Slate for next term announced by ABA Legal Ed council

Judge Bridget Mary McCormack, a retired Michigan Supreme Court chief justice, is slated to serve as the next council chair of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar during the next term.

May 31, 2023 2:32 PM CDT

Florida now has nation’s lowest death-penalty threshold; second bill allows execution of child rapists

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a bill that allows juries to recommend capital punishment with an 8-4 vote.

Apr 20, 2023 12:02 PM CDT

Are owners of cars seized because of relatives’ arrests entitled to probable cause hearing? SCOTUS will decide

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether the “innocent owners” of cars seized because of the arrests of their relatives are entitled to a probable cause hearing before forfeiture proceedings begin.

Apr 17, 2023 11:16 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Justice Thomas responds to luxury trips story; suit filed over Idaho AG’s abortion referrals opinion

Justice Thomas: I was following colleagues’ advice on luxury trips U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said he was following guidance from colleagues and others in the judiciary when he didn’t report luxury trips financed by a good friend, Republican megadonor Harlan Crow. ProPublica’s report on the trips said Thomas…

Apr 7, 2023 2:13 PM CDT

ABA asks Supreme Court to review Alabama case involving fixed bail amounts

Apr 3, 2023 4:00 PM CDT

Bill Horton, longtime ABA leader and past Health Law Section chair, dies at 63

William “Bill” Horton, a longtime leader in the ABA Health Law Section, died Tuesday from cancer. “There are those lawyers whom the ABA changes, and there are those who change the ABA. Bill Horton is one of the latter,” ABA President-Elect Mary Smith said in a tribute.

Mar 10, 2023 9:00 AM CST

States don’t have to ‘stand idly by and watch the carnage,’ 11th Circuit says in upholding age restriction on gun sales

Mar 9, 2023 3:21 PM CST

Holland & Knight will merge with Tennessee law firm

Holland & Knight has announced a merger with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, a Nashville, Tennessee-based law firm with more than 280 lawyers.

Jan 6, 2023 2:44 PM CST

Merger will create Southeastern law firm with more than 550 lawyers

Alabama-based Maynard Cooper & Gale and Carolinas-based Nexsen Pruet have announced a merger that will create a law firm with more than 550 lawyers.

Jan 6, 2023 2:23 PM CST

2022 could be called ‘the year of the botched execution,’ new report says

Seven of 20 execution attempts in 2022 were “visibly problematic” in 2022, according to a year-end report by the Death Penalty Information Center.

Dec 16, 2022 10:25 AM CST

Supreme Court will decide criminal cases involving co-defendant’s statement, improper venue

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to decide two cases involving criminal defendants and their rights under the Sixth Amendment.

Dec 15, 2022 10:27 AM CST

Supreme Court declines to block 4 executions in 2 days; 1 inmate spared, for now, because of vein issues

The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to block four executions over the course of two days, rejecting petitions claiming incompetence for execution, difficulty inserting intravenous lines, lack of a clear policy on religious rights and new exculpatory evidence.

Nov 18, 2022 10:00 AM CST

Voters ban slavery as a form of punishment in 4 states; what is the impact?

Voters in Alabama, Tennessee, Oregon and Vermont have approved state constitutional amendments banning the use of slavery as a punishment.

Nov 9, 2022 3:17 PM CST

Justice Jackson has dominated SCOTUS oral arguments, statistics show

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has outpaced her colleagues in questioning while participating in her first oral arguments on the high court.

Oct 18, 2022 8:46 AM CDT

11th Circuit rules hours after news site writes about 7-year delay

A federal appeals court ruled against a sex offender Monday, hours after a liberal political news and opinion website published an exclusive story about extraordinary delays in his case.

Oct 5, 2022 11:49 AM CDT