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Public Policy
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November 20, 2024
Prison Phone Cos. Say FCC Reg Fight Belongs In 5th Circ.
There should have been no lottery to decide where to place an appeal challenging the Federal Communications Commission's new caps on rates charged for prison phone calls — the matter belongs in the Fifth Circuit, a pair of prison phone service providers told the First Circuit.
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November 20, 2024
2nd Circ. Doubts Error In Tenant Screener's FHA Suit Win
A Second Circuit panel appeared skeptical Wednesday that a Connecticut federal judge used the wrong analysis to find that a tenant screener's criminal history reporting practices do not violate the Fair Housing Act, grilling counsel for the federal government about the lower court's process.
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November 20, 2024
Arizona Governor Settles Tribal Water Rights Claims
Two agreements signed by Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs settled four tribal nations' water rights claims and will help to provide safe drinking water to thousands of Native Americans on reservation lands that depend on the Colorado River Basin System.
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November 20, 2024
Tribe Fights Ore. Irrigation District At 9th Circ. Over Water Use
The Yurok Tribe has joined with fishing and conservation groups in asking the Ninth Circuit to deny an irrigation district's bid to certify questions to the Oregon Supreme Court over the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's authority to control water use under state law.
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November 20, 2024
USPTO Unveils Patent Fee Hikes Set To Take Effect In January
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday released a final rule that will increase many patent-related fees on Jan. 19, recalibrating some proposed hikes that had drawn criticism from attorneys and industry groups while leaving others intact.
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November 20, 2024
Va. Gov. Can't Exit Carbon Trading Program, Judge Says
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's administration can't withdraw from a regional carbon emissions-trading program the Legislature ordered the state to join three years ago without first securing legislative approval, a Virginia circuit court judge ruled Wednesday.
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November 20, 2024
Judge Opens Path For Ex-Yale Student's Asylum Bid
A Connecticut federal judge has illuminated a potential path for an expelled Yale student to send his sex assault accuser's name to immigration officials, suggesting that submitting a state trial transcript would "not seem to run afoul" of a magistrate judge's ban on otherwise naming the woman.
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November 20, 2024
Mountain West Says Trans Athlete Policy Was No Secret
The Mountain West Conference has said that a motion for an emergency injunction that would force it to ban a transgender athlete from competition ahead of a volleyball tournament comes way too late and is a "manufactured" emergency, while Utah State University lodged an intervening complaint in support of banning the athlete.
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November 20, 2024
DEA Accused Of Colluding With Reform Foes In Pot Row
Cannabis reform advocates have alleged that the Drug Enforcement Administration "stacked the deck" by colluding with anti-legalization interests and giving them improper opportunities to participate in upcoming hearings on a proposal to loosen federal restrictions on the drug.
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November 20, 2024
Fed. Judges Still Seek New Bench Seats Amid Dems' Loss
The Federal Judges Association is urging the House to pass the bipartisan bill that would expand the federal courts in order to meet rising caseloads, even as the Biden administration appears to be cooling on the idea it once supported.
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November 20, 2024
Fla. Couple Ask To Revive Suit Over Unclaimed Property
A Florida couple asked the Eleventh Circuit Wednesday to revive their proposed class suit against the state's chief financial officer over a law that allows officials to hold unclaimed money indefinitely, arguing that it is a taking without just compensation because the state never pays interest on the amount held.
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November 20, 2024
Apple Says DOJ Case Has Too Much Speculation To Survive
Apple's attorneys pressed a New Jersey federal judge Wednesday to toss the U.S. Department of Justice's monopolization lawsuit, asserting in oral arguments that the government is simply trying to force them to work with rivals when attacking controls imposed on iPhone app developers.
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November 20, 2024
CPSC Misunderstands Magnet Risks For Kids, Court Told
An attorney for the magnet industry told the Tenth Circuit on Wednesday that consumer safety regulators wrongly focused on the size of magnets when trying to protect children from the danger of swallowing them, when the real danger of high-powered magnets comes from swallowing multiple magnets, regardless of size, not single magnets that may be small enough to swallow.
