COVID-19

We ‘live on a pro se planet;’ 5th Circuit allows parents to sometimes represent children without lawyers

A federal appeals court is giving a pro se parent a chance to persuade a federal judge that she may represent her minor children without a lawyer in a federal lawsuit filed against a Texas school district.

Jun 6, 2023 12:39 PM CDT

Municipal ordinances can banish low-level offenders for petty offenses

Although St. Louis is not the only U.S. city with an exclusion law for low-level offenders, critics say these types of measures raise constitutional concerns and result in sending troubled people elsewhere—often within the same municipality—while acute social problems are ignored. Proponents of the laws say they help deter illegal activity.

Jun 1, 2023 12:50 AM CDT

Gorsuch’s Title 42 statement is ‘a remarkable jeremiad against COVID mitigation policies,’ law prof says

Justice Neil Gorsuch issued a lengthy statement criticizing “rule by indefinite emergency edict” Thursday, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order related to a COVID-19-pandemic-era immigration policy.

May 22, 2023 2:40 PM CDT

Creating circuit split, 9th Circuit rules Biden had power to require vaccines for federal contractors

President Joe Biden had the authority to issue an executive order requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for employees of federal contractors, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Apr 26, 2023 1:43 PM CDT

Removing unvaccinated potential jurors didn’t violate defendants’ Sixth Amendment rights, 4th Circuit rules

A federal judge’s decision to remove unvaccinated potential jurors did not violate two defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to have their cases heard by a fair cross section of the community, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Apr 12, 2023 3:03 PM CDT

BigLaw firm seeks COVID-19-era rent abatement in $30M suit

Crowell & Moring has filed a lawsuit contending that it is entitled to a rent abatement and interest totaling $30 million because of a “force majeure event” that interfered with its use of the property.

Mar 29, 2023 4:18 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Student loan relief cases will have lasting effects whatever Supreme Court decides

No matter what the U.S. Supreme Court does in the cases involving the Biden administration’s student loan relief plan, there is sure to be a major effect on many people’s lives and on the law. On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the court heard oral arguments in two cases—Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown—that raise myriad legal issues and any path taken by the court will have significant consequences. (I was among 24 legal scholars who signed an amicus brief in support of the Biden administration).

Mar 1, 2023 8:42 AM CST

The Big Bilk: Lots of people may have ripped off the Paycheck Protection Program, and many may get away with it

Lawyers and academics interviewed by the ABA Journal say the application process for the $800 billion loan program, part of the 2020 coronavirus stimulus package known as the CARES Act, was fraught with fibbers. Many doubt that most of the bad actors will be arrested because the volume of fraud seems so high.

Feb 1, 2023 3:30 AM CST

Are hybrid legal tech conferences here to stay?

Tech show organizers still face challenges as well as lessons on how they can tailor future shows for audiences who may expect a virtual option. Hybrid events can be more expensive to put on. Organizers also need to weigh whether they will lose attendees if they offer a virtual option and how they can cater to sponsors who may prefer to pitch to people in person.

Feb 1, 2023 2:30 AM CST

2023 Legal Rebels: Charging Forward

This year, for the first time in a while, things have started to feel somewhat normal again. That being said, when it comes to Legal Rebels, what is considered “normal” or “status quo” has never been of much concern. This year’s class is no different.

Feb 1, 2023 12:00 AM CST

6th Circuit bans enforcement of Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors against plaintiff states

A federal appeals court has ruled that President Joe Biden exceeded his statutory power when he required federal contractors to ensure that their employees are vaccinated for COVID-19, and that they wear face masks in areas of high transmission.

Jan 17, 2023 8:39 AM CST

Bankruptcy judge suspends lawyer for ‘bizarre gamesmanship,’ urging clients to infect trustee with ‘nasty disease’

A bankruptcy judge in Colorado has suspended a Denver lawyer from practicing before the court for three years as a sanction for “egregious lawyer misconduct” that included asking his clients to infect the trustee with COVID-19 or another “nasty disease.”

Jan 12, 2023 12:38 PM CST

Weekly Briefs: Judge slashes $24M award for Unite the Right victims; judge accused of offering sex for early trial

Judge slashes $24M punitive award in Unite the Right trial U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon of the Western District of Virginia has slashed an award of $24 million in punitive damages assessed against white supremacists associated with the violent 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Moon said…

Jan 6, 2023 2:04 PM CST

Asylum-seekers entering US illegally would be subject to rebuttable presumption under Biden border proposal

President Joe Biden announced a new border policy Thursday that will admit up to 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Jan 6, 2023 10:33 AM CST

Why did Gorsuch join liberal justices who wanted to lift Trump-era Title 42 immigration policy?

Four justices dissented when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a Dec. 27 order that keeps in place a Trump-era immigration policy pending further litigation by 19 Republican-led states.

Jan 4, 2023 12:03 PM CST