When states’ rights and health care access clash

From the COVID-19 response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the results of 50 states having individual approaches to public health, medical outcomes and health care access raise troubling questions. A husband-and-wife team of University of Utah professors dig into the ethics of the American health care system in States of Health: The Ethics and Consequences of Policy Variation in a Federal System.

May 15, 2024 4:40 PM CDT

Justice Department warns against threats to voting rights, election workers

Attorney General Merrick Garland warned Monday of mounting violent threats against election workers across the country, and vowed that the Justice Department will be “relentless” in prosecuting those who threaten the democratic process.

May 14, 2024 12:50 PM CDT

Solicitors general, past and present, reflect on ups and downs of job and arguing before SCOTUS

It isn’t often that a bipartisan group of U.S. solicitors general gather in public to discuss their unique role in the legal system and even gripe a little about the U.S. Supreme Court. But that’s what happened recently in a packed hotel ballroom before the ABA 2024 Litigation Section Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

May 9, 2024 12:02 PM CDT

Attorney general moves to reclassify marijuana as lower-risk drug

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday recommended loosening restrictions on marijuana, a historic shift in federal drug policy that could broaden access to the drug for medicinal use and boost cannabis industries in states where it is legal.

Apr 30, 2024 2:12 PM CDT

Trump found in contempt for violating gag order in hush money trial

The judge in Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial found the former president in contempt Tuesday for his critical public statements as proceedings entered their third week.

Apr 30, 2024 10:30 AM CDT

Takeaways from the Supreme Court argument on Trump’s criminal immunity

The Supreme Court spent hours Thursday morning debating former president Donald Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution for allegedly conspiring to undo the results of the 2020 election. The ruling, which could come in June, could do far more than chart the course of Trump’s case; it may forever alter the boundaries of presidential power.

Apr 25, 2024 2:00 PM CDT

Chamber of Commerce sues to block FTC’s noncompete ban

Business groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday seeking to block a rule finalized this week that would outlaw noncompete provisions that prohibit workers from switching jobs within an industry.

Apr 25, 2024 1:30 PM CDT

TikTok and the U.S. government dig in for legal war

A defiant TikTok is preparing to fight for its life in court after President Biden signed a law calling for its forced sale or ban in the United States, a legal battle that could reshape American speech freedoms in the internet age.

Apr 25, 2024 1:00 PM CDT

Supreme Court likely to side with Starbucks, curtail labor board authority

The Supreme Court appeared prepared to side with Starbucks in its request to curtail the National Labor Relations Board’s authority in determining whether fired union activists should get their jobs back in a case that was argued before the court Tuesday.

Apr 24, 2024 11:45 AM CDT

FTC bans contracts that keep workers from jumping to rival employers

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday banned noncompete agreements for most U.S. workers, a move that will affect an estimated 30 million employees bound by contracts that restrict workers from switching employers within their industry.

Apr 24, 2024 10:15 AM CDT

The fate of emergency abortion care rests with Supreme Court

Shanae Smith-Cunningham arrived at Memorial Regional Hospital on Dec. 21, 2022 - five days after her water broke, only halfway through her pregnancy. Despite her pleas for treatment and the risks to her health, staff at the Hollywood, Fla., hospital turned her away amid the state’s new abortion restrictions.

Apr 23, 2024 1:25 PM CDT

Lawyer who argued Nixon-Watergate case fears SCOTUS might expand presidential immunity for Trump

Philip Lacovara, counsel to the Watergate special prosecutor, spoke with the ABA Journal about his experience with U.S. v. Nixon and his concerns about Trump v. United States. “When the Nixon case was decided, I thought that while it would give subsequent presidents the opportunity to claim executive privilege, which was not an established doctrine, I never thought it would lead to a former president claiming immunity from criminal prosecution. Yet here we are.”

Apr 23, 2024 11:19 AM CDT

Supreme Court will hear challenge to Biden administration rule on ghost guns

The Supreme Court on Monday said it would weigh a challenge to a Biden administration rule on “ghost guns,” weapons made from homemade kits that can be assembled into firearms.

Apr 23, 2024 8:50 AM CDT

Biden Title IX rules set to protect trans students, survivors of abuse

The Biden administration on Friday finalized sweeping new rules barring schools from discriminating against transgender students and ordering significant changes for how schools adjudicate claims of sexual harassment and assault on campus.

Apr 19, 2024 2:45 PM CDT

In New York, top federal prosecutor Damian Williams preaches speedy justice

Federal criminal cases are built on data, and Manhattan U.S Attorney Damian Williams has made a name for himself in law enforcement circles as wanting to modernize how prosecutors get, analyze and use that data.

Apr 10, 2024 12:30 PM CDT