On May 16—for the second time in two weeks—the U.S. Supreme Court, this time unanimously, has taken a lenient, plaintiff-friendly view of whether a filing deadline is jurisdictional in the sense that it is governed by the...more
5/20/2024
/ Administrative Agencies ,
CFPB v Community Financial Services Association of America ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Discovery ,
Federal Funding ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Furloughs ,
Harrow v Department of Defense ,
Jurisdiction ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Music Industry ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
The Copyright Act ,
Warner Chappell Music v Nealy
The U.S. Supreme Court decided two cases yesterday, in each of which timing played a decisive role in the outcome. These cases did not produce the unanimity that has characterized most of the Court’s decisions so far this...more
5/10/2024
/ Asset Seizure ,
Class Action ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Drug Possession ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Due Process ,
Forfeiture ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Music Industry ,
Personal Property ,
SCOTUS ,
Supreme Court Justices ,
The Copyright Act ,
Warner Chappell Music v Nealy
A unanimous Supreme Court has eased the route for a plaintiff to prove a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis.
...more
The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday morning in the case of Joseph Fischer, one of more than 300 people convicted of corruptly obstructing an official proceeding: the congressional certification on January 6, 2021, of...more
4/17/2024
/ DeVillier v Texas ,
Donald Trump ,
Entitlements ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Fischer v United States ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Insurrection ,
Judicial Proceedings ,
Law Enforcement ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
Oral Argument ,
Political Campaigns ,
Presidential Elections ,
Rudisill v McDonough ,
SCOTUS ,
Takings Clause ,
Veterans Administration ,
Veterans' Benefits
Some commentators claim there are bitter divisions among the Justices, roiling the Court and its processes. Many of the same commentators were critical of the Court’s decision holding that former President Trump was not...more
4/12/2024
/ Building Permits ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Construction Project ,
George Sheetz v County of El Dorado ,
Impact Fees ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Development ,
SCOTUS ,
Supreme Court Justices ,
Takings Clause ,
Traffic Impact Assessments
Yonas Fikre, a U.S. citizen who had emigrated from Sudan, found himself placed on the No Fly List by the FBI and unable to return to the United States from an international trip. This action followed Fikre’s having been...more
3/19/2024
/ Article III ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Deportation ,
FBI ,
Federal Bureau of Investigation v Fikre ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Immigrants ,
Injunctive Relief ,
International Travel ,
Migrants ,
Mootness ,
Removal Orders ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Tourists ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Visas ,
Wilkinson v Garland
On Friday, March 15, a unanimous Supreme Court decided two companion cases (Lindke v. Freed and O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier) that resolved a split in the Circuits concerning whether public officials can be held liable under...more
3/18/2024
/ 42 U.S.C. §1983 ,
Censorship ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Facebook ,
First Amendment ,
Government Officials ,
Lindke v Freed ,
O’Connor-Ratcliff v Garnier ,
Online Commentary ,
Personal Use ,
Right to Delete ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Media
To the surprise of no one connected with the case, or who just listened to the oral argument, the Supreme Court, in a per curiam opinion (i.e., unanimously), decided the case of Trump v. Anderson, holding that states have no...more
3/5/2024
/ Donald Trump ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
General Elections ,
Insurrection ,
Lack of Authority ,
Political Campaigns ,
Presidential Elections ,
Primary Elections ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Trump v Anderson
Most readers of this blog rarely, if ever, become involved in homicide cases.
