11th Circuit Court

Federal judge who had in-chambers sex with top police officer issues clerks revised apology letters

A Georgia federal judge who had an ongoing in-chambers affair and later sent her former clerks a nonspecific three-line apology letter issued revised correspondence admitting to her “harmful” behavior on Thursday.

Jun 12, 2026 11:08 AM CDT

2 GOP reps plan impeachment articles against judge who had in-chambers sex with top police officer

Two Republican U.S. representatives from Georgia plan to present impeachment articles against a Georgia federal judge, who was recently and privately reprimanded for having in-chambers sex with a police officer.

Jun 9, 2026 11:23 AM CDT

Federal judge had in-chambers sex with top police officer, judicial conduct committee concludes

Updated: A judicial conduct committee has confirmed findings that a federal judge had sex inside her chambers during work hours with a high-ranking police officer and within earshot of clerk staff.

May 27, 2026 10:37 AM CDT

SCOTUS will examine scope of Title IX protections and whether civil rights law covers work bias claims

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to weigh whether federally funded school employees can privately sue for sex discrimination under Title IX of the 1972 Educational Amendments Act, an issue that divides lower courts.

May 19, 2026 9:09 AM CDT

Increasing court security concerns restrict some activities, Justice Thomas says

Heightened security is necessary for U.S. Supreme Court justices, and that makes some things difficult for Justice Clarence Thomas, he recently told a Florida audience at a conference organized by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Atlanta.

May 18, 2026 11:23 AM CDT

In case of pastor arrested while watering flowers, officers can request physical ID, state supreme court rules

The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s stop-and-identify law can be used during a police stop to request a physical ID when answers to identifying questions are met with “incomplete or unsatisfactory” answers.

Apr 21, 2026 12:00 PM CDT

11th Circuit upholds $144K sanction against food industry lawyer for repeating failed allegations in second suit

A federal appeals court has upheld a $144,000 attorney fees sanction imposed on New York food labeling lawyer Spencer Sheehan for filing a false advertising claim against Big Lots in a Florida federal court that repeated allegations in a failed lawsuit in another jurisdiction.

Aug 28, 2025 12:12 PM CDT

5 hallucinated cases lead federal judge to kick 3 Butler Snow lawyers off case

Three Butler Snow lawyers may no longer represent a former corrections commissioner in Alabama because they filed two motions with five “completely made up” case citations produced by ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence application, a federal judge ruled last week.

Jul 30, 2025 9:13 AM CDT

US recognized 11th Circuit precedent prevented release of Epstein grand jury records in Florida, judge says

Precedent by a federal appeals court with jurisdiction over Florida prevents release of grand jury records in the multimillionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein case, a fact recognized by the government, a federal judge in the Southern District of Florida ruled Wednesday.

Jul 24, 2025 2:22 PM CDT

Supreme Court keeps block on law that allows Florida to prosecute unauthorized immigrants who enter state

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday left intact a judge’s preliminary injunction blocking a Florida law that makes it a crime for immigrants to enter the state if they are in the country illegally.

Jul 10, 2025 9:49 AM CDT

Transgender teacher likely to fail in First Amendment challenge to Florida pronouns law, 11th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has ruled against a teacher who challenged a Florida law barring K-12 public school employees from communicating their preferred pronouns to students in the classroom if they don’t comport with their sex assigned at birth.

Jul 7, 2025 11:40 AM CDT

Florida AG held in civil contempt for disobeying order; ‘litigants cannot change the plain meaning of words,’ judge says

A federal judge held Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in civil contempt of court Tuesday for disobeying an order temporarily blocking a state immigration law.

Jun 18, 2025 2:05 PM CDT

SCOTUS will consider impact of death row inmate’s multiple IQ tests in determining execution eligibility

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether and how courts can consider multiple IQ tests when considering whether a death row inmate is intellectually disabled and ineligible for execution.

Jun 12, 2025 3:51 PM CDT

Suit over mistaken raid by FBI SWAT team given another chance by Supreme Court

A federal appeals court made “two faulty assumptions” when it tossed an Atlanta family’s lawsuit over a mistaken raid of their home by an FBI SWAT team, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Jun 12, 2025 12:06 PM CDT

Boycotting law clerks to pressure schools might ‘cross an important line,’ 8th Circuit chief judge says

A federal judge who boycotted the hiring of Columbia University graduates as law clerks won’t have to face a misconduct complaint, even though his actions raise a substantial ethical issue, according to the chief judge of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis.

Jun 3, 2025 8:48 AM CDT