Public Policy

  • June 28, 2024

    Chevron's End Is Just The Start For Energized Agency Foes

    By knocking down a powerful precedent that has towered over administrative law for 40 years, the U.S. Supreme Court's right wing Friday gave a crowning achievement to anti-agency attorneys. But for those attorneys, the achievement is merely a means to an end, and experts expect a litigation blitzkrieg to materialize quickly in the aftermath.

  • June 28, 2024

    R.I. Pot Residency Rule Unconstitutional, Fla. Resident Claims

    Rhode Island is hogging all the "enormous economic opportunities" associated with retail cannabis for state residents, according to a federal lawsuit filed by a Florida entrepreneur who claims the Ocean State's residency requirement is unconstitutional.

  • June 28, 2024

    Split SCOTX Revives Judge's Same-Sex Wedding Challenge

    A split Texas Supreme Court revived a judge's lawsuit against the state judicial ethics commission over sanctions for her refusal to officiate same-sex marriages, with the majority finding the judge's claims are not barred because she did not go through the administrative process.

  • June 28, 2024

    Iowa's Hemp Law Could Be 'Unconstitutionally Vague'

    A federal judge on Friday suggested she'd consider blocking an Iowa hemp law, set to go into effect Monday, which would impose new restrictions on THC levels and dole out criminal penalties, saying the statute "potentially raises due process concerns."

  • June 28, 2024

    Texas Justices Back Ban On Gender Affirming Care For Minors

    The Texas Supreme Court upheld a state ban on medical treatments that affirm the gender identity of transgender youths, saying Friday that the legislature "made a permissible, rational policy choice," though a dissenting justice said the court allowed the state "to legislate away fundamental parental rights."

  • June 28, 2024

    Prosecution Rests In Menendez Bribery Trial

    New York federal prosecutors on Friday closed out their case-in-chief that Sen. Robert Menendez accepted bribes from constituent businessmen, resting after a final witness said some $550,000 in cash seized from the senator's wife's house could not have been from his cash withdrawals in recent years, which were only $55,000.

  • June 28, 2024

    Citi Wants Termination Suit Over Alleged Lies To OCC Tossed

    Citibank has urged a New York federal judge to toss a suit by a former managing director of the bank who claims she was fired for not reporting false information to compliance authorities, arguing that even if her claims are true, she hasn't plausibly alleged a cause of action under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

  • June 28, 2024

    Custodia Bank Asks 10th Circ. For Fed Master Account Win

    Crypto-focused Custodia Bank has argued in an opening brief before the Tenth Circuit that it is entitled to a Federal Reserve master account and should be given approval to open one, kicking off its appeal of a Wyoming federal judge's decision that said otherwise.

  • June 28, 2024

    In Chevron Case, Justices Trade One Unknown For Another

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overrule a decades-old judicial deference doctrine may cause the "eternal fog of uncertainty" surrounding federal agency actions to dissipate and level the playing field in challenges of government policies, but lawyers warn it raises new questions over what rules courts must follow and how judges will implement them.

  • June 28, 2024

    Parts Of Ga. Bond Law Blocked For Now Over 'Group' Meaning

    A Georgia federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked certain provisions of a law set to take effect Monday that would make it illegal for people, charities and organizations to post more than three cash bonds in a year and require charitable bail funds to register as bonding agencies. 

  • June 28, 2024

    Conn. Court Shouldn't Hear Anti-Dispensary Appeal, City Says

    A Connecticut appeals court should not hear a case brought by an anti-cannabis organization in Stamford that is trying to undo a court-approved settlement that allowed for the opening of a dispensary, the city's Zoning Board has argued.

  • June 28, 2024

    FCC Subsidy Opponents File New 5th Circ. Challenge

    A free-market group and others seeking to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's telecom subsidy system has again filed suit in the Fifth Circuit to oppose the industry fees that fund the programs.

