The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in the case of a New York man suing police for malicious prosecution to relax the legal standard for bringing such lawsuits in federal courts, overturning the tougher prevailing standard. The case is Thompson v. Clark, court file 20-659. The high court agreed March 8, 2021, to consider the case and heard it Oct. 12, 2021. The respondents are four New York Police Department (NYPD) officers: Pagiel Clark, Paul Montefusco, Phillip Romano, and Gerard Bouwmans. The officers raided the home of petitioner Larry Thompson, a U.S. Navy veteran living in Brooklyn, N.Y., with his wife. … Continue reading Supreme Court rules for Navy veteran, makes it easier to sue for malicious prosecution

A homeless 66-year-old grandmother is suing a New England city for “home equity theft” after her home was seized for a tax debt and sold but her equity in the property was not refunded to her. The legal action takes aim at what some call “home equity theft,” which is widespread in Massachusetts, according to the Sacramento, California-based Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a public interest law firm that is representing the woman free of charge. PLF says it is committed to ending home equity theft across the country. The legal complaint (pdf) in the case, Foss v. City of New Bedford, was filed March 29 … Continue reading Homeless grandmother sues Massachusetts city over ‘home equity theft’

The Supreme Court reversed the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals by 8–1 on March 31, limiting when federal courts have jurisdiction to confirm or vacate an arbitration award under the Federal Arbitration Act. The case is Badgerow v. Walters, court file 20-1143. Oral arguments were heard on Nov. 2, 2021. The majority decision, joined by seven justices, was written by Justice Elena Kagan. Justice Stephen Breyer was the sole dissenter. According to Kagan’s opinion (pdf) in the case, petitioner Denise Badgerow was a financial adviser for REJ Properties, a firm run by respondent Greg Walters and two others. Her contract … Continue reading Supreme Court reins in federal courts’ ability to handle arbitration disputes

A businesswoman in Hawaii is suing the Biden administration for hurting her business by banning swimming with spinner dolphins, a popular tourist and therapeutic activity that generates a living for many residents of the 50th U.S. state. Spinner dolphins are called such because “they are often seen leaping and spinning out of the water,” even “up to seven times … before falling back into the water,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported. The legal problem is that the low-level federal bureaucrat in the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) who issued the new regulation had no authority under the U.S. Constitution to … Continue reading Feds sued for banning swimming with dolphins, hurting Hawaiian economy

The Supreme Court seemed sympathetic during oral arguments on March 29 to a former Texas state trooper who claims his former employer violated a federal anti-discrimination law for veterans by refusing to accommodate him after he was injured in the Iraq War while serving as a U.S. Army reservist. The Biden administration previously urged the court to reject the case, but switched sides during oral arguments, arguing that a Texas intermediate appellate court was wrong to strike down the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Acct (USERRA) as unconstitutional. The lower court held the cause of action created by USERRA was unconstitutional … Continue reading Supreme Court sympathetic to Texas state trooper who wants job back after Iraq War burn-pit injury

The Supreme Court agreed on March 28 to review a voter-approved law in California that bans the sale of pork in the state from hogs raised anywhere in the world unless the animals were raised in a space that exceeds industry norms—a rule that U.S. pork producers say imposes massive new costs on out-of-state farmers. The case is National Pork Producers v. Ross, court file 21-468. The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) describes itself as an agricultural organization representing the interests of the $26-billion-per-year U.S. pork industry. Among its members are pig farmers, as well as the entire pork chain and associated businesses, … Continue reading Supreme Court to hear case about California’s tough new rules on pork production

A Chinese manufacturer should not be allowed to use the U.S. legal system to compel production of evidence in a private arbitration taking place overseas, the Supreme Court heard March 23 in a case fast-tracked from a federal appeals court. The Supreme Court’s decision in the case may help to determine the reach of the complex civil discovery process available in U.S. courts. The case, ZF Automotive US Inc. v. Luxshare Ltd., court file 21-401, was heard together with a similar case, AlixPartners v. Fund for Protection of Investor’s Rights, court file 21-518. Livonia, Michigan-based ZF Automotive manufactures automotive parts … Continue reading Supreme Court urged not to let Chinese firm use U.S. courts in German arbitration

