ABA Journal

Constitutional Law

8580 ABA Journal Constitutional Law articles.

Weekly Briefs: New ethics rule considered in Virginia; name partner launches new firm

Virginia proposes ban on agreements limiting ethics complaints

A proposed ethics rule in Virginia would ban lawyers from making agreements with clients or former clients that limit their right to…

SCOTUS rules for grandmother in tax foreclosure takings fight; Jackson again pairs with Gorsuch

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 94-year-old woman could pursue a claim that a tax foreclosure sale violated her rights under the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause.

9th Circuit rejects claim that illegal reentry law violated defendant’s right to equal protection

A federal appeals court on Monday rejected a defendant’s claim that his Fifth Amendment equal protection rights were violated by a law making it a crime to reenter the United States after deportation.

Chicago’s refusal to allow ‘Hail Satan’ city council invocation violates First Amendment, suit says

Chicago has rebuffed requests by the Satanic Temple to deliver city council invocations for more than three years, violating the First Amendment in two ways, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this month.

Supreme Court allows enforcement of laws banning sales of assault-style weapons

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an emergency request to block bans on sales of assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines while legal challenges continue in lower courts.

Is qualified immunity based on scrivener’s error? Law review article makes case

Scholars and courts have overlooked what could be a scrivener’s error that changes the text of the law that permits lawsuits against state and local government officials for constitutional violations, according to a February law review article.

States seeking greater reach for their abortion laws may turn to Supreme Court’s pig-welfare decision

A U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a pig-welfare law could be seized upon by states looking to expand the reach of their abortion regulations.

Did court fail to ‘disentangle race from politics’ when it overturned voting map? SCOTUS to decide

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal to a decision striking down a redrawn South Carolina congressional district for discriminating against Black voters.

The court on Monday noted…

Can US lawmakers sue for information on Old Post Office lease to Trump company? SCOTUS to decide

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether individual lawmakers have standing to sue a U.S. agency for information on the lease of the Old Post Office building to a Trump-owned business. The General Services Administration had leased the Old Post Office in 2013 to a business owned by Donald Trump and his children. The agreement specifically barred any elected official from participating in or benefiting from the lease.

Jackson joins 3 conservative dissenters as Supreme Court upholds California’s pig welfare law

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a California law that bans the in-state sale of pork that comes from pigs raised in tiny stalls.

Pregnant criminal defense lawyer on bed rest loses trial-delay bid in top state court

The Ohio Supreme Court on Sunday rejected a bid by a pregnant lawyer on bed rest to stay a trial scheduled to begin the next day.

Biden administration officials debate constitutional challenge to debt limit

Officials in the Biden administration are debating a challenge to the debt limit that is based on the 14th Amendment’s public debt clause.

Rehnquist dropped push for ‘independent state legislature’ theory in Bush v. Gore, Stevens’ papers show

Newly released private papers of then-Justice John Paul Stevens provide insight into U.S. Supreme Court deliberations and concerns before its decisions that decided a presidential election and affirmed the right to abortion.

After School Satan Club must be allowed to meet at school, federal judge says

A federal judge has ordered the Saucon Valley School District in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, to permit the After School Satan Club to meet in school facilities.

Law schools face an inflection point with diversity, equity and inclusion

In recent years, there has been a rise in law students heckling speakers. In 2018, I was shouted down at the CUNY Law School in New York. In 2022, Ilya Shapiro was shouted down at the law school formerly known as Hastings. And more recently, Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan of the Fifth Circuit was shouted down at Stanford Law School.

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