The Roberts Court At 20: How The Chief Is Reshaping America

By Katie Buehler and Jeff Overley

Twenty years after John Roberts became the 17th chief justice of the United States, he faces a U.S. Supreme Court term that's looking transformative for the country and its institutions. How Justice Roberts and his colleagues navigate mounting distrust in the judiciary and set the boundaries of presidential authority appear increasingly likely to define his time leading the court.

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Would-Be Kavanaugh Assassin Gets 8 Years In Prison

By Hailey Konnath

A Maryland federal judge on Friday handed an eight-year prison sentence plus a lifetime of supervised release to a Californian accused of trying to kill U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, rejecting prosecutors' request that the defendant spend at least 30 years behind bars.

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Analysis

4 Top Supreme Court Cases To Watch This Term

By Katie Buehler

After a busy summer of emergency rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court will kick off its October 2025 term Monday with only a few big-ticket cases on its docket — over presidential authorities, transgender athletes and election law — in what might be a strategically slow start to a potentially momentous term. Here, Law360 looks at four of the most important cases on the court's docket so far.

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Up First At High Court: Election Laws & Conversion Therapy

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in six cases during the first week of its October 2025 term, including in disputes over federal candidates' ability to challenge state election laws, Colorado's ban on conversion therapy, and the ability of a landlord to sue the U.S. Postal Service for allegedly refusing to deliver mail. 

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Analysis

Justices To Confront Divisive Cases On Rights, Power, Liberty

By Marco Poggio

The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to confront a slate of divisive issues in its upcoming term that begins Monday, with voting rights, transgender equality, religious freedom, immigration detention, and criminal procedure all on the docket.

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Analysis

4 Criminal Law Cases To Watch As Justices Return

By Phillip Bantz

A slate of upcoming arguments will offer the U.S. Supreme Court the opportunity to weigh criminal defendants' ability to pursue claims of double jeopardy, secure sentencing relief and confer with trial counsel during overnight pauses in their testimony.

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Analysis

High Court Broker Negligence Case 'Pivotal' For Trucking

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. Supreme Court grabbed an opportunity to smooth out splintered circuit court rulings on whether freight brokers might also be liable for roadway accidents that have killed or injured people, potentially providing long-sought clarity to middlemen in a trucking and logistics sector unnerved by recent supersized verdicts against carriers and drivers.

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Analysis

Why The Criminal Defense Bar Will 'Learn A Lot' This Term

By Phillip Bantz

The U.S. Supreme Court's docket is packed with cases that hinge on issues of criminal law, teeing up a term that could affect the U.S. Sentencing Commission's powers and clarify where the justices stand on procedural and constitutional questions of criminal law, experts say.

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Analysis

FERC Finding Friendlier Courts In Gas Project Approval Fights

By Keith Goldberg

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is getting more leeway from courts in lawsuits challenging its gas project approvals following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that curtailed federal environmental reviews, which may ultimately speed up the agency's consideration of projects.

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Analysis

$1T Tesla Pay Proposal Sets Ambitious Goals For Musk

By Kellie Mejdrich

A massive pay proposal for Tesla CEO Elon Musk contains performance metrics that would make it tough for Musk to pull in the maximum pay available, even if the deal gets a green light from shareholders in November. Here are four things about the $1 trillion pitch that have caught attorneys' attention.

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Off The Bench

Off The Bench: QB Wins In Court, 'Poaching' Feud Heats Up

By David Steele

In this week's Off The Bench, the NCAA's bid to overturn a football player's eligibility falls short, a transgender athlete wants a potential landmark U.S. Supreme Court case stopped, and a $55 million feud between two athletic conferences continues.

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Justices Again Clear Trump To Scrap TPS For Venezuelans

By Tom Lotshaw

The U.S. Supreme Court for a second time cleared the Trump administration to undo temporary protected status designations for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, despite lower court rulings concluding it acted unlawfully, sparking a fierce dissent by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

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Justices To Weigh Compensation In Tax-Foreclosure Sale

By Natalie Olivo

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up a case contending that a deceased homeowner's estate was denied its constitutionally owed compensation when a Michigan county sold a tax-foreclosed property at a fraction of its fair market value.