Nevertheless, the Supreme Court’s essentially unanimous decision in McElrath v. Georgia should be of interest because it deals with the issue of...more
2/21/2024
/ Article III ,
Assault ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Double Jeopardy ,
Felony Murder ,
Insanity Defense ,
Jury Trial ,
Jury Verdicts ,
McElrath v Georgia ,
Murder ,
Standing
In its frequent attempts to enforce the separation of powers that the Constitution’s framers devised as a system of checks and balances among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government, it is...more
Yesterday might ultimately be remembered as among the most consequential days in the history of the Supreme Court and the nation. That will be determined when a decision in Trump v. Anderson is issued....more
2/9/2024
/ Acheson Hotels LLC v Laufer ,
Article III ,
Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v Kirtz ,
Donald Trump ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Insurrection ,
Mootness ,
Political Campaigns ,
Presidential Elections ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Standing ,
Statutory Violations ,
Trump v Anderson
Although the Supreme Court already has heard a number of significant arguments, this term has not yet seen any major substantive opinions. This is not to say that there isn’t a lot going on at, or on the way to, the Court....more
12/12/2023
/ Acheson Hotels LLC v Laufer ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Article III ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Public Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Statutory Violations ,
Websites
June 30th is the nominal last day of the Supreme Court’s current term. The Court began the day with the long-awaited decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, another 6-3 jurisprudentially ideological split in which, per...more
7/3/2023
/ 303 Creative LLC v Elenis ,
Article III ,
Biden Administration ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Department of Education v Brown ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd v Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
Public Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Website Design
A 6-3 Court, sharply divided along conservative and liberal jurisprudential lines, has decided the two headlining cases involving affirmative action in university admissions: Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President...more
6/30/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VII
As the end of the term approaches, the Court is increasingly divided in its decisions. However, the composition of the majorities is not often the 6-3 conservative/liberal division stereotype that many observers, critics, and...more
Management-side attorneys and the businesses that they represent will be pleased with the Supreme Court’s holding in Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters....more
Of the four cases decided last Friday, the one that likely pertains to the largest number of this blog’s readers is Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski, a 5-4 opinion delivered by Justice Kavanaugh, who wrote for himself, the Chief...more
6/26/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Article III ,
Automatic Stay ,
Biden Administration ,
Coinbase ,
Coinbase Inc v Bielski ,
Confessions ,
Confrontation Clause ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Evidence ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
First Amendment ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Motion to Compel ,
Removal Orders ,
Samia v United States ,
Sixth Amendment ,
Standing ,
United States v Hansen ,
US v Texas
With four decisions yesterday, the Court has now cut its backlog down to the mid-teens. And with decisions likely today as well, the Court is well on its way to clearing the docket as the term ends....more
6/23/2023
/ Arizona v Navajo Nation ,
Breach of Trust ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Habeas Corpus ,
Native American Issues ,
Navajo Nation ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
Pugin v Garland ,
RICO ,
SCOTUS ,
Tribal Governments ,
Tribal Lands ,
Tribal Treaty Rights ,
Water ,
Water Rights ,
Yegiazaryan v Smagin
The question of whether a would-be trademark, “TRUMP TOO SMALL,” warrants a First Amendment exception to the Lanham Act’s prohibition on registering a living person’s name as a trademark without that person’s permission has...more
6/19/2023
/ CAFC ,
Certiorari ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Public Figures ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
It should come as no surprise to constitutionalists, practitioners under the Federal False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§3729–3733) (FCA), and auditors of the oral argument in the case that the Supreme Court has held that the...more
Indian tribal rights led the Supreme Court’s docket yesterday. In one case, the Court held that the federal Bankruptcy Code abrogated the sovereign immunity of tribal governments. And in another, this time upholding tribal...more
6/16/2023
/ Anti-Commandeering ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Child Custody ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Double Jeopardy ,
Equal Protection ,
Haaland v Brackeen ,
Improper Venue ,
Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) ,
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v Coughlin ,
Native American Issues ,
Parental Rights ,
Smith v United States ,
Tenth Amendment ,
Tribal Governments
Emerging from the pattern of unanimity, or near unanimity, that has characterized most of the cases decided so far this term, the Supreme Court decided one of its most eagerly awaited and controversial cases. And the outcome...more
We’ve all heard troubling stories involving emerging tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI), in which algorithms yield unintended, biased, or erroneous results. Here are a few examples:
- A monitoring tool for...more
6/8/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Consumer Product Companies ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Health Care Providers ,
Life Sciences ,
Privacy Laws ,
Race Discrimination ,
Risk Management ,
Webinars
Continuing the issuance of opinions as to which the Justices are largely of one mind, the Court today handed down three decisions. Each gives important guidance to litigators on both sides of the ball. The first of these is a...more
6/1/2023
/ Drug Pricing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Glacier Northwest v International Brotherhood of Teamsters ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
NLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 11 ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Slack Technologies Inc v Pirani ,
Strike ,
Unions ,
US ex rel Tracy Schutte et al v SuperValu Inc et al
With essential unanimity, though with an array of concurrences in one of them, the Supreme Court ruled against government parties in three cases, two of them in favor of homeowners, and in property rights and environmental...more
5/26/2023
/ Administrative Remedies ,
Clean Water Act ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Dupree v Younger ,
Eighth Amendment ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exhaustion Doctrine ,
Fifth Amendment ,
FRCP 56 ,
Property Owners ,
Property Tax ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
Takings Clause ,
Tax Sales ,
Tyler v Hennepin County Minnesota ,
Waters of the United States