Appellate

  • November 03, 2025

    3rd Circ. Says FBI, US Attorneys Fumbled FOIA Requests

    The Third Circuit partially revived a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit lodged by a man convicted of mortgage fraud on Monday, agreeing that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Executive Office for United States Attorneys lacked justification for failing to give him certain information he asked for.

  • November 03, 2025

    10th Circ. Affirms Atty Fees Award In Habeas Actions

    The Tenth Circuit on Monday held that the Equal Access to Justice Act authorizes fee awards in habeas actions challenging immigration detention, affirming a Colorado federal court's ruling that a Guatemalan national can receive attorney fees after successfully petitioning for habeas relief from her immigration detention.

  • November 03, 2025

    Mass. Justices Hint Charter Schools Must Obey Records Law

    Justices on Massachusetts' highest court on Monday appeared skeptical of arguments that a publicly funded charter school, unlike its city- and town-operated counterparts, is not subject to the state's public records law.

  • November 03, 2025

    Court Orders Cannon To Act On Bid To Unseal Trump Report

    The Eleventh Circuit has given U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon 60 days to rule on media groups' requests to unseal the final report from special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents, ruling Monday that the organizations had established "undue delay" in resolving their motions.

  • November 03, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Spurns Pornhub Parent Co.'s Stay Bid In IP Row

    The Federal Circuit on Monday denied a request from Pornhub's parent company to pause a patent infringement suit against it while its U.S. Patent and Trademark Office validity challenge proceeds, citing an imminent Nov. 17 trial date, among other factors.

  • November 03, 2025

    2 Doctrines Likely To Direct Justices' Review Of Trump Tariffs

    When the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments Wednesday over whether President Donald Trump can impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, it will likely test two doctrines the justices have recently considered: the major questions and nondelegation doctrines.

  • November 03, 2025

    Mich. Justices To Review If Indigent Defendant Must Pay Atty

    Michigan's highest court has said it will review a judge's decision to order a homeless man convicted of assault to pay his court-appointed counsel.

  • November 03, 2025

    Ga. Panel Reinstates Malpractice Suit Against Medical Center

    The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled Monday that a medical center must face a lawsuit from a woman who alleges her father died due to substandard care, faulting a lower court for concluding that a Peach State statute and executive orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic doomed the case. 

  • November 03, 2025

    DC Circ. Fight Grows Over Energy Dept.'s Coal Plant Order

    The U.S. Department of Energy is facing an expanded challenge over its move to keep a Michigan coal-fired power plant open, as Illinois and Minnesota have asked the D.C. Circuit to overturn the agency's extension of its emergency order through Nov. 19.

  • November 03, 2025

    DC Public Defender Funding To Halt Because Of Shutdown

    Funding for public defender services in Washington, D.C., is about to run out as the government shutdown drags on, according to a recent letter from members of the D.C. Courts Joint Committee on Judicial Administration.

  • November 03, 2025

    3rd Circ. Weighs Arbitration Of Union Withdrawal Liability Suit

    The Third Circuit on Monday seemed inclined to reopen a dispute between two companies and a union over an $800,000 pension withdrawal bill, with judges questioning whether the parties must first arbitrate disputes about the timeliness of liability notices from the union.

  • November 03, 2025

    Tribes Push Supreme Court To Overturn Okla. Tax Ruling

    The Oklahoma Supreme Court incorrectly ruled that a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation owes Oklahoma income tax, groups representing Native American tribes told the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to hear the case and reverse the ruling.

  • November 03, 2025

    Academics Back IP Rights For Generated Art At High Court

    A group of 14 academics and legal experts is backing an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court from a computer scientist seeking a copyright for artwork created by a computer system he developed, telling the justices in an amicus brief that the work-for-hire doctrine should extend to such generated works.

  • November 03, 2025

    NJ Justices Unsure Charity Immunity Applies To Clinic

    New Jersey Supreme Court justices appeared open on Monday to reviving a community health clinic patient's injury suit, questioning whether the organization's archived web pages and general claims of patient education qualified it for protection under the state's Charitable Immunity Act.

  • November 03, 2025

    Amazon Should Pay For Security Checks, Conn. Justices Told

    Amazon must pay Connecticut warehouse workers for time spent waiting for and undergoing security screenings because state wage and hour laws contain unique "hours worked" definitions that do not appear in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the employees' lawyer told the Connecticut Supreme Court on Monday.

  • November 03, 2025

    Appeals Court Gives Fired HR Directors 2nd Shot At RICO Suit

    A trial court jumped the gun in tossing a lawsuit against a construction company by two ex-human resource directors who claimed they were fired for raising concerns about fraudulent work authorization records, the Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled.

  • November 03, 2025

    Fire Forced Search Of Murder Suspect's Home, NJ Justices Told

    Prosecutors urged the New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday to reverse a lower court's suppression of evidence in the case of a Garden State man accused of killing his brother and his brother's family, arguing that an ongoing fire at the home where the evidence was recovered justified the warrantless seizure.

  • November 03, 2025

    Tribe, Coalition Fight 9th Circ. Bid To Nix Ariz. Land Exchange

    An Apache tribe and conservation groups are fighting a Ninth Circuit bid to dismiss their efforts to block a 2,500-acre land exchange within Tonto National Forest, saying the federal government and mining company's arguments inaccurately center on a sentence in the 2014 Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act.

