A federal judge ordered a California school district to reinstate teachers who were forced to conceal the transgender status of young students from parents. U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez issued an order on Jan. 10 directing the Escondido Union … Continue reading Federal judge sides with teachers who object to secretive gender transition policies

U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical of a bankrupt company’s claim that court fees that it paid should be refunded after the nation’s highest court struck down the law authorizing the fee schedule in 2022. The case is Office of … Continue reading Supreme Court skeptical of bankrupt company’s demand for court fee refund

The Supreme Court appeared sympathetic on Jan. 10 to an Arizona man contesting his drug convictions because the state presented a substitute expert witness to testify against him at trial who never analyzed the confiscated drugs. In Smith v. Arizona, … Continue reading Supreme Court looks at drug case where lab evidence was contested

The Supreme Court should curb the power of governments to use the permitting process to force property owners to pay large development fees, the court heard on Jan. 9. In the case, homeowner George Sheetz is suing El Dorado County, … Continue reading Supreme Court asked to limit local government power over development impact fees

The Supreme Court will strike down the use of a key federal law in the Biden administration’s ongoing prosecutions of Jan. 6 defendants and in the process shut down the government’s case against hundreds of defendants, legal experts predict. If … Continue reading A Supreme Court win is in the cards for Jan. 6 defendants, lawyers predict

The U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed Venezuela’s request to review a ruling allowing creditors to pursue assets of CITGO Petroleum’s parent company. The decision removes an obstacle to an upcoming court-ordered auction of shares in CITGO’s parent, the government-owned oil concern, … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t take case that could block sale of Venezuelan oil assets

The Supreme Court declined to take up an appeal by X, formerly known as Twitter, that challenged a law preventing the company from disclosing how often the federal government sought monitoring of social media users. X had said the U.S. … Continue reading Supreme Court declines X’s challenge to surveillance gag order

The Supreme Court refused on Jan. 8 to hear Alaska’s appeal against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to veto the proposed $400 billion Pebble Mine project in the southwestern part of the state. The project site on state-owned … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear Alaska appeal of EPA veto of big mine

A medical watchdog group is suing Louisiana in federal court over a racial quota for the state’s board of medical examiners, which the group argues violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. Do No Harm is suing over a … Continue reading Watchdog sues Louisiana over racial quota on medical board

The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for next month in a high-profile challenge to social media laws enacted in Texas and Florida. The court’s calendar published on Jan. 5 also lists February hearing dates for a challenge to a … Continue reading Supreme Court calendar includes social media content moderation cases

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas should not have to recuse himself from any future court rulings on whether former President Donald Trump should be disqualified from this year’s election, a legal expert said. Law professor Jonathan Turley made the … Continue reading Justice Clarence Thomas should not bow out of Trump disqualification cases: law professor

A restaurateur is suing the state of Arizona to block its upcoming cage-free egg mandate. The legal complaint (pdf) in Union LLC v. Arizona Department of Agriculture, filed in Arizona Superior Court, comes after the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) … Continue reading Arizona sued over cage-free egg mandate

A family-owned contracting business that claims the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unfairly fined it for failing to disclose lead hazards is challenging the in-house adjudication system the agency used to fine it. The legal complaint disputing $375,000 in penalties … Continue reading Family business sues EPA over in-house tribunals

Democrats’ push to impose a code of conduct on the U.S. Supreme Court is driven by their desire to exert power over a court that hasn’t been ruling their way on key issues, legal experts say. Democrats and their left-wing … Continue reading Behind the Democrats’ efforts to regulate the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court agreed on Dec. 20 to fast-track a challenge by Republican-led states and the energy industry to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “good neighbor” rule that would crack down on states whose industries are said to be … Continue reading Supreme Court agrees to hear challenge to EPA anti-smog regulation

A federal appeals court ruled on Dec. 19 that Boston may use racially discriminatory admission criteria for its elite public schools even after the U.S. Supreme Court found earlier this year that colleges and universities may not use affirmative action … Continue reading 1st Circuit upholds racially discriminatory admissions at elite public schools

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was at one time so concerned about his finances that he quietly pushed for a salary increase and for justices to be allowed to accept speaking fees, according to a new report that was promptly … Continue reading Report claims Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas pushed for higher salary

The Supreme Court has agreed to review the death sentence imposed on an Arizona inmate who claims he received ineffective assistance from counsel during the sentencing process. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees a criminal defendant the right to … Continue reading Supreme Court to review Arizona death row inmate’s sentence

The Supreme Court will consider a dispute about whether life insurance payouts should be deemed to be corporate assets in calculating federal income taxes payable on a deceased person’s estate. The court granted the petition for certiorari (pdf), or review, … Continue reading Supreme Court to take up dispute over estate tax owed by family business

A medical doctor is suing New Jersey in federal court over its laws that limit telehealth services and prevent patients from accessing specialty cancer care that their local doctors lack the expertise to treat. Telehealth—also known as telemedicine, which has … Continue reading Cancer specialist sues New Jersey over telemedicine restrictions