States

When does DEI training discriminate against white people? Courts will decide

DEI training is coming under special scrutiny, with at least seven court cases pending nationwide alleging that it constitutes workplace discrimination.

Aug 12, 2024 10:35 AM CDT

Federal judge who ruled against Google is ‘taken aback’ by its efforts to avoid paper trail

A federal judge who ruled that Google is a monopolist declined to sanction the search engine for failing to preserve internal chat messages, even though he criticized its policies intended to keep bad evidence out of litigation.

Aug 8, 2024 3:17 PM CDT

Former counsel sues BigLaw firm for alleged disability discrimination

A former counsel at Mayer Brown who was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2022 has filed a disability bias lawsuit against the law firm.

Aug 8, 2024 11:48 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

Rule change to allow paraprofessionals to offer limited legal services proposed by top Texas court

The Texas Supreme Court is seeking comment on a proposal that would allow qualified nonlawyers to provide some legal services to low-income Texans.

Aug 7, 2024 10:19 AM CDT

4th Circuit upholds drug conviction despite use of rap lyrics during trial

The prosecution’s use of drug-dealing rap lyrics at trial was not error requiring reversal of a conviction in connection with the sale of eutylone, a designer drug that is similar to ecstasy, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Aug 7, 2024 8:57 AM 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

AI-generated court filing had name, bar number of lawyer who had nothing to do with case, complaint says

Updated: A Florida foreclosure lawyer has said his name and his bar number were used in a court filing generated by artificial intelligence. And he had nothing to do with the case.

Aug 5, 2024 2:53 PM CDT

California National Guard prosecutors will focus on county following ‘surge operations,’ bringing concern from PDs

Prosecutors with the California National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force will help prosecute state cases originating in Alameda County, California, according to an announcement Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Aug 5, 2024 1:56 PM CDT

GEICO doesn’t have to pay for STD contracted during car sex, despite policy punctuation, 8th Circuit says

A woman who contracted human papillomavirus after car sex isn’t entitled to damages from her sexual partner’s auto insurance policy, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Aug 5, 2024 11:40 AM CDT

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker calls on ABA to uphold ‘freedom, liberty, fairness’

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker told the ABA House of Delegates Monday their role in protecting the American system of jurisprudence has never been more important.

Aug 5, 2024 10:23 AM CDT

Sharecropper’s son who rose from poverty to become first Black New Jersey justice dies at 91

Updated: Former New Jersey Supreme Court Justice James H. Coleman Jr. died at age 91 on Aug. 2, rising from his childhood in a home without electricity and running water to become the first Black justice appointed to the state supreme court.

Aug 5, 2024 10:18 AM CDT

Hunter Biden to be sentenced Nov. 13, a week after Election Day

President Joe Biden’s son Hunter will be sentenced in mid-November—a week after Election Day—after being convicted of gun charges, a federal judge said Friday.

Aug 2, 2024 3:14 PM CDT

Florida lawyer admits trying to ignite bomb outside Chinese embassy in DC

A criminal defense lawyer from Florida pleaded guilty Friday to trying to ignite an explosive device outside the Chinese Embassy in Washington last year, and causing an explosion in San Antonio in 2022 outside the headquarters of Texas Public Radio.

Aug 2, 2024 3:05 PM CDT