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Supreme Court Takes Up Cuba Seizure Law Cases

By Caroline Simson

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider two cases seeking clarity on a federal law enacted in 1996 that allows U.S. victims of property seizures by the Cuban government to seek damages from entities that subsequently used the property.

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Justices Agree To Hear Freight Broker Negligence Case

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to address conflicting appellate court decisions on whether federal law shields freight brokers from state-based negligence and personal injury claims.

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Justices To Mull Hawaii's 'Vampire Law' For Concealed Carry

By Marco Poggio

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a challenge to a Hawaii law that bars pistol permit holders from bringing handguns onto private property open to the public without the owner's express permission, similar to policies in other states that critics have characterized as "vampire laws."

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High Court Asked To Review Racial Bias In Miss. Jury Strikes

By Marco Poggio

It wasn't until after he endured six capital murder trials tainted by racial prejudice that Curtis Flowers, a Black Mississippian, was finally exonerated, had the charges against him dismissed and his name cleared.

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Jewish Committee Backs Tribes' High Court Voting Challenge

By Crystal Owens

The American Jewish Committee is backing two North Dakota tribes in their Supreme Court bid to undo an Eighth Circuit voting rights order, telling the justices the guiding principle of any democracy is that the government needs to make it easy to cast a ballot.

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DC Circ. Split On Challenge To IRS-ICE Info-Sharing Deal

By Anna Scott Farrell

D.C. Circuit judges seemed split Friday over whether an information-sharing agreement between immigration authorities and the IRS complies with taxpayer privacy protections, with one judge noting during oral arguments that the government immigration arm requesting the tax information appears unauthorized to make the requests.

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DC Circ. Nixes Enforcement Of $156M India Award

By Caroline Simson

The D.C. Circuit on Friday ordered a lower court to reconsider defenses raised by India as it fights efforts by Deutsche Telekom AG to enforce a nearly $156 million arbitral award against the country over a nixed satellite lease and telecommunications deal, including whether the dispute belonged in arbitration.

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DC Circ. Affirms Immunity Denial For Venezuela Oil Co.

By Tom Lotshaw

A D.C. Circuit panel ruled Petroleos de Venezuela SA must face claims it unlawfully took over an Oklahoma business's rigs and property, backing a district court's decision to deny the state-owned oil company's bid for sovereign immunity.

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DC Circ. Eyes Pre-Enforcement Standing In Gun Ban Case

By Jared Foretek

A panel of D.C. Circuit judges wrestled with where to draw the line on pre-enforcement challenges in Second Amendment cases Friday as Washington, D.C., defended its ban on firearms on Metro trains and buses from area gun-owners seeking to carry and ride.

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Newman Opposes Fed. Circ.'s Stay Bid Amid Shutdown

By Emily Sawicki

The government shutdown is no excuse to halt proceedings in Judge Pauline Newman's case for reinstatement to the Federal Circuit, the judge said in an opposition, noting in a Friday filing that the Federal Circuit was seeking to delay its own litigation while pledging to deny similar motions that come before it.

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Fed. Circ. Sinks Advocacy Groups' Bid For PTAB 'Veto' Rule

By Theresa Schliep

The Federal Circuit on Friday affirmed a lower court's rejection of efforts by advocacy groups to create a "veto" for small-business patent owners defending themselves at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, saying in a precedential decision that the groups lacked standing.

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Stryker Gets Fed. Circ. To Ax Bone Fusion Patent Claims

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit on Friday reversed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's findings that Stryker failed to show that certain claims were anticipated in a trio of OsteoMed patents relating to ways to secure bones together.

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Paltalk Urges Albright To Revive $65.7M Cisco Patent Verdict

By Theresa Schliep

Paltalk Holdings wants U.S. District Judge Alan Albright to revisit his decision wiping out an over $65.7 million verdict in its favor against Cisco Systems Inc. and ordering a new trial on damages in the patent infringement case, saying the verdict was backed by enough evidence.

