Education Department no longer blocks Public Citizen website after lawsuit is filed

Employees at the U.S. Department of Education are no longer blocked from accessing the Public Citizen website when using its Wi-Fi and employee networks.

Sep 16, 2019 1:50 PM CDT

11 landmark SCOTUS cases that changed American education (gallery)

With school finally back in full swing across the country, it’s a great time for a history lesson in American education. Landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases such as Brown v. Board of Education, Tinker v. Des Moises and the more recent Forest Grove School District v. T.A. have forever changed…

Sep 5, 2019 1:00 PM CDT

In about-face, several ABA employees are told they qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The U.S. Department of Education has declined to appeal a February decision that found the department acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it changed terms of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and excluded some lawyers from participation.

Aug 27, 2019 10:06 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Former judge pleads guilty to murder; parents sue over Sharpie haircut punishment

Former judge pleads guilty to murder of his ex-wife Former Ohio judge Lance Mason pleaded guilty Tuesday to fatally stabbing his ex-wife, Aisha Fraser, in November. Mason had resigned his judgeship in 2015 after a previous guilty plea for assaulting the same woman. A University of Michigan law grad, Mason…

Aug 20, 2019 4:06 PM CDT

What helped this attorney qualify for public service loan forgiveness? Diligence—and social media

Like many seeking public service student loan forgiveness, Jeffrey Morgan says he got bad information from student loan servicing centers. However, thanks to Twitter and Reddit—and perhaps his experience as a government lawyer dealing with bureaucracy and deciphering regulatory language—he’s now part of the estimated 5% who have had student loans discharged.

Aug 15, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: ‘Don’t play games with the judge,’ PG&E lawyers warned; Ex-Dewey CFO appeals

• A bankruptcy judge in San Francisco told lawyers for the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. on Friday that they shouldn’t have buried the new CEO’s $3 million sign-on bonus in a table when they filed a motion to approve his new pay package. “One rule is don’t play games…

Aug 12, 2019 5:01 PM CDT

Handcuffing of second grader didn’t violate his constitutional rights, 8th Circuit says

A 7-year-old elementary school student who was handcuffed by a police officer for 20 minutes can’t sue because there was no violation of his constitutional rights, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Aug 5, 2019 11:31 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Bail reform ‘as big as Brown v. Board of Education;’ how some rich kids get college aid

• Commissioners in Harris County, Texas, have agreed to reform a cash bail system that had kept many indigent misdemeanor defendants in jail pending trial. A federal appeals court had ruled last year that the bail system was unconstitutional because it mostly relied on set amounts. As a result of…

Jul 31, 2019 4:33 PM CDT

Why this lawyer bought nearly $21,000 worth of shoes at Payless

An Arkansas lawyer taking advantage of a sale at Payless ShoeSource as it liquidated merchandise in bankruptcy bought more than 1,500 pairs of shoes, costing about $21,000. Lawyer Carrie Jernigan said she was inspired to make the purchase after her 9-year-old daughter asked about buying a pair of Avenger shoes…

Jul 30, 2019 9:54 AM CDT

Students of color with disabilities are being pushed into the school-to-prison pipeline, study finds

Jul 24, 2019 9:40 AM CDT

Few qualify for public service loan forgiveness, often due to bad information, lawsuit says

Jul 18, 2019 3:50 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Does precedent matter to conservative justices on the Roberts Court?

How much does the Roberts Court care about precedent and stare decisis? Ultimately, this will be crucial as the U.S. Supreme Court reconsiders issues such as abortion, affirmative action, and gay and lesbian rights.

Jun 27, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Judge sanctions BigLaw firm for missing deadline to turn over discovery materials in Baylor litigation

Pepper Hamilton will have to pay reasonable expenses and attorney fees incurred by its opponent in a discovery dispute as a sanction for a missed deadline to turn over materials and other discovery foot-dragging. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman imposed the sanction in a suit filed by 15 plaintiffs who…

Jun 25, 2019 11:57 AM CDT

Oberlin College ordered to pay $44.4 million damages in libel case brought by small business

“People have no idea on how much stress this has had on our family and business for almost three years,” said David Gibson, the 64-year-old business co-owner, after the punitive verdict. “But from the beginning, we just didn’t understand why they were punishing us for something we had nothing to do with.”

Jun 17, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

New Texas jail will house 1,600 immigrant youths, won’t be subject to child welfare licensing requirements

Updated: A complex that once housed oil field workers in southwestern Texas will soon become a massive jail that holds up to 1,600 immigrant children who arrive in the United States without their families. Because the new jail in Carrizo Springs, Texas, will be designated as an “emergency shelter,” it…

Jun 7, 2019 4:12 PM CDT