  • November 03, 2025

    Fla. Pain Doc Was 'Pawn' In Kickback Scheme, 11th Circ. Told

    A Florida pain management doctor on Monday urged the Eleventh Circuit to reverse his conviction in a conspiracy to accept kickbacks for prescribing a liquid fentanyl drug, arguing that he was merely a "pawn" in the scheme.

  • November 03, 2025

    10th Circ. Backs Cop's Stakeout Testimony In Felon Gun Case

    The Tenth Circuit has ruled that law enforcement had probable cause to search and arrest a convicted felon after they saw him in possession of firearms during an unrelated sting operation at a motel where he was staying.

  • November 03, 2025

    DC Circ. Questions Tribe's Bid To Exclude 1929 Descendants

    A panel of D.C. Circuit judges expressed skepticism that a group of California Valley Miwok Tribe members can exclude a wide swath of the organization when drafting a tribal constitution, pressing an attorney for the members on seeming contradictions in their view of the government's role in the process.

  • November 03, 2025

    5th Circ. Asks If New Review Needed For Texas Gas Facility

    A Fifth Circuit panel pressed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to explain whether it can greenlight an extension for construction of a liquefied natural gas facility without again reviewing facility emissions, asking Monday what to do with language in the law seemingly calling for another review.

  • November 03, 2025

    Black Man Granted New Trial In Mass. Over Lawyer's Bias

    A Black man who pled guilty to firearms offenses in 2018 after consulting with his lawyer — who was found to have made racist social media posts — is entitled to a new trial, Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court said Monday, unanimously reversing a lower court's decision.

  • November 03, 2025

    DeSantis Appoints Broward Judge To Fla. State Appeals Court

    A judge for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida has been appointed to the state's Fourth District Court of Appeal.

  • November 03, 2025

    Justices Skeptical Of Tolling Supervised-Release Absconders

    The U.S. Supreme Court appeared hesitant Monday to embrace the government's arguments that the "fugitive tolling" doctrine, which bans criminal defendants from earning credits to reduce prison sentences while they are not behind bars, should also be used to penalize defendants who abscond from supervised release.

Expert Analysis

  • Gauging The Risky Business Of Business Risk Disclosures

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    With the recent rise of securities fraud actions based on external events — like a data breach or environmental disaster — that drive down stock prices, risk disclosures have become more of a sword for the plaintiffs bar than a shield for public companies, now the subject of a growing circuit split, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • How Justices' Ruling Limits Options To Challenge DHS Orders

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    In Riley v. Bondi, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a 30-day deadline for challenging deportation orders begins when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, opening the door for the government to effectively bar circuit court review in future similar cases, says Kevin Gregg at Kurzban Kurzban.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • Purdue Case Could Transform Patent Obviousness Analyses

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    If accepted for review by the U.S. Supreme Court, Purdue Pharma v. Accord Healthcare — concerning whether Purdue's abuse-deterrent opioid formulation patents were invalid as obvious — could significantly shift how courts weigh secondary considerations in patent obviousness analyses, say attorneys at Lathrop.

  • NM Cyber Ruling Will Spur Litigation As Coverage Remedy

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    In Kane v. Beazley, the New Mexico Court of Appeals recently found that a cyber liability provision insuring security breaches included coverage for funds transfer fraud, implicitly and incorrectly motivating policyholders to commence litigation to avoid contractual limitations on cyber coverages, say attorneys at Zelle.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • Texas' Cactus Ruling Clarifies 'Produced Water' Rules

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    The Texas Supreme Court's decision in Cactus Water Services v. COG Operating, holding that mineral interest lessees have the rights to water extracted alongside oil and gas, should benefit industry players by clarifying the rules — but it leaves important questions about royalties unresolved, say attorneys at Yetter Coleman.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • How Political Divisions Are Stalling Pa. Energy Development

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    Despite possessing the nation's second-largest natural gas reserves and a legacy of energy infrastructure, Pennsylvania faces a fragmented and politically charged path to developing the energy resources it will need in the future, thanks to legislative gridlock, divided public opinion and competing energy interests, says Andrew Levine at Stradley Ronon.

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

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    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • What High Court's Tenn. Trans Care Ruling Means Nationally

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, upholding a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, is fairly limited in scope and closely tailored to the specific language of Tennessee's law, but it may have implications for challenges to similar laws in other states, say attorneys at Hall Render.

  • Justices Rewrite Rules For Challenging Enviro Agency Actions

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    Three recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings — Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, Oklahoma v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining — form a jurisprudential watershed in administrative and environmental law, affirming statutory standing and venue provisions as the backbone of coherent judicial review, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • High Court ACA Ruling May Harm Preventative Care

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood last week, ruling that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary has authority over an Affordable Care Act preventive care task force, risks harming the credibility of the task force and could open the door to politicians dictating clinical recommendations, says Michael Kolber at Manatt.

  • Opinion

    Subject Matter Eligibility Test Should Return To Preemption

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    Subject matter eligibility has posed challenges for patentees due to courts' arbitrary and confusing reasoning, but adopting a two-part preemption test could align the applicant, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the courts, says Manav Das at McDonnell Boehnen.

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