Government

Chemerinsky: SCOTUS rulings on election districting likely to affect who’s going to Congress in 2025

Two recent rulings of the Supreme Court—one on its “shadow docket” and the other a decision on the merits—again revealed the deep division among the justices with regard to issues concerning voting and the electoral process. Each was decided by a 6-3 margin, with the familiar ideological split among the current justices, and each will have significant consequences for our political system in making it harder to bring challenges to the drawing of election districts.

May 30, 2024 9:54 AM CDT

Judge considers fate of Wisconsin law curbing collective bargaining by public employees

A judge in Dane County, Wisconsin, is considering whether a 2011 law restricting collective bargaining by some public employees violates the state’s equal protection clause.

May 30, 2024 8:58 AM CDT

Illinois signs up for NextGen bar exam as details on test emerge

On the same day that Illinois announced that it would be the 19th jurisdiction to commit to administering the NextGen bar exam, the National Conference of Bar Examiners released additional information about two knowledge areas of the new test.

May 29, 2024 3:13 PM CDT

Justice Alito tells Congress he will not recuse from Jan. 6-related cases

Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. announced Wednesday that he will not recuse himself from Jan. 6-related cases at the Supreme Court after Democratic lawmakers questioned whether he could be impartial following reports that an upside-down flag flew at his home in the weeks after the attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021.

May 29, 2024 2:30 PM CDT

Scheme by former Samsung lawyers was ‘dishonest, unfair, deceitful and repugnant,’ judge says

A federal judge in Texas has tossed a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics because of evidence that the claims were “infected” by the theft of information protected by attorney-client privilege.

May 29, 2024 1:25 PM CDT

Judge rejects request to restrict Trump’s speech on FBI, says motion was faulty

U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon on Tuesday denied a request from federal prosecutors that she order Donald Trump to stop making incendiary claims about law enforcement personnel, saying the government should have more thoroughly consulted with Trump’s attorneys before coming to her.

May 29, 2024 9:59 AM CDT

Nevada will consider three-stage process to join bar

The Nevada Supreme Court is considering a proposal to shift its licensure process to a three-stage assessment echoing the process for medical doctors.

May 29, 2024 8:49 AM CDT

Wife of Justice Alito called upside-down flag ‘signal of distress’

The wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. told a Washington Post reporter in January 2021 that an upside-down American flag recently flown on their flagpole was “an international signal of distress” and indicated that it had been raised in response to a neighborhood dispute.

May 28, 2024 11:30 AM CDT

Lawyer disbarred following alleged cocaine-licking assault on employee at nightclub he owned

A New York lawyer convicted in 2008 for allegedly licking cocaine off a waitress at the nightclub that he owned was disbarred last week partly for his conduct in a civil lawsuit that followed.

May 24, 2024 9:35 AM CDT

Ex-BigLaw attorney once ‘consumed with remorse’ over $10M client theft sentenced in new scheme

A disbarred New York lawyer who served time for stealing $10.7 million from clients is facing more prison time after pleading guilty in a scheme to defraud the government out of $1.4 million in COVID-19 relief funds.

May 23, 2024 11:06 AM CDT

Complaint targets ABA diversity programs; claims are ‘factually and legally incorrect,’ association says

A civil rights complaint filed Tuesday with the U.S. Department of Justice alleges that at least nine ABA diversity programs discriminate on the basis of race in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

May 23, 2024 9:35 AM CDT

Alito’s beach house displayed ‘Appeal to Heaven’ flag, a ‘provocative symbol,’ report says

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s beach house in New Jersey displayed an “Appeal to Heaven” flag, another “provocative symbol,” the New York Times reports.

May 23, 2024 9:28 AM CDT

Motley Rice has filed ‘barrage of claims’ for drug cartel victims; is there an endgame?

The Motley Rice law firm has filed a “barrage of claims” in federal courts for families of people killed by the Juarez cartel, arguing that their clients are entitled to a share of assets seized from drug dealers, Bloomberg Law reports.

May 22, 2024 10:47 AM CDT

Trump says he ‘would actually’ consider Texas AG Ken Paxton for US attorney general

Former President Donald Trump said this weekend he “would actually” consider Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. attorney general if he returns to the White House.

May 21, 2024 3:44 PM CDT

Upside-down flag flew at Justice Alito’s house after neighbor dispute

In the fraught weeks after the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. flew an upside-down American flag at their home following a dispute with a neighbor over anti-Trump yard signs, according to a statement from the justice and interviews with neighbors.

May 20, 2024 1:45 PM CDT