Michigan

  • August 14, 2026

    6th Circ. Says Cops Forcing Man To Pee In His Yard Unlawful

    A Michigan man who was forced to urinate on his front lawn because police, who were conducting a search of his home, would not allow him to use his own bathroom had his Fourth Amendment rights violated, a Sixth Circuit panel determined on Thursday.

  • August 14, 2026

    Mich. Panel Gives Dog New Chance In Euthanasia Fight

    A Michigan appeals court has overturned an order requiring a Port Huron woman to euthanize her dog after he bit off a guest's nose, ruling that a lower court applied the wrong standard when deciding whether the guest provoked the dog by putting her face inches away from the dog's face.

  • August 14, 2026

    Key State Criminal Law Rulings So Far In 2026

    State supreme courts so far this year have gone beyond federal standards to strengthen protections for criminal defendants, restrict mandatory life-without-parole sentences for felony murder, and bolster the right to counsel and Fourth Amendment limitations on searches.

  • August 13, 2026

    Warehouse Owner Faces Manslaughter Charge In Blast Death

    For the second time, a Michigan warehouse owner on Thursday saw a judge say involuntary manslaughter charges against him should move forward, in a case over a March 2024 explosion where shrapnel struck and killed a 19-year-old man.

  • August 13, 2026

    6th Circ. Jails Minnesota Activist Over Anti-ICE Threats

    A self-described "antifa" member from Minneapolis must return to jail on federal charges of cyberstalking and making threats against supporters of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with a divided Sixth Circuit panel determining he still poses a threat to the public.

  • August 13, 2026

    States Say DOT Illegally Sought 17M CDL Driver Records

    A group of 21 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia accused the Trump administration on Thursday of illegally pressuring a nonprofit commercial driver database operator to hand over millions of Social Security numbers for immigration enforcement by threatening to cut funding for noncompliance.

  • August 13, 2026

    Mich. Jail Nurse Must Face Suit Over Inmate's Death

    A Lenawee County Jail nurse must face a civil rights claim over her failure to give oxygen to an incarcerated man shortly before his fatal heart attack, a Michigan federal judge ruled, finding a jury could conclude she disregarded a serious risk to his health. 

  • August 13, 2026

    Mich. Panel Says Rape-Shield Rules Don't Apply At Prelims

    A Michigan appellate panel ruled that the procedural requirements of the state's rape-shield law do not apply during preliminary examinations, finding that defendants in criminal sexual conduct cases do not have to file a written motion and offer of proof at that stage before seeking to introduce certain evidence of an accuser's past sexual conduct.

  • August 12, 2026

    Newrez Pays $15.5M Over Force-Placed Insurance Charges

    Rithm Capital-owned mortgage servicer Newrez LLC will pay $15.5 million to resolve allegations that force-placed insurance charges were erroneously levied against customers, following a multistate mortgage loan servicing examination, according to an announcement Wednesday from the New York State Department of Financial Services.

  • August 12, 2026

    UMich Law Professor's Pro Bono Work Not FOIA Fodder

    The University of Michigan doesn't have to turn over the emails a law professor sent as part of her environmental pro bono work in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, after Michigan state court ruled that the emails don't count as public records under the law.

  • August 12, 2026

    6th Circ. Rejects Prison Worker's Excessive Force Claim

    The Sixth Circuit has rejected a Michigan prison employee's excessive force claim stemming from injuries she suffered during a hostage training exercise, ruling that she was not "seized" under the Fourth Amendment because the officers were practicing a rescue rather than carrying out an actual law enforcement operation. 

  • August 12, 2026

    Trump Repeats Call To Remove Stay On Mail-In Ballot Order

    The Trump administration prodded the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to "promptly" lift a Massachusetts judge's order prohibiting the enforcement of new restrictions on mail-in ballots in 23 states and the District of Columbia in this year's midterm elections. 