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Brief

Ex-USPTO Director Vidal Joins Fed. Circ. Advisory Council

By Dani Kass

The Federal Circuit's advisory council has brought on a former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director and a Latham & Watkins LLP partner as its newest members.

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1st Circ. Keeps Block On Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order

By Rae Ann Varona

The First Circuit on Friday upheld blocks on President Donald Trump's executive order aiming to limit birthright citizenship, ruling in a sweeping 100-page opinion that the president's order is likely unconstitutional.

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2nd Circ. Erases Injunction In Pet Supplement False Ad Fight

By Adam Lidgett

The Second Circuit on Friday undid a lower court order blocking Zesty Paws from billing itself in ads as the top U.S. pet supplement brand, saying it didn't apply the proper standard correctly.

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2nd Circ. Says Exxon Must Pay Atty Fees For 'Absurd' Args

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The Second Circuit on Friday said energy giants including Exxon Mobil Corp. must pay attorney fees to New York City, which is suing them for deceptive practices around climate change, for advancing "absurd" arguments in remand proceedings.

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Lost Mail No Excuse, 3rd Circ. Rules When Ending Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

A woman's slip-and-fall lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service was properly ended as untimely, the Third Circuit ruled on Friday, rejecting arguments that the carrier failed to deliver a critical notice to the plaintiff's attorney, causing the suit to be filed late, and ruling that the government's only responsibility was to mail the letter.

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Split 3rd Circ. Backs Fiat Chrysler In Deceptive Sticker Claims

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A split Third Circuit panel upheld the dismissal of a class action alleging that Fiat Chrysler put deceptive price stickers on its vehicles to hide the fact that it "injected profit" into the cost, with the court holding that car buyers weren't actually harmed.

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Vape Cos. Tell 5th Circ. FDA Erred On Flavored E-Cigs

By Emily Field

Multiple vaping companies told the Fifth Circuit that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration overstepped its authority when it blocked approval of their flavored e-cigarettes since it skipped a full review of the available information, including the regulator's own survey data showing that minors aren't using them.

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6th Circ. Says FirstEnergy's Bribery Probe Docs Are Privileged

By Gina Kim

The Sixth Circuit on Friday vacated a district court's order forcing FirstEnergy to disclose to investors its internal investigation materials amid a $1 billion bribery scandal involving an Ohio lawmaker, ruling that the materials were "clearly" protected by the attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine. 

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Full 6th Circ. Skips Free Speech Row Over Drone Hunting Ban

By Elaine Briseño

The Sixth Circuit on Friday declined to reconsider whether Michigan's ban on the use of drones for hunting violates the right to free speech, finding the issue was already covered in an earlier ruling, but warning the case could raise bigger First Amendment concerns in the future.

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6th Circ. Won't Revive Religious Rehab Group's Land Use Suit

By Grace Dixon

The Sixth Circuit refused to rescue a faith-based rehabilitation operator's claims that a Tennessee county unlawfully wielded land use laws to keep it from buying a new site, finding that the group's move to a nearby county was not a substantial burden on its religious exercise.

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Brief

6th Circ. Will Hear Ohio PBM Fight Arguments In December

By Nadia Dreid

The Sixth Circuit will hear arguments from the state of Ohio and the pharmacy benefit managers it's accusing of colluding to raise the price of prescription medications in December to decide whether the matter belongs in state or federal court.

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Madigan Must Report To Prison As Ordered, 7th Circ. Says

By Celeste Bott

The Seventh Circuit on Friday denied former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's request to stay his impending surrender to serve a seven-year prison sentence for bribery and wire fraud as he appeals that conviction.

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Brief

8th Circ. Won't Review Teachers' Union Taxpayer Ruling

By Irene Spezzamonte

The full Eighth Circuit will not review a split panel decision ruling that taxpayers could challenge a Minnesota school district's paid leave policy that allows teachers to take paid time off to work for their union.

