Constitutional Law

Kindergarten boy may pursue sex-bias claim after expulsion for wearing earrings, 10th Circuit says

A federal judge applied the wrong standard when he tossed a sex-bias lawsuit filed on behalf of a 5-year-old boy who was expelled for wearing blue stud earrings to kindergarten, a federal appeals court has ruled.

May 1, 2024 9:52 AM CDT

Takeaways from the Supreme Court argument on Trump’s criminal immunity

The Supreme Court spent hours Thursday morning debating former president Donald Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution for allegedly conspiring to undo the results of the 2020 election. The ruling, which could come in June, could do far more than chart the course of Trump’s case; it may forever alter the boundaries of presidential power.

Apr 25, 2024 2:00 PM CDT

TikTok and the U.S. government dig in for legal war

A defiant TikTok is preparing to fight for its life in court after President Biden signed a law calling for its forced sale or ban in the United States, a legal battle that could reshape American speech freedoms in the internet age.

Apr 25, 2024 1:00 PM CDT

1st Circuit allows suit by fired worker who refused to remove Black Lives Matter face mask

A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived a lawsuit alleging that Whole Foods Market retaliated against a worker who protested the company's ban on Black Lives Matter face masks for employees.

Apr 25, 2024 12:39 PM CDT

How to rid house of leavened products during Passover? Mormon law prof has contracts for that

A professor at the William & Mary Law School was acting as a “friendly gentile” when he helped draft contracts to purchase unused leavened foodstuffs and lease its storage locations from members of another law professor’s synagogue in suburban Philadelphia.

Apr 24, 2024 12:08 PM CDT

Supreme Court won’t hear lawyer’s challenge to anti-bias ethics rule

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied certiorari in a challenge to a Pennsylvania ethics rule that bars lawyers from knowingly engaging in conduct that constitutes discrimination and harassment in the practice of law.

Apr 24, 2024 10:16 AM CDT

Nearly three-quarters of Americans think US democracy is getting weaker, ABA poll finds

Seventy-four percent of U.S. residents say American democracy is weaker than five years ago, according to an ABA poll released in advance of Law Day on May 1.

Apr 23, 2024 11:35 AM CDT

Supreme Court will hear challenge to Biden administration rule on ghost guns

The Supreme Court on Monday said it would weigh a challenge to a Biden administration rule on “ghost guns,” weapons made from homemade kits that can be assembled into firearms.

Apr 23, 2024 8:50 AM CDT

Supreme Court divided over homeless ban and rights of the unhoused

Supreme Court justices expressed concern on Monday about punishing homeless people for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go, while also struggling with how to ensure local and state leaders have flexibility to deal with the growing number of unhoused individuals nationwide.

Apr 22, 2024 2:35 PM CDT

Biden Title IX rules set to protect trans students, survivors of abuse

The Biden administration on Friday finalized sweeping new rules barring schools from discriminating against transgender students and ordering significant changes for how schools adjudicate claims of sexual harassment and assault on campus.

Apr 19, 2024 2:45 PM CDT

Ex-BigLaw partner can’t get cyberstalking injunction against blogger, judge says

A former Greenberg Traurig partner can’t get a cyberstalking injunction against a blogger who posted videos of the lawyer yelling and telling his wife that he hates her, a Florida state judge has ruled.

Apr 18, 2024 2:57 PM CDT

Supreme Court will consider whether criminalizing homelessness violates Eighth Amendment

Few doubt that the court’s decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson will be consequential for the nation’s homeless population and for those trying to help. “This case is really about whether the Constitution protects unhoused people against punishment when there is no shelter or housing available to them.”

Apr 18, 2024 1:00 PM CDT

Budding cannabis law courses are growing—but not fast enough

An increasing number of law schools around the country are offering cannabis law courses, but some professors think that even more are needed. “We’re still playing catch-up.”

Apr 15, 2024 9:30 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: Will SCOTUS consider it cruel and unusual punishment to prosecute homeless people for sleeping in public?

Can a city make it a crime for unhoused people to sleep in public if there are no other places for them to go? On April 22, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on this issue in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, a case of enormous interest to the many cities that are struggling with burgeoning populations of unhoused people.

Apr 15, 2024 9:00 AM CDT

Law dean Chemerinsky condemns ‘blatant antisemitism’ of caricature, confronts ‘rude’ protester with law prof wife

Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law, is viewing a disrupted law student dinner in his backyard Tuesday through a First Amendment lens.

Apr 11, 2024 10:29 AM CDT