The Supreme Court heard on Jan. 16 the appeal of a Texas farmer suing his state’s transportation department for damaging his family’s farm. The case, Devillier v. Texas, arises out of a series of inverse-condemnation cases filed in Texas state … Continue reading Supreme Court considers landowners’ claims against Texas for flood damage
The Supreme Court won’t consider whether an Indiana middle school was required to let a transgender girl use the boys’ bathroom. The ruling comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit affirmed a lower court’s injunction last year that allowed transgender students to use bathrooms that corresponded to their claimed gender identity. The decision not to get involved in the case means that pending lawsuits will continue across the United States, with judges potentially arriving at differing conclusions. The Biden administration holds that Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, a federal law that prohibits … Continue reading Supreme Court declines to take up transgender bathroom case
The U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed an appeal by Alaska aimed at reinstating its government union dues deduction system that the state argued was designed to safeguard state employees’ constitutionally protected free speech rights. The system required that unionized employees register … Continue reading Supreme Court declines Alaska lawsuit over automatic deduction of union dues
The Supreme Court has agreed to review the case of an El Salvadoran citizen whose immigration visa was denied in part because a visa officer thought his tattoos indicated gang membership. The government argues that under federal law the visa … Continue reading Supreme Court to review case of man denied green card over suspected gang membership
Legal experts are divided over how the Supreme Court will rule in an upcoming challenge to federal regulations that relaxed restrictions in 2016 and 2021 on the commonly used abortion pill mifepristone. Advocates for mifepristone say the current system by … Continue reading Supreme Court to rule on biggest abortion case since overturning of Roe v. Wade
The U.S. Supreme Court will review Starbucks’s appeal against a lower court’s order to rehire labor activists in Memphis, Tennessee. The activists were dismissed following their disclosure of a union organizing drive to local media. For years, the coffee chain … Continue reading Supreme Court to hear Starbucks appeal over fired Memphis labor activists
The Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit about whether Uber drivers who work principally in a single state can rely on the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) to opt out of mandatory arbitration agreements they signed. The drivers said Uber miscategorized them … Continue reading Supreme Court puts the brakes on drivers’ lawsuit against Uber
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 the U.S. Trustee v. John Q. Hammons Fall 2006 LLC, and the oral arguments took place at the Supreme Court on Jan. 9. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) runs the U.S. Trustee Program, which it describes as “the component of the Department of Justice responsible for overseeing the administration of bankruptcy cases and private trustees.” A group of hotels … 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, Jason Smith entered not guilty pleas to five drug offenses in Yuma County, Arizona. The state sent the drug evidence to a state-run crime laboratory, but the expert witness who testified against him at trial was different from the expert who performed the tests on the drugs. He challenged the substitution of the witness but was still convicted. Mr. Smith … 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, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA). The court denied the petition for certiorari, or review, in Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela v. OI European Group B.V., in an unsigned order on Jan. 8. In addition to the Venezuelan government, PDVSA, was also listed as a petitioner. No justices dissented from the order. The court did not provide reasons for its decision. At … 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