The National Pulse

States may scrap marriage licenses as counties resist same-sex ruling

Probate judges in at least seven Alabama counties refuse to issue marriage licenses to any couples, same-sex or heterosexual, so lawmakers may abolish licenses altogether. Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Montana have similar proposals.

Jul 1, 2018 1:50 AM CDT

Angry parents find little legal recourse when schools put their kids in ‘seclusion rooms’

It’s not a timeout: State laws, school policies and individualized education programs often allow involuntary confinement as a way to calm highly emotional students. Disabled and minority students are disproportionately affected by seclusion policies, which can include isolation and physical restraints.

Jul 1, 2018 1:45 AM CDT

Proposed Florida law resurrects the debate around the legal duty to help someone in distress

Florida would be in a distinct minority of states if it imposes a duty to rescue people in distress. The rule in the United States is you have no duty to rescue a stranger, and legal scholars are divided on whether that’s a good thing.

Jun 1, 2018 1:50 AM CDT

Texas county experiments with allowing indigent clients to choose their own lawyers

The Client Choice program in Comal County was organized by the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, a state agency dedicated to improving such defense without driving up costs. A year of data showed that it worked—clients had better outcomes and felt more listened to. The county liked the system enough that it still uses it today.

Jun 1, 2018 1:45 AM CDT

New York considers changing discovery rules that often leave defense lawyers in the dark

Advocates have dubbed New York’s discovery scheme the blindfold law, arguing that the lack of information requires defense counsel to prepare for trial, or advise clients about plea bargains, without ever seeing the evidence.

May 1, 2018 1:45 AM CDT

Appeals court stymies bid to regulate high cost of prison phone calls

After 14 years of pleas, the Federal Communications Commission in 2015 made a rule capping rates for in-state prison phone calls. But the affected telecommunications companies sued—and in June 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit handed them a victory. The court said the FCC overstepped its statutory authority when it regulated in-state calls, and that the way it set the rates was “hard to fathom.”

May 1, 2018 1:40 AM CDT

Courts are awarding significant damages to families whose dogs are killed by police

Substantial, high-profile awards have been won in cases in which judges found constitutional violations against owners.

Apr 1, 2018 2:25 AM CDT

Fighting Words: Can anti-profanity laws be squared with the First Amendment?

Anti-profanity laws remain on the books in some states. Such laws are sometimes considered constitutional under the fighting words doctrine—words the Supreme Court defined in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942).

Apr 1, 2018 2:20 AM CDT

Abuses revealed of watchdog public-records laws

State freedom of information laws are intended to allow citizens to keep tabs on their governments. While they expose wrongdoing, mismanagement, reckless spending and even scandal, they also can be abused.

Mar 1, 2018 2:25 AM CST

Bail industry battles reforms that threaten its livelihood

Although reformers say an algorithm called a risk assessment decreases crime rates, reduces jail populations and increases government savings, the bail bond industry sees a permissive tool that is bad for public safety and an existential threat.

Mar 1, 2018 2:20 AM CST

Law school and university namesakes stir up controversial pasts

Controversies over names and racist histories at colleges and universities are not isolated incidents.

Feb 1, 2018 2:35 AM CST

Circuit split on constitutionality of legislator-led prayer may lead to SCOTUS review

The great church-state debate appears to be headed to the high court. At issue is the constitutionality of so-called legislator-led prayer before public meetings. With federal appeals courts divided, the justices may soon consider whether local officials violate the establishment clause when they open meetings with prayers.

Feb 1, 2018 2:20 AM CST

States may scrap marriage licenses as counties resist same-sex ruling

Angry parents find little legal recourse when schools put their kids in ‘seclusion rooms’

Proposed Florida law resurrects the debate around the legal duty to help someone in distress

Texas county experiments with allowing indigent clients to choose their own lawyers

New York considers changing discovery rules that often leave defense lawyers in the dark

Appeals court stymies bid to regulate high cost of prison phone calls

Courts are awarding significant damages to families whose dogs are killed by police

Fighting Words: Can anti-profanity laws be squared with the First Amendment?

Abuses revealed of watchdog public-records laws

Bail industry battles reforms that threaten its livelihood

Law school and university namesakes stir up controversial pasts

Circuit split on constitutionality of legislator-led prayer may lead to SCOTUS review

Advocates are fighting to outlaw adult marriages to minors

Legal quirk lets struggling Florida greyhound tracks boost income with other types of gambling

Defense lawyers want to peek behind the curtain of probabilistic genotyping

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