State Government

Do state abortion bans conflict with federal Medicare funding law? Delegates take a position

Resolution 507 opposes all legislation, regulations, administrative interpretations and litigation that restrict the right of health care providers or hospitals that receive Medicare funding to provide patients with abortions in emergency situations.

Feb 5, 2024 6:03 PM CST

‘Prisons Are Often Horrible Places’: How can Death in Custody Reporting Act be better enforced?

The House of Delegates addressed the national “deaths in custody crisis” during the ABA Midyear Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday.

Feb 5, 2024 5:34 PM CST

Amber Alert system is not working for missing Native Americans, but there may be fixes

At the ABA Midyear Meeting, the House of Delegates acknowledged the disproportionate risks of abduction and violence experienced by members of Alaska Native and Native American communities.

Feb 5, 2024 1:40 PM CST

Judge dismisses Disney suit against DeSantis over special tax district

Feb 1, 2024 10:15 AM CST

Accusation that naked ‘idiot’ lawyer injured Phish fan while rushing stage leads to legal discipline for writer

A Colorado lawyer’s “demeaning and unprofessional language” and threats of disclosure in a demand letter seeking $50,000 for her client’s injuries at a Phish concert have led to a public censure.

Jan 30, 2024 2:38 PM CST

Texas AG seeks transgender records in Georgia as part of his wider probe

Jan 30, 2024 12:25 PM CST

‘Even judges are not immune to theft,’ state AG says in announcing charges against former court clerk

A former court clerk in Wayne County, Michigan, has been charged with embezzling more than $60,000 from the judge for whom he worked.

Jan 24, 2024 11:11 AM CST

2020 Supreme Court decision offers ‘dangerous’ path for stealing election, legal scholars say

A 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision on faithless electors appears to allow state legislatures to pursue a “dangerous strategy” for overturning election results, according to an op-ed in the New York Times by two legal scholars.

Jan 24, 2024 10:13 AM CST

SCOTUS will hear death row inmate’s wrongful-conviction claim supported by state attorney general

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip is entitled to reversal of his conviction because the state suppressed evidence that a co-defendant who implicated Glossip had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Jan 22, 2024 1:04 PM CST

North Carolina Supreme Court justice drops lawsuit against ethics body investigating her diversity comments

Judicial ethics regulators in North Carolina have dropped their investigation of a state supreme court justice who told a legal publication that her newly elected colleagues have an allegiance “to their ideology, not to the institution.”

Jan 22, 2024 8:55 AM CST

Lawyer who went for ambulance joyride, former BigLaw partner among those disciplined in Illinois

Updated: Among the attorneys disciplined by the Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday are a lawyer who led police on a 60-mile chase in an ambulance and a former Polsinelli shareholder who was temporarily barred from a courthouse.

Jan 19, 2024 9:08 AM CST

Interested in policy supporting homeless youths? ABA group provides guidance

“Best practices have changed, and how this crisis unfolds itself is changing,” says Richard Hooks Wayman, a liaison to the ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty. “We thought it was time to really pick up on what we’ve been learning in the field over the last 15 years and come out with a new publication.”

Jan 18, 2024 9:09 AM CST

Contract requiring exiting lawyer to pay fee for every client he takes can’t be enforced, top state court says

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a law firm can’t enforce a contract provision that required departing lawyers to pay $1,052 for each client they take with them when leaving.

Jan 17, 2024 9:48 AM CST

Defendant with sleeping lawyer entitled to new trial, ‘emerging adults’ entitled to parole possibility, top state court rules

A murder defendant whose lawyer slept during parts of the trial was denied his right to counsel under the state constitution, entitling him to a new trial, the top court in Massachusetts has ruled.

Jan 16, 2024 1:21 PM CST

Lawyer who argued cocaine can be beneficial now says he should have retained counsel in ethics case

Updated: A now-former assistant public defender who was accused of using cocaine before his client’s hearing is in drug rehab and seeking disciplinary probation, rather than a suspension of his law license.

Jan 11, 2024 3:45 PM CST