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9th Circ. Reopens Circle K Age Bias Suit Over Promotion

By Patrick Hoff

The Ninth Circuit on Friday revived a lawsuit alleging that Circle K passed over three former employees for promotion because they were in their 50s, saying the trial court was wrong to fault the workers for not applying to the job when the company never advertised the opening.

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Press Freedom Org. Backs Overturn Of SEC 'Gag Rule'

By Jessica Corso

The Freedom of the Press Foundation is urging the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its decision to uphold the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's "gag rule," arguing that preventing settling parties from speaking out harms the public's right to know what is happening inside the agency.

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Pot Co. Urges 9th Circ. To Revive Labor Peace Law Challenge

By Sam Reisman

A cannabis retailer challenging the constitutionality of a California law that requires marijuana businesses to have labor peace agreements with unions is urging the Ninth Circuit to revive its lawsuit against the state.

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10th Circ. Rules Modoc Nation's Ex-AG Not Immune From Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

The Tenth Circuit said Friday that the Modoc Nation's former attorney general isn't entitled to immunity in the Oklahoma tribe's $14.6 million racketeering lawsuit against a computer management company, ruling the ex-official "is the real party in interest."

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11th Circ. Upholds Robbery Convictions Despite Lawyer Errors

By Carolina Bolado

The Eleventh Circuit agreed Friday that a man serving 26 years in prison for a string of Walmart robberies received ineffective counsel at trial but declined to overturn his conviction, citing the "mountain of evidence against him" it said would likely have secured his conviction regardless.

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11th Circ. Pushes Forward Fla.'s ACA Trans Health Appeal

By Gianna Ferrarin

The Eleventh Circuit resolved a jurisdictional question that will allow Florida to continue pursuing its challenge against Biden-era policies impacting Affordable Care Act coverage for gender-affirming care.

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11th Circ. Backs Royalties Firm In Hip-Hop Payouts Dispute

By Elliot Weld

The Eleventh Circuit on Friday affirmed a win for a music royalties firm in a case brought against one of the members of the '90s hip-hip duo Black Sheep for allegedly breaching his contract.

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NY Atty's Big Mouth Wins Client New Trial

By Elizabeth Daley

A New York appeals court has reversed a man's 6½-year sentence for weapons possession and granted him a new trial after finding his defense attorney "created an actual conflict of interest by prematurely disclosing confidential information to the court."

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Miami Beats Suit Over Alleged RE Plot Involving Ex-City Atty

By Madison Arnold

A Florida state appeals court reversed the denial of the city of Miami's motion to dismiss a civil conspiracy claim brought against it by a man who accused city workers of conspiring with the former city attorney and her husband to purchase houses with multiple code violations at below-market value and sell them for a profit.

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Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: Silent Witness, Corporate Veil

By Matthew Santoni

When its October session launches Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will consider issues such as the time limits on long-hidden crimes and long-undiscovered construction flaws, along with witnesses who say nothing on the stand and experts who opine on manner of death.

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Del. Justices Uphold Toss Of Ad Co. Note Conversion Claim

By Jeff Montgomery

With little discussion, a Delaware Supreme Court panel on Friday affirmed on appeal a Court of Chancery decision that advertising tech company Vistar Media Inc. had a right to cash out millions' worth of matured investor notes over noteholder objections.

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Ga. Judge 'Cannot Be Trusted,' Must Leave Bench, Panel Says

By Lynn LaRowe

The Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission is recommending that a judge who gave dishonest testimony regarding wide-ranging allegations of misconduct, including the illegal arrest and false imprisonment of a witness, should be kicked off the bench, saying that a judge who "cannot be trusted to tell the truth cannot be trusted to remain in office."

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Ga. Panel Orders Retrial Over $1.5M Land Seizure Verdict

By Chart Riggall

The Georgia Court of Appeals has granted the state Department of Transportation's bid for a new trial after it was hit with a $1.5 million verdict over land it condemned from a family farm, ruling that a state court jury relied on impermissible speculation about the property's potential value.

