The Supreme Court on Oct. 6 stayed a lower court order blocking the Biden administration’s rule regulating so-called ghost guns that can be assembled at home, allowing the policy to remain in force until Oct. 16. The new order from … Continue reading Supreme Court temporarily reinstates Biden admin’s ‘ghost gun’ rule
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of a Texas farmer who is suing his state’s transportation department for damaging his family’s farm. The petition in Devillier v. Texas (court file 22-913) was granted on Sept. 29 in an unsigned order. No justices dissented. The court did not explain its decision. At least four of the nine justices have to vote to hear a case in order for it to move forward. Richie Devillier sued the Texas Department of Transportation in 2020 after a concrete barrier was installed on a highway that caused serious flooding on his property. … Continue reading Supreme Court to hear case of Texas farmer flooded by highway project
A federal court approved a new congressional map for Alabama in time for the 2024 congressional elections, a decision that’s expected to boost Democrats’ electoral chances in the heavily Republican state. The decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. District … Continue reading New Alabama election map that helps Democrats approved by federal court
The Supreme Court considered on Oct. 4 the case of a serial lawsuit filer who has sued more than 600 hotels over their alleged failure to post disability accessibility information on their websites without intending to actually patronize the hotels. … Continue reading Supreme Court hears case of serial lawsuit filer’s actions over disability information
The Supreme Court has decided not to hear a challenge to New York City’s strict rent control laws. The decision to deny the petition in Community Housing Improvement Program v. City of New York (court file 22-1095) came on Oct. … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to NYC rent control
The payday lending industry urged the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), arguing that the unorthodox scheme that Congress authorized to fund the powerful regulator is unconstitutional. This appeal gives the court’s 6–3 conservative … Continue reading Lenders urge Supreme Court to strike down Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Lawyers and justices argued during an Oct. 2 hearing about whether “and” always means “and,” as a convicted drug dealer hoping to reduce his sentence under the First Step Act of 2018 made his case before the Supreme Court. The … Continue reading Supreme Court opens new term with drug sentencing case
Some in the financial services industry are nervous about how the Supreme Court will rule in a payday lending industry challenge to the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that’s being heard this week. A ruling against the … Continue reading Supreme Court case about financial regulator sparks industry anxiety
An election integrity group is suing Hawaii for allegedly violating the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) by refusing to hand over voter records. The legal complaint (pdf) in Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) v. Nago (court file 1:23-cv-00389), was filed … Continue reading Election integrity group sues Hawaii over federal voting law
The Supreme Court agreed to hear a case in which a store is asking the court to ignore a time limitation so it can challenge a Federal Reserve policy on debit card swipe fees that it argues is illegal. The appeal comes amid merchant anxiety over high transaction processing fees and after the proposed Credit Card Competition Act was recently introduced in Congress. The bill, promoted by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), is supposed to enhance credit card competition and reduce credit card fees. The legislation would require banks with more than $100 billion in assets to … Continue reading Supreme Court will hear store’s lawsuit over allegedly illegal debit card swipe fees
The Supreme Court may spend much of its upcoming term, which begins next week, scaling back the power of the government, panelists said at a think tank chat on Sept. 28. Along the way, the nation’s highest court may get … Continue reading Supreme Court may curb government power in new term, panel hears
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear challenges to laws in Florida and Texas that regulate how social media companies moderate content on their platforms. Former President Donald Trump had urged the court to hear the Florida case. The cases … Continue reading Supreme Court will hear challenges to social media laws in Florida and Texas
Colleges and universities across the country are evading a recent Supreme Court ruling that struck down the use of racially discriminatory admissions policies in higher education, a congressional panel heard. At the same time, the schools are backing away from … Continue reading Universities are evading Supreme Court’s anti-affirmative action ruling, Congress hears
Federal agencies accused of pressuring social media companies to remove users’ content will remain free to contact those companies for the time being because the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has temporarily stayed a judge’s order forbidding … Continue reading Fifth Circuit allows Biden admin to continue social media contacts
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul criticized Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas after the court agreed to consider next week whether it will hear an emergency challenge to the state’s concealed carry gun law that went into effect a year ago. … Continue reading New York Gov. Hochul criticizes Justice Thomas as Supreme Court moves gun law challenge forward
A white Houston couple in the landscaping business filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Texas city over its racially discriminatory contracting policy that forces them to send a portion of government contracts to minority-owned businesses. Affirmative action programs … Continue reading White-owned businesses file civil rights lawsuit against Houston over racial discrimination
A federal appeals court has denied pro-life campaigner Lauren Handy’s emergency motion to be released from custody pending her appeal. Lawyers for Ms. Handy, who was jailed over a Washington abortion clinic protest, previously filed an emergency appeal seeking her … Continue reading DC appeals court refuses to release pro-life campaigner during appeal
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan expressed optimism during a public appearance at a top law school on Sept. 22 that the high court will adopt a code of conduct for its nine justices. At the same time, the liberal justice … Continue reading Supreme Court ethics code would be ‘a good thing,’ Justice Kagan says
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito extended to Sept. 27 a temporary stay blocking a lower court ruling that restricted federal agencies from contacting social media firms with requests to remove content, giving the justices more time to reflect on how … Continue reading Supreme Court temporarily allows Biden administration’s social media censorship efforts
The Supreme Court may take steps to roll back the administrative state in its approaching term that begins next month, according to lawyers who frequently appear before the nation’s highest court. The lawyers were appearing at a Sept. 20 event … Continue reading Supreme Court may put administrative state on chopping block in upcoming term, lawyers say