The D.C. Circuit's second halt of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's contempt inquiry into the Trump administration's Alien Enemies Act deportations has set up a high-stakes fight over how far judges can go when the executive branch defies their orders.
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

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Analysis

Halt Of Alien Enemies Contempt Probe To Test Judicial Power

By Britain Eakin

The D.C. Circuit's second halt of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's contempt inquiry into the Trump administration's Alien Enemies Act deportations has set up a high-stakes fight over how far judges can go when the executive branch defies their orders.

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Judge Wants To Inform Mass. ICE Detainees Of Bond Rights

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal judge said she intends to rule by Friday that a group of noncitizens held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have the right to seek release on bond, saying she hopes to issue a decision before a possible surge in arrests during the holidays.

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5th Circ. Overturns 20-Year Sentence For Illegal Reentry

By Tom Lotshaw

A Fifth Circuit panel vacated a 20-year sentence imposed on a Mexican national for unlawful reentry, ruling Wednesday that prosecutors broke an informal agreement to support far lower sentencing guidelines if the man entered a guilty plea with no formal deal.

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Feature

The Spiciest Quotes From Massachusetts Courts In 2025

By Chris Villani

Massachusetts courts were replete with high-stakes cases throughout the year, with memorable lines from lawyers and judges alike, including jabs, thoughtful reflections and one defendant "blinded by love."

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LITIGATION

9th Circ. Affirms DHS Officers' Fast-Track Removal Authority

By Dorothy Atkins

A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday upheld the denial of a Mexican citizen's bid to toss illegal reentry charges, rejecting arguments that a U.S. Department of Homeland Security "deciding service officer" unconstitutionally ordered his removal, while also clarifying that such officers who issue fast-track removal orders aren't subject to the U.S. Constitution's appointments clause.

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Haitian Migrants Accuse Meatpacking Giant JBS Of Race Bias

By Ganesh Setty

Three Haitian nationals have accused meatpacking giant JBS USA Food Co. of race-based discrimination in Colorado federal court, alleging that it intentionally subjected them to comparatively more dangerous working conditions without proper training in their native language.

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Analysis

Biggest Colorado Cases Of 2025

By Rachel Konieczny

In 2025, a Colorado federal judge blocked U.S. immigration agents from conducting warrantless arrests in the state without determining probable cause. Elsewhere, Colorado's justices articulated for the first time the burden of proof required for plaintiffs bringing tort cases against public entities. And Xcel Energy agreed to pay $640 million to settle claims that it caused or contributed to the state's 2021 Marshall Fire. Here's a look at some of the biggest decisions and cases that affected the state this year.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Practical Problem Solving

Issue-spotting skills are well honed in law school, but practicing attorneys must also identify clients’ problems and true goals, and then be able to provide solutions, says Mary Kate Hogan at Quarles & Brady.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

$3.6B Hogan Lovells, Cadwalader Deal To Form Top 5 Firm

By Kevin Penton

Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft are planning to combine, creating what the firms say will be the world's fifth-largest firm by revenue, they announced Thursday.

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Fake Quotes In Pa. Patent Case Lead To Judicial Rebuke

By James Boyle

Two Barley Snyder attorneys have been directed to explain to a Pennsylvania federal judge how nonexistent quotes from cited cases appeared in a July filing, according to a recently published order that also denied a holiday light clip manufacturer's request for a temporary restraining order preventing a rival company from selling a similar product.

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Calif. AG, Bar Officials Fight Bid To Stop ABS Fee-Sharing Ban

By James Mills

Both the California attorney general and the California State Bar are opposing a California attorney's attempt to block a new law preventing fee-sharing with out-of-state law firms owned by nonlawyers set to go into effect on Jan. 1.

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Boies Schiller Must Face Fla. Fee Suit, Court Told

By Lynn LaRowe

In pushing back on a bid to toss a Florida state court lawsuit against Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and related defendants, a pharmaceutical mass tort law firm and other parties said the lawsuit outlines a clear breach of a nondisclosure agreement and interference with existing business relationships, making the complaint legally sufficient under Sunshine State law.

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Dems Offer Bill To Shine Light On High Court 'Shadow Docket'

By Ryan Boysen

Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to explain its "shadow docket" rulings, criticizing the high court for issuing "harmful, backwards decisions" that "impact millions of Americans' lives" but are often unaccompanied by a formal opinion.

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DC Circ. Told Transferred Ethics Suit Bolsters Newman's Case

By Adam Lidgett

Suspended Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman is contending that a decision in which an ethics complaint against a Fourth Circuit judge was transferred out of his home court bolsters her argument that her fellow circuit judges shouldn't have investigated her fitness to remain on the bench.

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Trump's Picks To Lead FDIC, CFTC Win Senate Approval

By Jon Hill

The U.S. Senate on Thursday signed off on two more of President Donald Trump's picks for top financial regulator jobs, confirming Travis Hill and Michael Selig as chairs of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, respectively.

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Senate Package Includes US Attorney, DC Judge Confirmations

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate confirmed 13 U.S. attorneys and three local judges for the District of Columbia as part of a nominations package confirmed 53-43 along party lines on Thursday.

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Chancery Sr. Magistrate Leaving Bench For Role As Neutral

By Rose Krebs

Delaware's Chancery Court will soon be losing its senior magistrate, as she is returning to private practice to serve as a professional neutral.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Ashurst LLP

Barley Snyder

Boies Schiller

Cadwalader Wickersham

Covington & Burling

Davis Polk

Foley Hoag

Greenberg Traurig

HSF Kramer

Hogan Lovells

Kramer Levin

Latham & Watkins

Lawson Huck

Libby Hoopes

McDermott Will & Schulte

Nichols Kaster

Ogborn Mihm

Olson Grimsley

Orrick Herrington

Pendley Baudin

Perkins Coie

Quarles & Brady

Richards Layton

Saul Ewing

Sidley Austin

Taylor Wessing

Willkie Farr

Winston & Strawn

Wisner Baum

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

American Civil Liberties Union

American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts

American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire

Democracy Forward Foundation

George Washington University

Instagram Inc.

JBS USA Holdings Inc.

LinkedIn Corp.

MSP Recovery

Meta Platforms Inc.

NBCUniversal Media LLC

NFL Enterprises LLC

New Civil Liberties Alliance

Proof

Sandoz International GmbH

State Bar of California

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

TikTok Inc.

Xcel Energy Inc.

Zeughauser Group LLC

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Department of Justice

Colorado Supreme Court

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Judicial Conference of the United States

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

National Institutes of Health

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi

U.S. District Court of the District of New Hampshire

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana