All articles tagged with #law
A Trump-appointed judge granted the DOJ’s motion to dismiss the seditious-conspiracy convictions of Proud Boys leaders Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl after an appeals court vacated those rulings, noting former President Trump’s clemency actions as a major influence; Dominic Pezzola’s related assault/entry conviction remains a separate matter as the case proceeds.
A federal judge reluctantly approved the DOJ’s motion to drop the Proud Boys’ Jan. 6 seditious-conspiracy case with prejudice, saying he had no authority to override prosecutors who vacated the convictions. The decision ends one of the riot’s most high-profile prosecutions and aligns with Trump-era pardons and DOJ moves to erase related convictions, while Tarrio had been pardoned and others’ convictions were left for appeal or had their sentences commuted; DOJ is also weighing vacating related cases like the Oath Keepers as Amit Mehta weighs those decisions.
Meta and YouTube appealed a Los Angeles jury's finding that their platforms contributed to a young woman's social-media addiction, after the plaintiff was awarded $3 million in damages and up to $3 million in punitive damages. The defense argues teen mental health is complex and not attributable to a single app, and requested overturning the verdict or a new trial. The caseCentered on design features like infinite scroll and autoplay could influence thousands of similar lawsuits, with Meta also facing a separate New Mexico verdict of $375 million against its platforms; the outcome of the appeals could shape future litigation against social-media companies.
After years of legal wrangling, Trump must pay E. Jean Carroll: the 2nd Circuit denied his bid to pause a district court order sending $5 million (plus interest) to Carroll as part of two verdicts totaling $88.3 million; the money sits in escrow, the Supreme Court declined to overturn the verdict, and Carroll's case moves toward full payment.
Former Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge Hannah Dugan was fined $5,000 and received no prison time after being convicted of obstructing a federal proceeding for helping an immigrant evade ICE agents in 2025; a federal judge cited her decades of public service, noting the act was a brief lapse that did not prevent the arrest, while Dugan has lost her job and faces a felony conviction as part of the broader fallout.
Former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was sentenced to a $5,000 fine with no prison or probation after being convicted in an ICE obstruction case. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman said prison was unnecessary, noting Dugan's lifetime of public service and that guidelines are advisory. The case involved Dugan directing federal agents away from her courtroom and escorting Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through a private jury door to delay arrest, a move prosecutors described as an abuse of trust.
A Florida federal judge ruled that DHS must allow four Republican-led states to again access the SAVE citizenship-verification database, reinstating bulk-upload and SSN-search features for purging noncitizens from voter rolls, despite a separate D.C. ruling blocking access. The decision creates a clash between courts and is likely to spark stays, appeals, and further litigation, with LWV and EPIC weighing in and the matter potentially heading to the circuit courts or the Supreme Court.
Guardian columnist Stephen Bates argues Prince Harry’s fight with the tabloid press has backfired: after a costly phone-hacking case against the Daily Mail, key evidence fell away and the paper prevailed, leaving Harry facing substantial legal costs (potentially around £50m) and dwindling public sympathy in Britain. With his privacy crusade undermined and his future uncertain, he remains in California for now, suggesting a difficult path back to any royal comeback or family reconciliation.
A Florida federal judge granted summary judgment for the Washington Post in Donald Trump’s $3.8 billion defamation suit, finding no clear and convincing evidence of actual malice over a 2023 report linking Trump Media Group to obscure Caribbean-linked financing; the ruling follows corrections and adds another setback for Trump in media-related lawsuits.
The Supreme Court ruled that states may ban transgender girls from female sports teams under the Constitution and Title IX, but stopped short of requiring bans or broad transgender-rights rulings beyond athletics. The decision is narrowly framed around sports, with Justices Kavanaugh and Thomas emphasizing safety, fairness, and biological distinctions, while Justice Gorsuch notes the ruling relies on Title IX text rather than reworking wider rights. Liberal justices and advocates say many transgender rights issues remain for future cases, and the ruling leaves ongoing battles over bathrooms, locker rooms, and funding to subsequent litigation and policy fights.
An Eleventh Circuit panel ruled that Florida's Stop WOKE Act violates professors' First Amendment rights and affirmed a district court's finding that the law restricting how race- and gender-related topics are taught in public universities is unconstitutional; the decision signals that lawmakers cannot impose broad, viewpoint-based limits on campus instruction, even as they retain some authority to shape curriculum.
Chief Justice John Roberts authored two major decisions this term that pull in opposite directions: Slaughter ends independent agency status by allowing presidential firing for any reason, while Cook carves out a Fed-specific exemption to preserve independence, a split critics say is cynical and incompatible, revealing a judiciary agenda that strengthens executive power for business interests and undermines civil-service independence.
The Supreme Court declined to block Texas's App Store Accountability Act, allowing the state to enforce its age-verification and parental-consent requirements for app purchases as litigation continues; the law is backed by 27 state attorneys general, while opponents including SEAT and CCIA argue it restricts access to free-speech tools and raises First Amendment concerns.
Forensic analysts in Nevada are examining a disputed 2015 will in Tony Hsieh’s estate after his death in a Connecticut fire, testing ink and signatures to determine authenticity amid family and executor disputes; a Las Vegas judge has appointed a special master to oversee the process as the origin of the document remains murky.
Lawyers are increasingly paid to train frontier AI models through firms like Mercor and Micro1, doing red-teaming and crafting “golden responses” to teach AI how experienced attorneys think. While compensation (often $100–$200 per hour) is meaningful, the aim is to shape AI that can handle routine tasks such as contract review and legal research, not replace lawyers who provide judgment, client reassurance, and courtroom skills.