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Wisconsin state legislative maps drafted by the state’s Democratic governor and approved by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court also declined to block a new congressional map for the state that was chosen by the Wisconsin court. Republicans currently hold five of the state’s eight congressional seats, while Democrats hold three. Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature in the Badger State. Population shifts discovered after the 2020 Census forced the state to go through redistricting, a process that was hotly contested by both political parties. Republicans approved maps … Continue reading Supreme Court rejects Wisconsin election map drawn by Democratic governor

An appeals court misinterpreted an international child abduction treaty in a custody dispute by ordering that a child who is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Italy, and had been living in Italy, should be returned to that country for the courts there to decide custody, the Supreme Court heard March 23. The case is Golan v. Saada, court file 20-1034. The case involves the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, a 1980 treaty regarding international child abductions that take place during domestic disputes. It provides that children wrongfully removed from the country where they reside have … Continue reading Don’t send son back to Italy for custody hearing, American mother urges Supreme Court

North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature should be allowed to step in to advocate for a voter ID law in court because Josh Stein, the state’s Democratic attorney general, isn’t doing enough to defend the statute, Republican lawmakers told the Supreme Court on March 21. Republicans generally favor strengthening election integrity measures, such as requiring photo identification by voters. Democrats generally oppose photo IDs, saying that the requirement is overly burdensome and disenfranchises voters. Republican lawmakers complained that Stein’s advocacy has been half-hearted and has focused on technical issues instead of countering the oft-repeated left-wing claim that voter ID laws are racially discriminatory. … Continue reading NC Republicans urge Supreme Court to let them take voter ID law defense from Dem AG

An often-reversed Arkansas judge struck down four new election integrity laws approved by the Republican-controlled state legislature, finding the statutes unconstitutional—but an appeal to the state’s supreme court seems imminent. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen permanently enjoined the laws—Acts 249, 728, 736, and 973—on March 18 after a four-day trial. The statutes came as part of a nationwide wave of new state-level election laws that followed irregularities during the 2020 presidential election. In court, Griffen reportedly said the defendants, including Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston, a Republican, hadn’t demonstrated a need for the laws and that the state’s fears about … Continue reading Activist judge strikes down election integrity laws in Arkansas as unconstitutional

Democratic Party activists in Wisconsin have filed a suit in federal court arguing that a pro-Trump senator and two pro-Trump congressmen should be barred from office for speaking out on 2020 election irregularities and allegedly attempting to manipulate the congressional certification of the presidential election results. The Wisconsin Republican lawmakers targeted by the suit are two-term Sen. Ron Johnson, two-term Rep. Tom Tiffany, and freshman Rep. Scott Fitzgerald. All are seeking reelection in November. The suit claims the lawmakers cannot serve in Congress because the disqualification clause in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment forbids it. That rarely invoked constitutional provision was … Continue reading Democrats sue to disqualify 3 GOP congressmen from 2022 Ballot, alleging role in insurrection, election manipulation

Wisconsin Republicans are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an electoral map drawn by the state’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, which they say is racially skewed, in favor of one crafted by the Republican-controlled state legislature. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin voted 4–3 to adopt congressional and legislative districts drawn by Evers over those prepared by the legislature. The maps adopted still reportedly favor Republicans, but by smaller margins than the Republican-drafted maps. Republicans approved maps in 2011 when they controlled the legislature and the governorship, but this time, the Democratic governor and the Republican legislature … Continue reading Wisconsin GOP appeals redistricting loss to Supreme Court

Two days after being sued by a Roman Catholic nun who provides free medical services to the poor, the District of Columbia seemed to capitulate on March 11 by granting the nun a religious exemption to the district’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care workers. But Sister Deirdre Byrne’s attorney said on March 12 that the lawsuit isn’t going away—at least not for the time being—because the exemption may be revoked by the D.C. government at any time. Byrne is a member and superior of the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and a retired U.S. Army colonel … Continue reading DC provides dubious vaccination mandate exemption to nun-physician 2 days after lawsuit filed

A federal court ruled that Illinois violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) when it refused to provide an election integrity group with access to the state’s voter roll. “Election officials must allow citizens to see what they are doing,” said J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), the successful plaintiff in the case. Indianapolis-based PILF describes itself as “the nation’s only public interest law firm dedicated wholly to election integrity.” The nonprofit organization “exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections.” PILF regularly uses the Public Disclosure Provision … Continue reading Illinois illegally denied elections group access to voter records, federal court rules