouTube, Reddit and others claims a Colorado law set to go into effect next year that will require social media platforms to display warning messages for minors is compelled speech in violation of the First Amendment.

  • August 15, 2025

    DC Judge Gets City And Feds To Strike Deal On Police Takeover

    A federal judge hesitated Friday to restrain the Trump administration from taking over the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, successfully urging the city and government attorneys to iron out an agreement instead to divert the court's immediate intervention.

  • August 15, 2025

    Federal Reserve To End Crypto-Focused Supervisory Program

    The Federal Reserve Board on Friday announced the end of a Biden-era supervisory program that specifically oversaw banks' crypto and fintech activities, a move that comes after Wall Street trade groups argued that the program unfairly subjected banks to a higher level of scrutiny for their use of novel tech.

  • August 15, 2025

    5th Circ. Says PWFA Was Constitutionally Enacted

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was wrongly blocked from enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act against the state of Texas, the Fifth Circuit ruled Friday, saying the U.S. Constitution didn't require House lawmakers' physical presence to have a quorum when the statute was approved.

  • August 15, 2025

    Interior Dept.'s Clean Energy Rules Could Snag Grid Hookups

    Recent U.S. Department of the Interior moves to place additional regulatory and permitting burdens on renewable energy facilities may also cover projects those facilities need to get on the grid, the agency has told Law360.

  • August 15, 2025

    Bid To Stop Spectrum Rule Waiver Renewed At FCC

    A spectrum licensee is calling out the Federal Communications Commission's decision to assign licenses previously held by Telesaurus Holdings and Skybridge Spectrum Foundation to Progeny LLC, saying the commission's waiver of spectrum aggregation limits in the M-LMS band for Progeny reflects "arbitrary, preferential decision-making" that others haven't been granted. 

  • August 15, 2025

    Feds Look To End Seminole Land Seizure Dispute

    The federal government urged a Florida federal court to toss a suit by two members of the Seminole Tribe of Florida who say federal agencies are threatening to confiscate their land inside Big Cypress National Preserve, arguing they fail to allege any waiver of U.S. sovereign immunity.

  • August 15, 2025

    Trump's Divisive 'China Initiative' May Get A Vigorous Reboot

    The Trump administration's ongoing battles with major universities may soon include the revival of an initiative that, with mixed success, targeted professors with ties to China during the president's first term, and experts told Law360 the second incarnation may be even more aggressive.

  • August 15, 2025

    Amazon Keeps Damages Expert For FTC's Prime Case

    A Washington federal judge refused Friday to nix an Amazon.com expert from the Federal Trade Commission case accusing the retail giant of using "dark patterns" to trick users into Prime subscriptions, allowing the jury to hear arguments that the FTC's accusations under an online shopping protection law are "an unpredictable departure."

  • August 15, 2025

    Chippewa Cree Sues Montana County Over Native Vote Dilution

    An Indigenous tribe is asking a federal court to block Chouteau County, Montana, from using an at-large election system and implementing three single-member voting districts, arguing the policies are artificially suppressing Native Americans' ability to equally participate in the electoral process.

  • August 15, 2025

    Judge Clears School Of Violating GOP Club's Speech Rights

    A Michigan federal judge has ruled that a public high school in Ann Arbor did not violate the constitutional rights of conservative students by refusing to air an announcement opposing an abortion rights measure.

  • August 15, 2025

    Texas AG Opens Investigation Into Xcel Over Panhandle Fires

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he's investigating whether Xcel Energy and a contractor broke any laws in connection with devastating fires in the Texas Panhandle last year, questioning whether they put environmental or diversity goals ahead of safety.

Expert Analysis

  • FDA's Hasty Policymaking Approach Faces APA Challenges

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    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.

  • DOJ Crypto Enforcement Is Shifting To Target Willfulness

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    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.

  • Legal Considerations Around Ibogaine As Addiction Therapy

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    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.

  • Unpacking DOJ's Suit Against Maryland Federal Bench

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    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.

  • What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits

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    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.

  • Wash. Law Highlights Debate Over Unemployment For Strikers

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    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.

  • Why SEC Abandoned Microcap Convertible Debt Crackdown

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    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.

  • Justices' Resentencing Ruling Fortifies First Step Act Tools

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    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.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    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.

  • A Rapidly Evolving Landscape For Noncompetes In Healthcare

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    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.

  • New PTAB Denial Processes Grow More And More Confusing

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    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.

  • Arguing The 8th Amendment For Reduction In FCA Penalties

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    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.

  • GENIUS Act Creates 'Commodity' Uncertainty For Stablecoins

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    Half a century ago, Congress made trading in onion futures on commodity exchanges unlawful, and payment stablecoins could soon face a similarly unstable fate in the markets as the GENIUS Act heads to the president's desk for signature, says Peter Malyshev at Cadwalader.

  • EU Space Act Could Stifle US Commercial Operators

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    The EU Space Act, proposed last month, has the potential to raise global standards for safety and sustainability in space, but the U.S. and EU need to harmonize their regulatory approaches to avoid imposing regulatory burdens that undermine commercial innovation and agility, say Jessica Noble and Adriane Mandakunis at Aegis Space Law.

  • Cos. Face Convergence Of Anti-Terrorism Act, FCPA Risks

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    Recent moves by the U.S. Department of Justice to classify cartels and transnational criminal organizations as terrorist groups, and to use a range of statutes including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to pursue these types of targets, mean that companies operating in certain jurisdictions are now subject to overlapping exposure, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

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