  • June 28, 2024

    PAGA Reforms Clear Calif. Assembly, Head To Newsom's Desk

    California legislators in both the Senate and Assembly overwhelmingly backed big changes to California's Private Attorneys General Act, including an adjustment to how penalties are assessed to employers and awarded to employees, sending the package to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

  • June 28, 2024

    Health Regulators Likely To Tread Carefully Post-Chevron

    The demise of Chevron deference at the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday will likely encourage or fortify challenges to agency rulemaking on matters of health policy in the U.S., from Medicare reimbursement decisions to FDA rules on laboratory-developed tests.

  • June 28, 2024

    USPTO Asks Public For Input On Addressing AI Deepfakes

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Friday that it will seek public input about whether existing laws are enough to protect individuals from unauthorized artificial intelligence-created replicas of their image, voice and likeness, commonly called deepfakes.

  • June 28, 2024

    Shkreli Asks High Court To Toss $64M Disgorgement Order

    Former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli, who gained notoriety for hiking the price of HIV/AIDS medication before serving more than four years in prison for securities fraud, is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to toss a disgorgement order requiring him to pay $64 million for monopolistic price-gouging.

  • June 28, 2024

    6th Circ. Won't Move Net Neutrality Challenges To DC

    The Sixth Circuit on Friday denied a bid to transfer challenges to the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules to the D.C. Circuit.

  • June 28, 2024

    High Court Bends, But Doesn't Break, FERC Enforcement

    The U.S. Supreme Court's new limits on administrative law judge powers has injected fresh uncertainty into how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission conducts its enforcement process, but the justices haven't upended the agency's reliance on its in-house court system, FERC watchers say.

  • June 28, 2024

    Calif. Panel Won't Toss Trial Win By AT&T's Cricket

    Cricket Communications Inc. won't have to worry about a 2018 jury trial win being kiboshed after a California appeals court ruled that when it overturned a pretrial ruling because a previous judge failed to disclose that he owned AT&T stock, it didn't mean the entire trial should be undone.

  • June 28, 2024

    Shifting Legal Positions Behind High Court Abortion Punt

    Rapid developments in Idaho abortion law paved the way for a fractured U.S. Supreme Court decision that leaves doctors in the state in murky legal waters around providing abortions to patients in medical crisis.

  • June 28, 2024

    Biden Extends Deportation Protections For 309K Haitians

    The Biden administration on Friday expanded a humanitarian immigration program to provide temporary deportation relief to roughly 309,000 Haitians currently living in the U.S. who can't safely return to their war-torn Caribbean nation where gang violence has escalated in recent months.

  • June 28, 2024

    Top Delaware Court Tosses Voting Law Challenge

    Delaware's Supreme Court on Friday reversed a Superior Court strike-down of two state statutes on voting procedures, finding that the plaintiffs had no standing to sue because they hadn't shown any "imminent, particularized" harm.

  • June 28, 2024

    NC Justices Revive Black Property Owners' Bias Suit

    The North Carolina Supreme Court vacated a lower court's dismissal of discrimination claims brought by Black property owners against the city of Kinston alleging that the city targeted Black-owned buildings for condemnation while preserving white-owned buildings as historical, ruling Friday that the lower court applied the wrong legal standard.

  • June 28, 2024

    Buttigieg Says Rescheduling Pot Would Not Alter DOT Policy

    If the U.S. Department of Justice were to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana as it has proposed, it would not affect the U.S. Department of Transportation's authority to screen for the drug, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told members of Congress on Thursday.

  • June 28, 2024

    House Passes Contentious $833B Defense Spending Bill

    The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed an $833 billion bill funding the Pentagon for 2025, amid a veto threat over contentious issues such as cutting funding for Ukraine and a bar on gender-affirming care.

Expert Analysis

  • A Case Study For Calif. Cities In Water Utility Takeovers

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    With growing water scarcity and drier weather looming, some local governments in California have sought to acquire investor-owned water utilities by eminent domain — but the 2016 case of Claremont v. Golden State Water is a reminder that such municipalization attempts must meet certain statutory requirements, say attorneys at Nossaman.

