All articles tagged with #law
The Supreme Court reversed a Fourth Circuit ruling, saying the lower court overstepped by letting the immigration-judges’ free-speech lawsuit proceed, and sent the case back to federal courts on venue grounds. The decision is procedural and does not address the merits, occurring amid broader political pressure on immigration judges.
The Supreme Court declined to hear the NFL’s appeal in the Brian Flores arbitration challenge, leaving intact the Second Circuit’s ruling that the league’s arbitration framework—which designates the commissioner as the default arbitrator—may be unenforceable. Flores’ claims against the NFL and several teams will proceed in open court with discovery, and the decision creates a pathway to challenge arbitration in New York federal court, potentially accelerating a settlement or a trial rather than keeping disputes behind closed doors.
The Supreme Court declined to hear Florida’s lawsuit against California and Washington over the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, dismissing the appeal without comment. Florida had filed directly with the Court, arguing licenses were issued without proper training, a claim California and Washington dismissed as a political stunt; Justice Thomas would have heard the case, signaling a sharp ideological split in the court.
Supreme Court justices are increasingly complaining that oral arguments run too long after adopting a pandemic-era hybrid format that blends free-form questioning with seriatim rounds. The average argument length has risen to about 90 minutes, with some hearings approaching three hours. Some praise the extra time for debate and transparency, while others worry the longer format hurts accessibility and alters bench dynamics on a conservative-leaning court. Chief Justice Roberts is trying to enforce timing, Justice Thomas has no objection, and liberal voices like Sotomayor and Jackson tend to speak the most in recent terms.
Federal judges on the Third Circuit refused to review Mahmoud Khalil’s challenge to where his constitutional claims should be heard in his deportation case, a decision that leaves the venue dispute unresolved; Khalil’s lawyers say they will petition the Supreme Court for review, warning the ruling could affect civil liberties for noncitizens.
The Broadview Six conspiracy case collapses after unredacted grand jury transcripts reveal serious prosecutorial misconduct, prompting dismissal of remaining charges, rare apologies from the U.S. attorney, and potential sanctions, highlighting ongoing fallout for the DOJ amid Midway Blitz investigations and related personnel changes.
Two officers (Daniel Hodges and Harry Dunn) filed a federal lawsuit against President Trump, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to block a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded fund intended to pay rioters tied to the January 6, 2021 attack, calling the fund illegal and a threat to the Constitution; the piece also notes Democratic pushback via legislation to bar taxpayer-funded settlement slush funds and situates the dispute within broader Trump-era political and financial maneuvers.
France’s Paris Appeals Court has found Air France and Airbus solely responsible for the 2009 AF447 crash that killed 228 people, after an eight‑week trial, and ordered the maximum fines of €225,000 for each company; Airbus said it would appeal. The verdict follows a decade-long search for the wreckage and black boxes and marks a rare acknowledgment of accountability in a major aviation disaster.
A Texas judge recused himself from ruling on whether Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby can play this season in his NCAA eligibility suit. Judge Phillip Hays stepped aside; a replacement will be chosen by the regional presiding judge, Ana Estevez. Sorsby seeks an injunction to allow practice or playing despite a suspension for sports betting, with the NCAA's eligibility ruling still pending in Sorsby v. NCAA, DC-2026-CV-0791.
Valve moved to dismiss the New York attorney general’s lawsuit alleging it profited from unregulated gambling via Counter-Strike 2 loot boxes, arguing the virtual items are more like collectible baseball cards with subjective value and that opening cases is not illegal gambling. The company warns banning mystery packs could disrupt billions of daily transactions across everyday products, while NY seeks damages and an injunction; the case, overseen by NY Supreme Court Justice Nancy Bannon, highlights a broader regulatory clash as Valve defends its decade-long practice of selling mystery boxes.
A federal jury in Oakland found Sam Altman, OpenAI and president Greg Brockman not liable in Elon Musk’s 2024 lawsuit, ruling that Musk’s breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment claims were unproven and time-barred. The verdict removes liability and suggests OpenAI can continue with its for-profit restructuring and a potential IPO around a $1 trillion valuation, with the judge signaling agreement with the jury and the remedies portion of the case being dropped.
A California jury unanimously ruled Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman time-barred by the statute of limitations, leading to a dismissal; Musk had accused Altman of deceiving him by accepting a $38 million donation and then shifting OpenAI from a nonprofit mission to a for-profit, with witnesses including Musk, Altman, and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, and Musk testifying that 'it's not OK to steal a charity.'
South Carolina's Supreme Court vacated Alex Murdaugh's 2023 double-murder conviction after ruling that Colleton County clerk Becky Hill improperly influenced jurors, denying him a fair trial and setting the stage for a retrial (the prosecutor even signaling the possibility of the death penalty). While Murdaugh remains imprisoned for unrelated financial crimes, the ruling raises questions about venue, media exposure, and trial strategy as both sides brace for a new proceeding, with Hill later pleading guilty to misconduct in office.
A Kansas judge granted an injunction blocking the enforcement of a newly approved law banning gender-affirming treatments for minors, after two teenagers’ parents, represented by the ACLU, sued to allow their continuity of care while the case proceeds. The attorney general plans to appeal; if upheld, the injunction would last for the duration of the lawsuit, with the court citing rights to personal autonomy and parental medical decision-making.
A Nevada mother, Patience Rousseau, spent over two years in prison after a 2018 Facebook post and cop-misinterpreted actions were used to charges of manslaughter in a stillbirth, despite abortion being legal in the state. A 2021 ruling vacated the conviction for ineffective counsel, and she received a $100,000 settlement in 2025; the case underscores a broader trend of prosecutors using broad or old laws to criminalize pregnancy outcomes rather than focusing on the fetus’s harm. It also concerns the mishandling of the baby’s remains and highlights calls for reform and greater support for pregnant people facing loss and poverty.