Constitutional Law

8th Circuit allows Iowa book ban to take effect but rules for challengers on First Amendment issue

A federal appeals court on Friday allowed an Iowa law to take effect that polices books in school libraries, saying a federal judge who blocked the law erred in his analysis.

Aug 14, 2024 3:32 PM CDT

5th Circuit nixes ‘general, exploratory rummaging’ of location data to find suspects

A federal appeals court's decision Friday on the constitutionality of geofence warrants has “case-of-the-year importance,” according to a law professor's blog post.

Aug 13, 2024 10:58 AM CDT

Landlords can pursue takings suit stemming from COVID-19 eviction moratorium, Federal Circuit rules

Landlords may pursue a lawsuit alleging that the federal government violated the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause when it imposed a moratorium on evictions, according to a federal appeals court.

Aug 13, 2024 8:49 AM CDT

Death-penalty case was epitome of ‘extreme judicial malfunction,’ 6th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has granted habeas to a death row inmate who challenged his sentencing, holding that an Ohio judge displayed an objective risk of bias partly because he enlisted the prosecutor to write the death-penalty opinion.

Aug 12, 2024 11:15 AM CDT

1st Circuit rules against Satanic Temple in challenge to city council snub

The Boston City Council’s failure to invite the Satanic Temple to deliver an invocation before its meetings did not violate the First Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Aug 7, 2024 3:07 PM CDT

Assault weapons that are ‘disproportionate to the need for self-defense’ can be banned, 4th Circuit says

An en banc federal appeals court upheld Maryland’s ban on assault-style weapons in a 10-5 decision Tuesday.

Aug 7, 2024 12:14 PM CDT

Supreme Court rejects Missouri’s suit seeking to delay Trump sentencing in New York case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected Missouri’s motion to file an original jurisdiction lawsuit contending that the conviction of former President Donald Trump in the hush-money election-interference case in New York undermines his ability to campaign and violates state residents’ First Amendment right to hear from him.

Aug 6, 2024 11:33 AM CDT

Police shouldn’t lie to minors during questioning, ABA House says

At the ABA Annual Meeting on Monday, the House of Delegates considered a resolution that addresses police questioning of minors.

Aug 5, 2024 7:01 PM CDT

Ten Commandments displays should not be required in public school classrooms, ABA House says

The ABA’s House of Delegates overwhelmingly agreed at its annual meeting Monday to oppose legislation permitting or requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools and to urge the repeal of such laws already in place.

Aug 5, 2024 1:16 PM CDT

South Carolina’s execution menu is not cruel and unusual, state supreme court says

The South Carolina Supreme Court has upheld a state law that gives death row inmates a choice of three execution methods: electrocution, firing squad or lethal injection.

Aug 1, 2024 3:05 PM CDT

5th Circuit avoids immigration-invasion argument in ruling for Texas in buoy barrier case

A Texas effort to deter illegal immigration with floating buoys in the Rio Grande River got a boost Tuesday, when a federal appeals court permitted the state to keep the 1,000-foot barrier in place during a legal challenge.

Aug 1, 2024 12:49 PM CDT

DC Circuit rules for PETA in First Amendment challenge to agency’s social media comment filters

The National Institutes of Health violated the First Amendment when it used keyword filters that blocked Facebook and Instagram comments that criticized animal testing, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Jul 31, 2024 2:45 PM CDT

Judge’s sanctions threat based on just one misused word, Hunter Biden’s attorneys say

Lawyers defending Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, say they misused just one word in a motion to dismiss a special counsel’s tax evasion case, and they are not deserving of sanctions.

Jul 31, 2024 8:51 AM CDT

6th Circuit refuses to block school’s pronoun policy; dissent makes belief-in-ghosts comparison

A federal appeals court has refused to block a school policy banning the misgendering of transgender students.

Jul 30, 2024 2:31 PM CDT

How term limits for Supreme Court justices—now backed by Biden—could work

U.S. Supreme Court justices should be subject to term limits and a binding ethics code, President Joe Biden has said in an op-ed for the Washington Post.

Jul 29, 2024 10:08 AM CDT