Public Policy

  • August 21, 2024

    Dems At DNC Push For High Court Reform

    Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday made the case at an event adjacent to the Democratic National Convention that U.S. Supreme Court reform is an issue that everyday Americans should care about and championed the progress made thus far. 

  • August 21, 2024

    Oath Keepers Atty Pleads Guilty In Jan. 6 Case

    A former attorney for the far-right Oath Keepers group pled guilty Wednesday to charges connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, copping to entering restricted Capitol grounds and advising Oath Keepers affiliates to delete incriminating digital evidence following the riot.

  • August 21, 2024

    Paxton Issues Warrants To Texas Counties In Election Inquiry

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday that his office had executed multiple search warrants in Frio, Atascosa, and Bexar counties as part of an ongoing investigation into election integrity.

  • August 21, 2024

    Oregon Judge Grants EPA Partial Win In Water Pollution Suit

    An Oregon federal judge rejected a conservation group's contention that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must step in and act because Oregon has effectively submitted no total maximum daily load plans to set appropriate pollution limits for hundreds of impaired waterways, some of which have been considered impaired for decades.

  • August 21, 2024

    Ohio Justice Pulls Appeals Judge Into Party Label Challenge

    Ohio Court of Appeals Chief Judge Thomas J. Osowik is now ensnared in state Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner's challenge to a state law requiring candidates for Ohio's appellate courts to list their political party affiliation on the ballot, appearing as a defendant in a retooled version of her complaint.

  • August 21, 2024

    City Health Administrator Says Firing Flouted Constitution

    A former city of Bridgeport healthcare administrator says she learned via a one-page, hand-delivered letter at the close of business on April 1 that she was immediately losing her job, a move she says violated the 14th Amendment because she received neither a warning nor an opportunity for a hearing.

  • August 21, 2024

    Satanists Ask 1st Circ. To Rethink Boston's Prayer Scheme

    A satanic temple wants the full First Circuit to rehear its suit seeking to participate in a blessing at Boston City Council meetings, arguing in a petition that the city's discriminatory prayer selection practice is straight out of a George Orwell novel.

  • August 21, 2024

    Alaska Seeks Pause In Mining Row Suit With EPA

    The state of Alaska is calling on a district court judge to pause litigation accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of unlawfully prohibiting development of the Pebble mineral deposit in the southwestern region of the state, while the agency attempts to withhold documents from the public.

  • August 21, 2024

    Asylum Limits Litigation Remains In Settlement Talks

    A pair of cases in the Ninth Circuit and D.C. federal court in which asylum-seekers are challenging a Biden administration rule limiting asylum at the southern border are still in the settlement-discussion stage. 

  • August 21, 2024

    RI Pot Regulators Eye Dismissal Of Fla. Resident's Challenge

    Rhode Island's marijuana regulator has asked a federal judge to toss a challenge brought by a Florida resident alleging the state's scheme for awarding retail cannabis licenses is unconstitutional, saying that process hasn't even been established yet.

  • August 21, 2024

    Nonprofit Can Step Into Ex-CFO's $40M Embezzlement Case

    A Michigan federal judge said Tuesday that the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy can intervene in the federal government's embezzlement case against its former chief financial officer, who is alleged to have stolen $40 million from the nonprofit tasked with revamping Detroit's riverfront. 

  • August 21, 2024

    Ex-Venezuelan Oil Employee Pleads Guilty To Sanctions Plot

    The former procurement head at Petróleos de Venezuela SA, Venezuela's state-owned oil company, pled guilty to conspiring to obtain millions of dollars' worth of U.S. aircraft parts for the business, in violation of U.S. sanctions.

  • August 20, 2024

    Feds Say Chevron Doesn't Change Auto Standards Litigation

    The federal government told the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion axing federal agency deference doesn't aid Republican-led states' and industry's attempt to undermine tighter greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles.

  • August 20, 2024

    FDIC Challenged Over 'Kafkaesque' Enforcement Proceeding

    A former small business financier battling Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. enforcement claims has asked a D.C. federal court to issue an emergency order staying the agency's "Kafkaesque" administrative proceeding against him, arguing that it deprives him of his constitutional right to a jury trial.

  • August 20, 2024

    DOJ, SD County Resolve Indigenous Voting Barrier Claims

    The U.S. Department of Justice has secured an agreement with a South Dakota county and its officials to end the federal government's allegations that the municipality failed to make registration and early voting opportunities equally available to Native American voters.

  • August 20, 2024

    FCC Urged To Boost Middle-Mile Support For Alaska Telecoms

    Alaskan telecoms are telling the Federal Communications Commission that their state needs special rules for middle-mile support, saying that Alaska's short construction season, roadless areas and other unique challenges mean that more support will be needed to achieve widespread connectivity.

  • August 20, 2024

    Ariz. Tribe Wins Pause Of Lithium Project Construction

    An Arizona federal judge has granted the Hualapai Indian Tribe's bid for a temporary restraining order in its lawsuit seeking to halt U.S. government approval of a lithium exploration project that it says threatens the life of a sacred medical spring used for cultural and religious purposes.

