A right-to-work advocacy group, renewing a long-running fight over labor union support fees assessed from non-union workers, asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to strike down the charges as unconstitutional, when imposed on workers in government jobs. That is the issue that split the court 4-to-4 in March of last year, when there were only… Read More
President Trump redefines the role of legal client
Lawyers, well aware that handling a complex legal case is not for amateurs, have long believed in an old saying (more colorful than this) that clients who represent themselves take real risks. On Monday, President Trump dispensed some legal advice to the lawyers representing him, and they may now have to try to recover. Their… Read More
Supreme Court takes on new cellphone privacy case
Returning to the controversy over how the Constitution affects modern technology, the Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide whether police or federal agents must get a search warrant before they may collect data on where a cellphone has been used – data that can allow the officers to track a criminal suspect’s movements. The… Read More
Large hospital chains get free of a worker benefit law
Some of the nation’s largest operators of hospitals and other health care facilities are entitled to be exempt from the federal employee benefit plan law, if they have a link to a church or other religious organization, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. Their plans, the unanimous ruling said, qualify for the “church plan” exemption even… Read More
Justices signal quick action on immigration
Acting with unusual speed, the Supreme Court on Friday afternoon told lawyers for the challengers to President Trump’s immigration limits to answer the Administration’s appeal by a week from Monday. That is a strong indication that the Justices will move swiftly, and a sign that they regard the controversy as one with real urgency. The… Read More
Will graduation next week end Gavin Grimm’s case?
On Saturday, eight days from now, Gavin Grimm will join other seniors at a Virginia high school, on the edge of the town of Gloucester Courthouse, for their graduation ceremony. On Friday, lawyers for him and for the local school board filed new legal briefs in a federal courthouse in Richmond, continuing their running dispute… Read More
Trump team asks swift Supreme Court review on immigration
Moving energetically to defend President Trump’s new limits on immigration of Mideastern people and refugees, Administration lawyers asked the Supreme Court late Thursday night to allow prompt enforcement of all parts of the executive order. It sought postponement of two federal trial judge’s temporary orders blocking enforcement nationwide of key sections of the presidential order,… Read More
Trump appeal on immigration due soon at Supreme Court
The Trump Administration legal team signaled on Wednesday that it will soon pursue an appeal to the Supreme Court to defend the presidential order limiting immigration of foreign nationals from six Mideast nations. The plan was disclosed as Administration lawyers asked a federal trial judge in Detroit to put on hold a lawsuit there about… Read More
Appeals court: Constitution protects transgender rights
A federal appeals court, in a breakthrough ruling on transgender rights, has ruled that the Constitution’s ban on unequal treatment of the sexes provides significant protection against discrimination based on gender identity. If a program or policy by a public agency, like a school, denies equality based on a stereotyped image of how a transgender… Read More
Can states adopt “use-it-or-lose-it” limits on voting rights?
The Supreme Court, taking on another significant controversy over voting rights, agreed on Tuesday to clarify the power of states to take voters off the registration rolls if they skip going to the polls in several elections. The new case from Ohio will come up for review in the court’s term starting next fall. At… Read More