Oklahoma is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to validate the state’s policy of requiring that birth certificates reflect a person’s biological sex at birth, as opposed to gender identity. The high court docketed the petition in Stitt v. Fowler on … Continue reading Oklahoma asks Supreme Court to review ruling on birth certificate gender identity policy
The U.S. Supreme Court decided on Jan. 27 not to hear an appeal from a Maryland father on behalf of his son who was injured in a police shooting. The case deals with qualified immunity, a rule created by the courts that shields government officials, including police officers, from individual liability unless the wrongdoer violated a clearly established right. Civil libertarians have become increasingly critical of the qualified immunity legal doctrine in recent years, which they say allows government officials to escape liability for sometimes egregious wrongdoing. The court’s new decision took the form of an unsigned order in Cunningham … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear qualified immunity case where child was injured in police shooting
The U.S. Supreme Court decided on Jan. 27 not to take up Ohio’s appeal of a lower court ruling ordering the retrial of a man convicted of attempted murder. The man argues that the police unfairly influenced the victim during … Continue reading Supreme Court denies challenge to retrial for police interference in attempted murder case
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide if a group of blind people may sue Labcorp for discrimination because the company’s new self-service check-in kiosks were not accessible to them. The court granted the petition in Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings … Continue reading Supreme Court to review blind patients’ discrimination lawsuit against major lab company
Small businesses do not need to file beneficial ownership reports despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling lifting a lower court injunction blocking the reporting requirement, according to a federal agency. This is because a separate court injunction halting enforcement … Continue reading Federal agency: Small businesses don’t have to file beneficial ownership reports
The Justice Department has reversed its position on a redistricting dispute currently before the U.S. Supreme Court and has asked the justices to halt pending student loan and environmental regulation cases. The new court filings were issued on Jan. 24, … Continue reading DOJ asks Supreme Court to freeze student debt, environmental cases
The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 24 agreed to review a state court ruling denying authorization for the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school. The nation’s highest court granted the petition in an unsigned order. The court did not … Continue reading Supreme Court agrees to review Oklahoma ruling against publicly-funded religious charter school
The U.S. Supreme Court voted 8–1 on Jan. 23 to allow the federal government to enforce an anti-money laundering law that a lower court blocked late last year. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the new ruling. The statute at issue, the federal Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), required millions of business entities to file information returns about their owners by Jan. 1, 2025. An estimated 33 million small businesses face fines of as much as $591 per day should they fail to comply with the new rule, according to a Treasury website. Businesses with upwards of 20 employees, $5 million in … Continue reading Supreme Court allows law requiring small businesses to report ownership information
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Jan. 22 in a case in which Cornell University employees sought to revive their class action lawsuit alleging that their retirement plans charged exorbitant fees and were mismanaged. The case, Cunningham v. … Continue reading Supreme Court considers whether to let Cornell employees sue over retirement plan
The U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical on Jan. 21 of federal government arguments for restrictions on where the electronic cigarette industry can sue to limit a practice known as forum shopping. The federal government argues that the manufacturer has been … Continue reading Supreme Court questions court-shopping allegation against vape makers
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider if the federal government may, after six years, cut off combat-related special compensation to a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The justices granted the petition in Soto v. United States on Jan. 17 in an unsigned order. No justices dissented. The court did not explain its decision. Oral argument in the case has not yet been scheduled. Veterans are allowed to seek retroactive combat-related special compensation (CRSC) but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has determined that such payments are subject to the federal Barring Act, which provides … Continue reading Supreme Court will review military time limit claim in former Marine’s PTSD case
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected three doctors’ emergency request to prevent a California agency from investigating them over advice they give to patients that does not conform to the state’s position on COVID-19. Justice Elena Kagan, who handles urgent appeals … Continue reading Supreme Court denies RFK Jr.’s request to block California’s doctor investigations over COVID-19 advice
The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 21 summarily overturned the conviction of an Oklahoma woman sentenced to death for murdering her estranged husband. Justice Clarence Thomas filed an opinion dissenting from the new decision. Justice Neil Gorsuch joined the dissent. … Continue reading Supreme Court reverses Oklahoma woman’s death sentence
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider a federal inmate’s request to revive his lawsuit over alleged mistreatment in prison after it was dismissed. The court granted the petition in Parrish v. United States on Jan. 17 in an unsigned order. No justices dissented. The court did not explain its decision. Donte Parrish sued the federal government on April 7, 2017, in a federal district court in West Virginia for compensation based on his view that he was wrongfully placed in administrative segregation for three years after being accused of murdering a fellow inmate. Parrish denied involvement. Parrish was … Continue reading Supreme Court will hear prisoner’s request to sue over solitary confinement
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether an epileptic student’s family may sue her Minnesota school district over special accommodations that she was denied. The court granted the petition in A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools on Jan. 17 … Continue reading Supreme Court to decide if epileptic student can sue school district for discrimination
The U.S. Supreme Court sided with employers, unanimously rejecting employees’ argument that employers have to meet an enhanced standard of proof to show that federal law does not require they provide overtime pay. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the court’s 9–0 … Continue reading Supreme Court votes 9–0 to reject heightened proof standard in overtime pay disputes
President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 17 that the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was first proposed more than a century ago, is now the “law of the land.” The legal effect of Biden’s statement is disputed. Biden said in … Continue reading Biden declared the Equal Rights Amendment ratified: What is it? What’s next?
The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 17 agreed to hear a request from a group of Maryland parents to opt their young children out of having storybooks that promote LGBT lifestyles read to them. The court granted the petition in … Continue reading Supreme Court will consider if Maryland parents can opt children out of pro-LGBT storybooks
The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 17 turned away TikTok’s request to halt a federal law requiring indirect owner ByteDance to divest itself of the company by Jan. 19 or cease U.S. operations. The nation’s highest court took action in … Continue reading Supreme Court upholds law that bans TikTok if its Chinese parent company does not divest
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to allow Utah’s request to file a lawsuit that disputed the federal government’s possession of over 18.5 million acres of land in the state. The Supreme Court denied Utah’s motion for leave to file a … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear Utah’s bid to take over federal land in the state