  • August 20, 2024

    Don't Nix 'Band Manager' Approach In 4.9 GHz, FCC Told

    Public interest groups have urged the Federal Communications Commission to preserve its original plan to use a national band manager to oversee a 4.9 gigahertz spectrum revamp rather than turning it over to FirstNet through a nationwide license.

  • August 20, 2024

    Colo. Justices To Hear Claims-Clock Debate In Xcel Death Suit

    The Colorado Supreme Court said Monday it would hear an appeal by Xcel Energy and a city over whether the deadline for an accident victim's father to sue started when his daughter was hit by a car or when she died weeks later.

  • August 20, 2024

    USDOT Floats Vehicle-To-Everything Deployment Plan

    The U.S. Department of Transportation is setting out an aspirational timeline for vehicle-to-everything infrastructure deployment, saying it wants to see the technology deployed on 50% of the nation's highways by 2031.

  • August 20, 2024

    New Fed Rule Will Help Tribes Sponsor Watershed Projects

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service said it has decided to amend its regulations for watershed projects, so Native American tribes and tribal groups can better carry out improvements for flood prevention and conservation.

  • August 20, 2024

    Ala. AG Can't Prosecute Aiding Abortion Travel, DOJ Says

    The Alabama attorney general's threats of criminal prosecution against individuals and corporations who assist others in traveling to obtain lawful abortions out of state violates the constitutional right to travel, the U.S. Department of Justice told an Alabama federal judge in a court filing Monday. 

  • August 20, 2024

    NC Panel Nixes Black Property Owners' Revived Bias Fight

    A North Carolina state appeals court handed the city of Kinston a win Tuesday for a second time in a discrimination lawsuit that the state Supreme Court recently revived, finding that Black property owners' claims that the city unfairly demolished their properties aren't viable because they never completed an "adequate" administrative appeals process.

  • August 20, 2024

    SF Police Can't Sue Navy Over Toxic Shipyard, 9th Circ. Says

    A group of San Francisco police officers cannot pursue their suit alleging the U.S. Navy misled the city into leasing a former naval shipyard that was not properly decontaminated following its use during the Cold War, which led to the officers suffering health problems, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday.

  • August 20, 2024

    DHS Watchdog Says ICE Needs To Better Monitor Migrant Kids

    The inspector general for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said the agency needs to better monitor the status and location of unaccompanied migrant children after their release from federal custody to better protect them.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: Uniform Tax Law Interpretation Not Guaranteed

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    The loss of Chevron deference will significantly alter the relationship between the IRS, courts and Congress when it comes to tax law, potentially precipitating more transparent rulemaking, but also provoking greater uncertainty due to variability in judicial interpretation, say Michelle Levin and Carneil Wilson at Dentons.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Environmental Law May Face Hurdles

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling overturning Chevron deference could prove to be as influential as the original 1984 decision, with far-reaching implications for U.S. environmental laws, including rendering recently promulgated regulations more vulnerable to challenges, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Why High Court Social Media Ruling Will Be Hotly Debated

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    In deciding the NetChoice cases that challenged Florida and Texas content moderation laws, what the U.S. Supreme Court justices said about social media platforms — and the First Amendment — will have implications and raise questions for nearly all online operators, say Jacob Canter and Joanna Rosen Forster at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Good News For Gov't Contractors In Litigation

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    The net result of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision overturning Chevron deference is that individuals, contractors and companies bringing procurement-related cases against the government will have new pathways toward success, say Joseph Berger and Andrés Vera at Thompson Hine.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Scale Tips Favor Away From HHS Agencies

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    The loss of Chevron deference may indirectly aid parties in challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretations of regulations and could immediately influence several pending cases challenging HHS on technical questions and agency authority, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Series

    After Chevron: FDA Regulations In The Crosshairs

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine is likely to unleash an array of challenges against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, focusing on areas of potential overreach such as the FDA's authority under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Realtor Settlement May Create New Antitrust Pitfalls

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    Following a recent antitrust settlement between the National Association of Realtors and home sellers, practices are set to change and the increased competition may benefit both brokers and homebuyers, but the loss of the customary method of buyer broker compensation could lead to new antitrust concerns, says Colin Ahler at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation

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    As greenwashing lawsuits continue to gain momentum with a shift in focus to carbon-neutrality claims, businesses must exercise caution and ensure transparency in their environmental marketing practices, taking cues from recent legal challenges in the airline industry, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Limited Changes In USPTO Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Chevron deference will have limited consequences for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office given the USPTO's unique statutory features, but it is still an important decision for matters of statutory interpretation, especially those involving provisions of the America Invents Act, say Andrei Iancu and Cooper Godfrey at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Preparing For CFPB 'Junk Fee' Push Into Mortgage Industry

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    As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau considers expanding its "junk fee" initiative into mortgage closing costs, mortgage lenders and third parties must develop plans now that anticipate potential rulemaking or enforcement activity in this space, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections

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    While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.

  • Series

    After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue

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    As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Impact On Indian Law May Be Muted

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    Agency interpretations of Indian law statutes that previously stood the test of judicial review ​are likely to withstand new challenges even after the end of Chevron deference, but litigation in the area is all but certain, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

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