Environmental Law

You can’t litigate your way into Kentucky Derby, says Churchill Downs’ general counsel

The Kentucky Derby has long been known as “the fastest two minutes in sports,” but the 150th Run for the Roses on Saturday will take place without Muth, a horse some say may have been the fastest in the field this year.

May 2, 2024 1:56 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: SCOTUS winds up term with rulings expected on major cases about government power, accountability

The Supreme Court heard the last oral arguments of the term on April 25, and now we wait for the decisions with the expectation of the usual flurry of rulings at the end of June. In thinking about the pending cases, a significant number involve the scope of government power and how to hold the government accountable.

May 1, 2024 12:08 PM CDT

A love for canines influenced this lawyer’s work to outlaw greyhound racing

People often ask me how I came to become a lawyer for greyhounds. In fact, the dogs led me to law school.

Apr 1, 2024 1:00 AM CDT

Animal rights groups target laws that penalize unauthorized workplace videos

Animal rights groups are going to court to fight “ag-gag” laws, which punish would-be whistleblowers who record activity on farms and at animal procession facilities.

Apr 1, 2024 12:50 AM CDT

Creatures Great and Small: 9 court rulings that shaped the Endangered Species Act

Widely regarded by legal experts as one of the world’s most powerful statutes for protection of wildlife and ecosystems, the Nixon-era Endangered Species Act has halted the decline of hundreds of species along with protecting their habitats. But the unified political support that led to the act has vanished.

Apr 1, 2024 12:00 AM CDT

9th Circuit revives suit to register racehorse as ‘Malpractice Meuser,’ thought to be lawyer jab

A racehorse owner who claims that a First Amendment right to register the name of his thoroughbred as “Malpractice Meuser” can proceed with his federal lawsuit as a result of a federal appeals court's decision.

Feb 28, 2024 2:51 PM CST

Supreme Court seems poised to halt EPA plan to cut cross-state pollution

The Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to cut emissions from power plants and factories to reduce pollution that blows into neighboring states seems likely to be halted by the Supreme Court, a blow to an ambitious federal initiative that environmentalists have said is necessary to protect people, especially children and the elderly, from lung-damaging smog.

Feb 22, 2024 12:10 PM CST

Steven M. Wise, legal force for animal rights, dies at 73

Steven M. Wise, a legal warrior for animal rights who argued that chimpanzees, elephants, whales and other highly intelligent creatures have a fundamental right to liberty, no less than the humans who often confined or killed them, died Feb. 15 at his home in Coral Springs, Florida. He was 73.

Feb 21, 2024 11:25 AM CST

Incentivize alternatives to animal research, ABA House says

The ABA House of Delegates on Monday at the 2024 ABA Midyear Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, adopted a resolution urging Congress and federal agencies to promote the development and use of methods that aim to replace, reduce and refine the use of animal models in research and testing.

Feb 5, 2024 12:40 PM CST

Living through Hurricane Katrina inspired Alessandra Jerolleman’s disaster justice advocacy

Alessandra Jerolleman lost her home, her car and much of her community to the Hurricane Katrina’s powerful surge and flood waters. But Jerolleman found the hurricane also changed her life in another profound way.

Jan 24, 2024 2:32 PM CST

SCOTUS majority appears to embrace ‘Kisorizing’ or overturning Chevron deference, oral arguments indicate

Conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court appeared ready to limit or overturn the 1984 decision that established Chevron deference, the principle that federal courts should defer to reasonable agency interpretations of ambiguous laws, according to media coverage of oral arguments Wednesday.

Jan 18, 2024 11:05 AM CST

Supreme Court will consider overruling landmark Chevron deference decision in a fishy case

On Jan. 17, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether they should overrule a landmark 1984 decision often requiring courts to defer to federal agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous statutes.

Jan 11, 2024 10:33 AM CST

Animal Legal Defense Fund fails to persuade 8th Circuit that ‘ag-gag’ laws violate First Amendment

A federal appeals court has upheld two “ag-gag” laws in Iowa in a First Amendment challenge by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and other animal welfare groups.

Jan 9, 2024 12:37 PM CST

Relax with our favorite long reads of 2023

Hopefully you're going to have some time over the winter holidays to cozy up with a good story. We've curated a list of some of our favorite web and print long reads from 2023. There's a mix of popular features and some under-the-radar stories that you may have missed.

Dec 22, 2023 1:50 PM CST

Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether to stay EPA’s ‘good neighbor’ rule

The U.S. Supreme Court will have oral arguments in February to consider an emergency petition to stay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “good neighbor” rule, which is intended to curb pollution that drifts to downwind states.

Dec 22, 2023 9:22 AM CST