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Mich. Justices Send Anti-Muslim Bias Case To Appeals Court

By Carolyn Muyskens

Michigan's highest court has thrown out a ruling sending to arbitration an airline worker's claims he was the target of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim comments at work in light of a change in how courts in the Great Lakes State enforce employment contracts.

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Mich. Top Court To Weigh If MSU Hid Liability In Contract Row

By Danielle Ferguson

The Michigan Supreme Court said it will hear Michigan State University's bid for immunity from a lawsuit filed by former law professors who allege the school concealed its liability for their claims that MSU abandoned promised retirement benefits when it merged with a law college.

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Mass. Justices Say Pandemic Delay Not Speedy Trial Violation

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' highest court ruled Friday that pandemic-related delays in bringing a defendant to trial did not violate his right to a speedy trial under the state and U.S. constitutions.

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Why Feds' Criminal Vehicle Tampering Theory Falls Short

In recent years, federal regulators have advanced a novel theory that reprogramming a vehicle's onboard diagnostics system is a crime under the Clean Air Act — but a case now pending in the Ninth Circuit shows that the government's position is questionable for a host of reasons, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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Wash. Ruling Raises Pay Transparency Litigation Risk

Washington Supreme Court’s recent decision in Branson v. Washington Fine Wine and Spirits, affirming applicants standing to sue regardless of their intent in applying, broadens state employers' already broad exposure — even when compared to other states with pay transparency laws, say attorneys at Hunton.

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Means-Plus-Function Terms In Software Claims May Be Risky

Though the Federal Circuit recently reversed a decision rejecting a set of means-plus-function software claims as lacking sufficient structure, practitioners who proceed under this holding may run into indefiniteness problems if they do not consider other Federal Circuit holdings related to the definiteness requirement, says Jeffrey Danley at Seed IP Law Group.

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Grassley Probes Judges' Possible AI Use In Faulty Rulings

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pressed two federal judges on Monday about their possible use of artificial intelligence in court orders that contained a multitude of errors.

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Chief DC Judge Rejects Feds' Bid To Force Local Indictment

By Lauren Berg

The chief judge for the Washington, D.C., federal court rejected the government's request to make a magistrate judge accept an indictment secured through a local grand jury when the initial federal grand jury declined to indict, after prosecutors argued the tactic is legal and has been used for decades.

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Trump Names Investigator Of Russia Probe As DOJ Acting IG

By Jack Karp

The White House has tapped an experienced government attorney who investigated the FBI's probe into President Donald Trump's links with Russia to be the U.S. Department of Justice's acting inspector general, according to a notification sent to Congress.

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Atty Sanctioned For 'Reckless' AI Use In DC FCA Case

By Emily Sawicki

An attorney who admitted to relying on generative artificial intelligence to help craft a brief that contained errors in all of its nine citations, was ordered to pay fee sanctions in a judge's order that emphasized attorneys should stick to the fundamentals taught in law school: "check your legal citations for accuracy."

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Hagens Berman Fights Sanctions Over Thalidomide Suits

By Emma Cueto

Plaintiffs firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP strenuously denied claims that it should be sanctioned for filing since-dropped product liability cases, responding to a judge's show cause order by saying it spent hundreds of hours researching the legal theories it pursued before filing the cases and devoted substantial time and resources to them.

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Justices Won't Review Ex-BigLaw Atty's OneCoin Conviction

By Stewart Bishop

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a former Locke Lord LLP partner's appeal of his conviction and prison sentence for helping launder roughly $400 million in proceeds from the infamous OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme.

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Womble Bond Atty Tells 4th Circ. He Didn't Mislead Dutch Court

By Abigail Harrison

There's no evidence that Womble Bond Dickinson partner Pressly Millen misled a Dutch court or violated a federal judge's correction order in a $28 million trademark dispute, Millen has told the Fourth Circuit in a bid to reverse a contempt order against him.

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High Court Turns Down 6 Patent Cases At Start Of Term

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected six petitions in patent-related cases, taking some of its first actions on intellectual property matters this term.

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