  • Series

    NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The second quarter of 2024 saw less enforcement activity in the realm of New York financial services, but brought substantial regulatory and legislative developments, including state regulators' guidance on cybersecurity compliance and customer service processes for virtual currency entities, say James Vivenzio and Andrew Lucas at Perkins Coie.

  • 4 Important Events In Bank Regulation: A Midyear Review

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    The first six months of 2024 have been fairly stable for the banking industry, though U.S. Supreme Court decisions and proposals from regulators have significantly affected the regulatory standards applicable to insured depository institutions, says Christina Grigorian at Katten.

  • FTC Focus: Competition And The Right To Repair

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    If the Federal Trade Commission includes commercial and industrial products as part of copyright exemptions that allow consumers to modify or repair products, then businesses and affected rights holders will need to consider copyrights' impact on infringement issues, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • How Cannabis Rescheduling May Affect Current Operators

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    The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's proposal to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III provides relief in the form of federal policy from the stigma and burdens of Schedule I, but commercial cannabis operations will remain unchanged until the federal-state cannabis policy gap is remedied by Congress, say Meital Manzuri and Alexis Lazzeri at Manzuri Law.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Air Ambulance Ruling Severely Undermines No Surprises Act

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    A Texas federal court's recent decision in Guardian Flight v. Health Care Service — that the No Surprises Act lacks a judicial remedy when a health insurer refuses to pay the amount established through an independent review — likely throws a huge monkey wrench into the elaborate protections the NSA was enacted to provide, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

  • Justices' Removal Ruling Presents Hurdles, But Offers Clarity

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Campos-Chaves v. Garland and two other consolidated cases endorses a multistep notice practice that could impair noncitizens' access to adequate judicial notice, but its resolution of a longstanding circuit split also provides much-needed clarity, says Devin Connolly at Reeves Immigration Law Group.

  • Tracking Implementation Of IRA Programs As Election Nears

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    As the Biden administration races to cement key regulations implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, a number of the law's programs and incentives are at risk of delay or repeal if Republicans retake control of Congress, the White House or both — so stakeholders should closely watch ongoing IRA implementation and guidance, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • Zoning Reform May Alleviate The Affordable Housing Crisis

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    As America's affordable housing issues continue to worsen, zoning reform efforts can help to provide more affordable homes and mitigate racial and economic segregation, though opposition from residents and in courts could present challenges, say Evan Pritchard and Madeline Williams at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles at Finnegan.

  • Justices' 'Blind Mule' Ruling Won't Change Defense Strategy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Diaz v. U.S., holding that expert witnesses can testify broadly about the mental state of “most people” in a group, simply affirms the status quo for the majority of defendants, and is unlikely to change defense counsel’s strategy at trial, says Walter Gonçalves at the Arizona Federal Public Defender's Office.

  • Ecuador Ruling Marks Significant Step For Arbitral Certainty

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    The Constitutional Court of Ecuador's recent holding that a foreign arbitral award did not require homologation before local enforcement is a positive step toward fostering greater certainty in international business dispute resolution in the region, say Luis Perez and Ildefonso Mas at Akerman.

  • A Look At Calif. Contract Considerations In Fiji Water Ruling

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    A California appellate court's recent decision in Carolina Beverage v. Fiji Water, that a party may not seek contractual recovery on the basis of constructive termination, offers a look at contract construction and other considerations on negotiating distribution agreements, says Michael Laszlo at Clark Hill.

  • Making Plans For BNPL Consumer Protection Compliance

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    With an interpretive rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau set to require buy-now, pay-later providers to implement credit card-like consumer safeguards by the end of July, loan providers must solidify their federally compliant customer dispute resolution and disclosure procedures before the newly emboldened bureau's deadline, say attorneys at Steptoe.

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