  • August 12, 2026

    'Core' Generics Leader Must Face Most AG Price-Fix Claims

    A Connecticut federal judge ruled Wednesday that G&W Laboratories Inc. must face most price-fixing claims from dozens of state attorneys general targeting generic-drug makers, teeing the shuttered company up for trial as one of four companies deemed the "core group of leaders most responsible" for the conspiracy.

  • August 12, 2026

    Mich. Panel Backs TV Station In Reporter's Sex Bias Suit

    A former WXYZ reporter lost her sex discrimination suit when a Michigan state appeals court ruled the Detroit station had legitimate reasons for paying a male reporter more and that comments about her "distracting" forehead were not direct evidence of sex bias. 

  • August 12, 2026

    Auto Supplier Fired Worker Over FMLA Leave, Suit Says

    An international automotive supplier fired a lab technician for taking leave to care for her mother and shorted hourly workers for off-the-clock work, according to a proposed collective action filed in Michigan federal court.

  • August 12, 2026

    Mich. Panel Keeps Judicial Hopeful Off Hamtramck Ballot

    A disqualified Michigan judicial candidate lost his reinstatement bid after an appellate court panel upheld a state Court of Claims decision saying he is ineligible to run because he failed to satisfy a requirement that he live in the city for a minimum of 30 days prior to the filing deadline.

  • August 12, 2026

    Army Corps OKs Enbridge Tunnel Amid Line 5 Permit Fight

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit Wednesday allowing Enbridge Energy LP to tunnel beneath four miles of the Straits of Mackinac for its Line 5 oil pipeline, and environmental and tribal groups fighting the project say a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision bars the construction.

  • August 11, 2026

    Mich. Appeals Panel Restores Ethnic Threat Jury Standard

    Semantics matter, a Michigan Court of Appeals panel said in an unpublished opinion Monday, reversing a trial court's order regarding jury instruction language used in an ethnic intimidation trial.

  • August 11, 2026

    Mich. County Urges Panel To Clarify FOIA Duties

    Wayne County, Michigan, asked a state appeals court Tuesday to determine whether separate offices within the same county must each respond to duplicate public records requests, arguing multiple responses could unnecessarily expose taxpayers to attorney fees and costs.

  • August 11, 2026

    Neogen Beats Investor Suit Over 3M Integration Claims

    A suit alleging food safety company Neogen hid postmerger financial difficulties following its combination with a division of manufacturing giant 3M was tossed by a Michigan federal judge, who found the suit's challenged statements were either inactionable or that the defendants did not intentionally mislead the public.

  • August 11, 2026

    Worker Says Meijer Can't Duck Suit Over Tobacco Use Fee

    A Meijer grocery store worker on Monday urged a Michigan federal judge not to dismiss his proposed class action saying the Midwestern chain violated federal benefits laws when it imposed a tobacco use surcharge on its employees without properly communicating how the fee could be avoided or refunded.

  • August 10, 2026

    6th Circ. Says Police Chief Immune From Hemp Farmer's Suit

    A panel of the Sixth Circuit has ruled that qualified immunity shielded a small-town police chief from civil rights claims lodged by an Ohio man who had dreams of farming hemp, finding the officer had probable cause to search and impound the man's car and arrest him.

  • August 10, 2026

    Kalshi Loses Bid To Keep Conn. Betting Regulators At Bay

    A Connecticut federal judge denied Kalshi's bid to shield itself from the state's gaming regulators Monday, finding that the site's sports contracts likely flout state gambling laws.

  • August 10, 2026

    Mich. Transit Authority Can Call County Atty In Board Dispute

    The Bay Area Transportation Authority may call a Grand Traverse County attorney as a witness in a dispute over appointments to its board, a Michigan appellate panel ruled, finding the attorney's late addition to the witness list would not prejudice the county.

  • August 10, 2026

    Mich. Panel Revives Sewage Damage Suits Over Service Fight

    Minor procedural variations in service do not warrant dismissal of a case as long as defendants are adequately informed of the pending litigation, a Michigan Court of Appeals panel said in a published opinion Thursday.

