Civil Rights

Immigration judge says balance and gumption have led her career

A good temperament is the cornerstone of a judge’s success, and Mimi Tsankov, an immigration judge, says she’s been working on that for some time.

Dec 1, 2024 1:10 AM CST

Chemerinsky: SCOTUS considers law prohibiting gender-affirming care—case of constitutionality, deep cultural division

The culture wars come to the Supreme Court Dec. 4 when it hears oral arguments in United States v. Skrmetti, which involves the constitutionality of a Tennessee law that prohibits gender affirming care for transgender youths. Twenty-six states have adopted such laws. An estimated 118,000 transgender teenagers, about 40% of transgender youths, live in states with bans on gender-affirming care.

Nov 27, 2024 8:45 AM CST

Is racism against whites ‘edgy and exciting’? Potential SCOTUS pick pens dissent supporting bullied student

A Texas high school student who said he was bullied and harassed for being a white Trump supporter won’t be able to pursue his lawsuit under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act as a result of an evenly divided decision by a federal appeals court.

Nov 18, 2024 3:22 PM CST

Mississippi Senate paid Black lawyer ‘significantly less’ than white colleagues, DOJ suit alleges

A U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit has accused the Mississippi Senate of paying a Black staff lawyer about half the salary of her white colleagues.

Nov 11, 2024 1:57 PM CST

Supreme Court will hear Louisiana map case with impacts for Black voters

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a complex dispute over how Louisiana draws congressional maps that could affect the power of Black voters in the state and the balance of power in Congress. The case will not impact Tuesday’s election since it won’t be decided for months, but legal experts said it could have significant ramifications for how states consider race in drawing congressional districts to comply with the Voting Rights Act.

Nov 4, 2024 12:00 PM CST

DOJ will send monitors to 86 counties for Election Day, the most in two decades

The Justice Department on Friday said it will send election monitors to 86 jurisdictions in 27 states on Tuesday, amid growing fears of improper partisan influence and voter suppression.

Nov 1, 2024 3:00 PM CDT

ABA President Bay urges ICE to notify counsel when transferring detainees

In a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ABA President William R. Bay called attention to a “concerning trend” involving transfers of detained people from the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego without the required notice to their attorneys.

Oct 28, 2024 9:56 AM CDT

Meet the sheriffs who believe they are ‘The Highest Law in the Land’

In The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy, lawyer and journalist Jessica Pishko takes a deep dive into the history of this position in American life and at a far-right movement hoping to co-opt it.

Oct 24, 2024 1:30 PM CDT

Texas AG sues pediatrician over gender-affirming care for youths

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against a Dallas-based pediatrician, accusing her of providing transition-related hormones in violation of a state ban on gender-affirming care for people under age 18.

Oct 18, 2024 11:50 AM CDT

Florida lawyer says she used trust account funds to avoid becoming homeless

An Orlando, Florida, lawyer accused of client trust account violations has said she used some settlement funds during the COVID-19 pandemic to avoid becoming homeless when she lost her primary job as a schoolteacher.

Oct 17, 2024 1:58 PM CDT

New ‘Law of the Police’ class open to law students, lawyers and the public

Starting next week, lawyers and law students can learn more about policing and the law, from anywhere and for free.

Oct 10, 2024 3:02 PM CDT

ABA changes description of Judicial Clerkship Program after conservative group sees ‘quotas’

The ABA updated the description of its Judicial Clerkship Program after a conservative group alleged that the language indicated that the association used racial “quotas” in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Annaliese Fleming, the ABA senior associate executive director and general counsel, said in…

Oct 9, 2024 2:00 PM CDT

Supreme Court is ‘dour and diligent’ as it debates ‘potential sleeper case;’ are arguments ‘abusive’?

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared “dour and diligent” as it considered exhaustion requirements in lawsuits for constitutional violations, according to an article in the New York Times.

Oct 8, 2024 10:34 AM CDT

Supreme Court’s sleepy-looking docket leaves room for potentially bigger cases to come

The U.S. Supreme Court begins its new term next week poised on the edge of uncertainty. The biggest case of the term may be one that isn’t even on the court’s docket yet.

Oct 3, 2024 12:04 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Will the Supreme Court have a role in the presidential election as it enters a new term?

As the justices return to the bench on Oct. 7 for the new term, the unknowable question is whether the U.S. Supreme Court will play a role in the outcome of the November 2024 presidential election. Will this year be like 2000, when a close election was effectively decided by the court’s ruling in Bush v. Gore? Or will it be like 2020, when a close election did not raise any issues for the justices to decide?

Oct 2, 2024 8:53 AM CDT