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November 20, 2024
DC Circ. Skeptical Of Texas AG's Bid To Revive X Probe
A D.C. Circuit panel seemed skeptical Wednesday of the Texas attorney general's claims that Media Matters lacks a valid claim to challenge the state enforcer's investigation into the media watchdog's reporting about the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, but one judge expressed uncertainty about the suit's readiness for judicial review.
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November 20, 2024
FERC Says There's No Need To Ref Mich. Grid Upgrade Fight
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission defended its decision that Michigan Electric Transmission Co. failed to establish that shared ownership of new grid updates needed to serve a Michigan solar farm was necessarily precluded, telling the D.C. Circuit the electric utility hasn't shown how it's harmed.
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November 20, 2024
Cross-Border Sales Were Unlawful Monopoly, Feds Say
Prosecutors have urged a Texas federal judge to deny a dismissal bid from two people accused of using violence to monopolize cross-border sales of used cars, saying the individuals were not operating the lawful clerical service they claimed to be running.
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November 20, 2024
Gas Bill Challenge Finds Little Purchase With Colo. Justices
Colorado Supreme Court justices questioned Wednesday why a state regulator-backed plan to charge customers for extra natural gas ahead of a snowstorm was unreasonable, appearing to dash a company's challenge to its utility bill.
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November 20, 2024
Colo. Justices Doubtful Students' COVID Fee Suit Will Survive
Colorado's justices were skeptical Wednesday that Colorado State University students seeking fee refunds for coronavirus campus shutdowns can bring an unjust enrichment claim, with one justice saying the students' attorney is advocating for an "enormous" extension of existing law.
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November 20, 2024
Ga. Judge Cuts Claims From Jail Book Policy Challenge
A Georgia federal judge Tuesday dismissed several claims in a bookstore's lawsuit alleging a Georgia sheriff and jail commander imposed an unlawful policy of only allowing books into the county jail from authorized retailers, only keeping alive claims against the two men in their official capacities.
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November 20, 2024
En Banc DC Circ. Eyes Court Power Over FEC
The D.C. Circuit's decision to sit for its first en banc rehearing since 2021 might signal that the court is inclined to reconsider an oft-challenged precedent barring judges from second-guessing federal election regulators when they decline to take enforcement actions, experts say.
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November 20, 2024
Amid Legal Challenge, La. Hemp Law On Hold
A Louisiana law that would issue new regulation on the potency of hemp-derived intoxicants along with where they can be sold will not go into effect until the end of March, allowing time for briefing from state officials and hemp interests challenging the law.
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November 20, 2024
11th Circ. Told Everglades Project Will Reduce Water Supplies
Several Florida sugar growers urged the Eleventh Circuit Wednesday to reverse a decision allowing an Everglades flood control project to proceed, saying a lower court wrongly accepted a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers impact analysis that will result in water supply loss to the surrounding area.
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November 20, 2024
Uber, Lyft, Chicago Ignored Due Process, Banned Driver Says
A former Uber and Lyft driver has sued the platforms in Illinois federal court for deactivating her accounts over false claims she spit on a passenger, and she also sued the city of Chicago over its ordinance allowing rideshare platforms to ban drivers without notice or an opportunity to defend themselves.
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November 20, 2024
Texas Offers Up Land To Help Trump's Mass Deportation Plan
The Texas General Land Office is offering up 1,400 acres of ranch land near the U.S.-Mexico border to the incoming Trump administration to construct deportation facilities to support the president-elect's plan for mass removals.
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November 20, 2024
NJ Court Must Revisit Assessor's Workplace Retaliation Claim
A New Jersey trial court must revisit a municipal tax assessor's workplace retaliation claim as the case used by the court in its decision doesn't exempt assessors from the state's employee protection law, an appellate panel ruled Wednesday.
