At Angola Farm Line Trial, An Enduring Debate Over Slavery

By Marco Poggio

A yearslong federal case over forced agricultural labor at Louisiana's Angola prison raised questions about prison labor and its ties to slavery, but ended earlier this year with a judge's refusal to halt the practice despite finding workers remained exposed to dangerous heat. Advocates say that was a mistake.

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Analysis

To Protect And Stalk: How Some Police Misuse Plate Readers

By Jack Karp

Police officers' abuse of public surveillance technology to stalk people in their private lives highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability when it comes to how these tools are used, say experts.

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Pro Bono Spotlight

Hogan Lovells Helps Abuse Survivor Reclaim Her Voice

By Chris Villani

A sexual abuse survivor wanted to stand up in court to deliver a victim impact statement during her abuser's sentencing, but she didn't have the means to be there in person. A team from Hogan Lovells helped arrange her travel, using BigLaw resources to help a victim of a traumatic crime.

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Justices Say Asylum Rights Begin On US Soil

By Britain Eakin

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that federal immigration officials can turn away noncitizens without valid travel documents who haven't physically crossed the southern border when U.S. ports of entry are at capacity.

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High Court Strikes Down Hawaii Gun Restrictions

By Elizabeth Daley and Marco Poggio

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a Hawaii law banning people from bringing firearms onto private property open to the public without express permission from the owner violates the Second and 14th amendments.

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Justices Let Trump End Temporary Status For Haiti, Syria

By Britain Eakin

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday gave the green light to the Trump administration to move forward with ending temporary protected status for Haitians and Syrians, ruling that courts are barred from reviewing such determinations.

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High Court Tosses Rastafarian's Haircut Suit

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ended a Rastafarian's bid to hold Louisiana prison guards responsible for allegedly violating his religious rights by forcibly shaving off his dreadlocks, ruling a law aimed at preventing religious discrimination at state and local levels can't be used to sue government officials in their individual capacities without their consent.

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Justices Take Texas Challenge Of 'Unavailable' Habeas Claim

By Brandon Lowrey

The U.S. Supreme Court Monday agreed to hear Texas' challenge of a Fifth Circuit decision to allow a man's successive habeas claim under a rare exception for "previously unavailable" claims under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996.

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Justices To Hear Fight Over Reach Of Bivens Prison Suits

By Elizabeth Daley

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a case over whether a federal inmate can use a 1971 high court precedent to pursue damages from prison officials for allegedly failing to provide adequate medical care after a 2021 prison fight.

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Justices Decline To Hear Pa. Prison ADA Liability Challenge

By Parker Quinlan

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to take up Pennsylvania's petition to overturn a ruling finding it could possibly be held liable under the Americans with Disabilities Act in an incarcerated man's lawsuit alleging he was illegally denied access to proper medical care.

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Justices Decline Review In Texas Hypnosis Death Row Case

By Marco Poggio

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the case of a Texas death row prisoner who argued that his conviction rests on eyewitness testimony influenced by investigative hypnosis, a practice the state has since barred in criminal cases.

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Calif. Moves On Proposal To Allow Legal Aid By Nonlawyers

By Lynn LaRowe

The California Supreme Court has directed the state bar to solicit public comments on a proposed community justice worker program that would allow nonlawyers to provide limited legal assistance under the supervision of qualified legal aid organizations, according to a Thursday announcement.

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NY Judge Won't Grant Fee Requests In Public Charge Suits

By Tom Lotshaw

A New York federal judge refused to award over $1 million in attorney fees and costs to organizations that challenged "public charge" immigration policies the first Trump administration enacted, ruling that preliminary injunctions did not give them prevailing party status.

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Conn. Justices Say Local Rent Board Can Enter Eviction Fight

By Brian Steele

The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday allowed a municipal fair rent commission to get involved in a landlord-tenant eviction action in state court, finding the local body clearly has an interest in advocating for its statutory right to adjudicate complaints and enforce its own orders.

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Calif. Judge Restores Immigration Courthouse Arrest Limits

By Hailey Konnath

A California federal judge Tuesday vacated the Trump administration's policies on civil arrests at immigration courthouses, restoring limits on those arrests and finding that the government didn't adequately explain its policy shift.

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11th Circ. Won't Revisit Torture Claims Outside Removal Order

By Elaine Briseño

The Eleventh Circuit, in a split decision, has declined to review whether it should halt the removal of a Jamaican man claiming he faces torture in his home country, finding it does not have jurisdiction without reviewing the final removal order at the same time.

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Mass. Exoneree Can Sue Boston, Police Over False Conviction

By Elizabeth Daley

An exonerated man may continue his suit against the city of Boston that alleges three city police officers, who are now dead, helped convict him of a 1975 murder he didn't commit, a Massachusetts federal court has ruled.

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Exonerated Detroit Man Says Police Fabricated Murder Case

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan man who spent more than 15 years in prison before being acquitted at a new trial has sued more than a dozen Detroit police officers, alleging they fabricated evidence, hid proof that undercut the case, and coerced a wounded witness into falsely identifying him in a 2007 shooting.

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Colo. Justices Nix Conviction Over DNA-Swabbing Confession

By Brandon Lowrey

Colorado's highest court ruled Tuesday that detectives violated a defendant's Fourth Amendment rights by interrogating a confession out of him while they executed a narrow court order to collect DNA samples.

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Pa. Justices Curb Philly DA Conviction Relief Concessions

By Brandon Lowrey

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday slammed the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office for making "misleading" concessions of prosecutorial misconduct to favor convicted murderers seeking to overturn their convictions, ordering lower courts to give the state attorney general a chance to intervene in such cases.

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20-Year-Old's Life Sentence Upheld By Mich. Panel

By Susan Smiley

A Michigan appeals court panel upheld a parolable life sentence for a woman who was 20 years old when she took part in a 2007 drive-by shooting that left two people dead, finding that recent Michigan Supreme Court rulings limiting life sentences for young offenders do not apply to her case.

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Va. Prison Officials Immune In Strip Search Suit, 4th Circ. Says

By Parker Quinlan

The Fourth Circuit ruled Wednesday that Virginia prison officials can be granted qualified immunity from a federal lawsuit alleging they subjected an incarcerated person to an unconstitutional number of strip searches.

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Roundup

Balancing The Scales: First Step Act, Rap Lyrics As Evidence

By Orlando Lorenzo

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling has apparently shut the door on a potential wave of postconviction relief petitions, and the Eighth Circuit has deemed rap lyrics suitable as evidence in drug convictions. Here, Law360 highlights access to justice stories arising from litigation, verdicts and judgments you may have missed.

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