Expert Analysis

  • SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

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    The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • Opinion

    High Court, Not A Single Justice, Should Decide On Recusal

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    As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to decline, the court should adopt a collegial framework in which all justices decide questions of recusal together — a reform that respects both judicial independence and due process for litigants, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

  • Series

    Traveling Solo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Traveling by myself has taught me to assess risk, understand tone and stay calm in high-pressure situations, which are not only useful life skills, but the foundation of how I support my clients, says Lacey Gutierrez at Group Five Legal.

  • 6th Circ. FirstEnergy Ruling Protects Key Legal Privileges

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    The Sixth Circuit’s recent grant of mandamus relief in In re: First Energy Corp. confirms that the attorney-client privilege and work-product protections apply to internal investigation materials, ultimately advancing the public interest, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Client Service

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    Law school teaches you how to interpret the law, but it doesn't teach you some of the key ways to keeping clients satisfied, lessons that I've learned in the most unexpected of places: a book on how to be a butler, says Gregory Ramos at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • Loper Bright's Evolving Application In Labor Case Appeals

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which upended decades of precedent requiring courts to defer to agency interpretations of federal regulations, the Third and Sixth Circuits' differing approaches leave little certainty as to which employment regulations remain in play, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 3 Tips On Finding The Right Job

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    After 23 years as a state and federal prosecutor, when I contemplated moving to a law firm, practicing solo or going in-house, I found there's a critical first step — deep self-reflection on what you truly want to do and where your strengths lie, says Rachael Jones at McKool Smith.

  • Mich. Ruling Narrows Former Athletes' Path To NIL Recovery

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    A federal judge's recent dismissal of a name, image and likeness class action by former Michigan college football players marks the third such ruling this year, demonstrating how statutes of limitation and prior NIL settlements are effectively foreclosing these claims for pre-2016 student-athletes, say attorneys at Venable.

  • Series

    Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Painting trains me to see both the fine detail and the whole composition at once, enabling me to identify friction points while keeping sight of a client's bigger vision, but the most significant lesson I've brought to my legal work has been the value of originality, says Jana Gouchev at Gouchev Law.

  • 3 Trends From AI-Related Securities Class Action Dismissals

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    A review of recently dismissed securities class actions centering on artificial intelligence highlights courts' scrutiny of statements about AI's capabilities and independence, and sustained focus on issues that aren't AI-specific, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Protecting Sensitive Court Filings After Recent Cyber Breach

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    In the wake of a recent cyberattack on federal courts' Case Management/Electronic Case Files system, civil litigants should consider seeking enhanced protections for sensitive materials filed under seal to mitigate the risk of unauthorized exposure, say attorneys at Redgrave.

  • How AI Can Find Environmental Risks Before Regulators Do

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    By using artificial intelligence to analyze public information that regulators collect but find incredibly challenging to connect across agencies and databases, legal teams can identify risks before widespread health impacts occur, rather than waiting for harm to surface — potentially transforming environmental litigation, says Paul Napoli at Napoli Shkolnik.

  • Series

    Judging Figure Skating Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Judging figure skating competitions helps me hone the focus, decisiveness and ability to process complex real-time information I need in court, but more importantly, it makes me reengage with a community and my identity outside of law, which, paradoxically, always brings me back to work feeling restored, says Megan Raymond at Groombridge Wu.

  • $100K H-1B Fee May Disrupt Rural Healthcare Needs

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    The Trump administration's newly imposed $100,000 supplemental fee on new H-1B petitions may disproportionately affect healthcare employers' ability to recruit international medical graduates, and the fee's national interest exceptions will not adequately solve ensuing problems for healthcare employers or medically underserved areas, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • What Ethics Rules Say On Atty Discipline For Online Speech

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    Though law firms are free to discipline employees for their online commentary about Charlie Kirk or other social media activity, saying crude or insensitive things on the internet generally doesn’t subject attorneys to professional discipline under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, says Stacie H. Rosenzweig at Halling & Cayo.

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