Expert Analysis
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How Biden Admin Has Used Antitrust Tools, And What's Next
The last four years have been marked by an aggressive whole-of-government approach to antitrust enforcement using a broad range of tools, and may result in lasting change regardless of the upcoming presidential election result, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
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Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits
Environmental citizen suits stepping in to fill the regulatory vacuum concerning consumer goods waste may soon become more common, and the evolving procedural landscape and changes to environmental law may contribute to companies' increased exposure, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.
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How BIS' Rule Seeks To Encourage More Voluntary Disclosure
Updated incentives, penalties and enforcement resources in the Bureau of Industry and Security's recently published final rule revising the Export Administration Regulations should help companies decide how to implement export control compliance programs and whether to disclose possible violations, say attorneys at Freshfields.
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Series
Florida Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3
With the implementation of H.B. 989, the third quarter of 2024 has been transformative for banking law and regulation in Florida, and this new law places a strong emphasis on fair access to banking, and prohibits ideologically or politically motivated decisions by financial institutions, says Sha’Ron James at Gunster.
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8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney
A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.
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Navigating Complex Regulatory Terrain Amid State AG Races
This year's 10 attorney general elections could usher in a wave of new enforcement priorities and regulatory uncertainty, but companies can stay ahead of the shifts by building strong relationships with AG offices, participating in industry coalitions and more, say Ketan Bhirud and Dustin McDaniel at Cozen O’Connor.
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How A Trump Win Might Affect The H-1B Program
A review of the Trump administration's attempted overhaul of the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program suggests policies Donald Trump might try to implement if he is reelected, and specific steps employers should consider to prepare for that possibility, says Eileen Lohmann at BAL.
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Challenge To Ill. Card Fee Law Explores Compliance Hurdles
A recent federal lawsuit challenging an Illinois law that will soon forbid electronic payment networks from charging fees for processing the tax and tip portions of card transactions, fleshes out the glaring compliance challenges and exposure risks financial institutions must be ready to face next summer, says Martin Kiernan at Amundsen Davis.
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How The 2025 Tax Policy Debate Will Affect The Energy Sector
Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming U.S. election, 2025 will bring a major tax policy debate that could affect the energy sector more than any other part of the economy — so stakeholders who could be affected should be engaging now to make sure they understand the stakes, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Compliance Considerations For Calif. Child Labor Audit Law
California employers will need to conduct a fact-intensive analysis to determine whether a new state law that imposes transparency rules for child labor audits applies to their operations, and should look out for regulatory guidance that answers open questions about deadlines and penalties, says Sylvia St. Clair at Faegre Drinker.
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Harris Unlikely To Shelve Biden Admin's Food Antitrust Stance
A look at Vice President Kamala Harris' past record, including her actions as California attorney general, shows why practitioners should prepare for continued aggressive antitrust enforcement, particularly in the food and grocery industries, if Harris wins the presidential election, says Steve Vieux at Bartko.
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Opinion
Barrett Is Right: Immunity Is Wrong Framework In Trump Case
Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s concurrence in Trump v. U.S., where the majority opinion immunized former presidents almost entirely from criminal prosecution for official actions, rests on a firmer constitutional foundation than the majority’s immunity framework, says Matthew Brogdon at Utah Valley University.
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Opinion
This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process
In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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The Complex Challenges Facing Sustainable Food Packaging
More and more states are requiring recycled content to be used in product packaging, creating complex technological and regulatory considerations for manufacturers who must also comply with federal food safety requirements, say Peter Coneski and Natalie Rainer at K&L Gates.
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Navigating HHS' New Reproductive Healthcare Privacy Rule
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new final rule regarding protections for the privacy of reproductive health information will require regulated entities to grapple with difficult questions about whether to comply with state law requirements or federal privacy prohibitions, says Christine Chasse at Spencer Fane.