Inmates in New York are suing to be allowed to see the solar eclipse

New York inmates are suing the state over its plan to lockdown prisons during next week’s solar eclipse, alleging that in barring them from viewing the rare phenomenon, the corrections department is stripping them of their constitutional right to exercise their religion.

Apr 3, 2024 10:30 AM CDT

Burdened prison staffers seeking more time between executions should ‘suck it up,’ top criminal court judge says

Judge Gary Lumpkin, a judge on Oklahoma’s top criminal appeals court, has said state prison officials seeking more time between executions have to “suck it up” and get the job done. Lumpkin said he’s not buying into the “sympathy stuff.”

Apr 3, 2024 8:48 AM CDT

Florida Supreme Court allows one of nation’s strictest abortion bans to take effect

Florida’s conservative supreme court ruled Monday that the state’s constitution does not protect abortion rights, allowing one of the country’s strictest and most far-reaching abortion bans to take effect May 1.

Apr 2, 2024 4:00 PM CDT

Judge refuses to toss suit claiming lawyer, a Civil War buff, played ‘Dixie’ and watched disturbing racist videos at work

A fired office manager for Brooklyn, New York City, law firm Wenig Saltiel can proceed with her claim that she was subjected to a hostile work environment because of the alleged actions of a Civil War buff who was formerly a name partner, a federal judge has ruled.

Apr 2, 2024 3:30 PM CDT

‘Nerd’ lawyer spotted differing 3-point lines at NCAA women’s tournament; ‘once you saw it, you couldn’t unsee it’

Thanks to a lawyer sitting in nosebleed seats, the NCAA learned over the weekend that the two three-point lines in the women’s basketball tournament at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, were different lengths.

Apr 2, 2024 10:32 AM CDT

Fennemore Craig makes another mass lawyer hire, leading to closure of Denver law firm

Fennemore Craig has made a fourth mass lawyer lateral hire this year, adding about 50 lawyers and 30 staff members from Denver-based law firm Moye White, according to a report by Law.com.

Apr 2, 2024 9:00 AM CDT

Weekly performance meetings in glass room visible to others were retaliatory, plaintiff says in suit against Morgan Lewis

A Black patent prosecution specialist born in 1962 alleges that Morgan, Lewis & Bockius gave better opportunities to white, younger co-workers and retaliated when she complained by holding weekly performance meetings in a glass-walled conference room visible to colleagues.

Apr 1, 2024 3:37 PM CDT

Alex Murdaugh sentenced to 40 years for financial crimes

Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh was sentenced in federal court on Monday to 40 years in prison for nearly two dozen financial crimes, 13 months after the former lawyer was found guilty of killing his wife and son.

Apr 1, 2024 2:14 PM CDT

Blaming Word setting for overlong briefs is ‘somewhat hard to believe,’ federal judge says as she tosses footnotes

A setting in Microsoft Word is to blame for a failure to include footnotes in word counts for briefs filed on behalf of online casino provider High 5 Games, its lawyers told a federal judge in fighting a bid for sanctions.

Apr 1, 2024 11:42 AM CDT

‘Venue Is Not a Continental Breakfast’: Judge transfers case as district declares it won’t adopt anti-‘judge shopping’ policy

The federal courts in the Northern District of Texas won’t implement a new policy that aims to curb "judge shopping" by randomly assigning some civil cases filed in single-judge divisions to judges throughout the district.

Apr 1, 2024 10:18 AM CDT

Relationship Matters: Should you hire a divorce coach?

Divorce coaches don’t replace divorce attorneys, but they are designed to help clients handle everything surrounding the divorce, including offering emotional support and relationship advice, paperwork assistance and financial guidance.

Apr 1, 2024 8:56 AM CDT

Lawyer’s actions in discipline matter lead to worse penalty

Apr 1, 2024 1:50 AM CDT

This Los Angeles lawyer found her calling as a death doula

Alua Arthur, a former legal aid lawyer, is a certified death doula. She provides emotional and organizational support for people who are nearing death, allowing them to embrace the end in a way that honors their wishes, customs and beliefs.

Apr 1, 2024 1:10 AM CDT

New California law placing unhoused individuals with addictions in conservatorships faces questions

Anyone deemed to be “gravely disabled” or suffering from a significant substance abuse disorder can be placed into a conservatorship and institutionalized for an initial 72-hour hold. Longer placements can also happen.

Apr 1, 2024 12:40 AM CDT

May 8, 1867: Trolley segregation ends in New Orleans

Since their inaugural service in the 1830s, streetcars were a source of both convenience and resentment for the Black citizens of New Orleans. With their access limited by local “Black codes” only to “star cars”—segregated trolleys emblazoned with a black star—even free Black workers, housewives and shoppers found a daily reminder that their freedom bore scant resemblance to that of whites.

Apr 1, 2024 12:05 AM CDT