Public Infrastructure

No Horsing Around: What’s considered a ‘vehicle’ when it comes to drunk driving laws?

A horse is a horse, of course. But can a horse be considered a “vehicle” if you’re charged with riding it while drunk? Well, it depends. Police can charge a person with impaired driving while operating just about anything—from horse drawn carriages to riding lawn mowers.

Apr 21, 2025 8:55 AM CDT

Future Forward: How lawyers can embrace sustainability

Sustainable development means more than “being green,” says John Dernbach, an emeritus professor at Widener University Commonwealth Law School and the founding director of its Environmental Law and Sustainability Center. Rather, he says, sustainable development balances environmental protection, economic development and social justice.

Apr 1, 2025 3:00 AM CDT

Going Green: Oday Salim works with Michigan Law students to amend city code

Oday Salim and his students at the University of Michigan Law School have launched a new partnership with the city of Dearborn to create a healthier and more sustainable environment for its residents.

Apr 1, 2025 12:45 AM CDT

Ex-Wisconsin justice who led election review should be compelled to sit for deposition in ethics case, motion says

A former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice should be compelled to sit for a deposition before a disciplinary review board, a lawyer for the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation argued in a Feb. 28 motion.

Mar 6, 2025 10:00 AM CST

6th Circuit strikes down FCC’s net neutrality rules

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit struck down the FCC’s “net neutrality” rules governing internet service providers on Thursday, in an early policy win for Republicans seeking to reverse Biden-era industry regulation.

Jan 2, 2025 2:45 PM CST

Apple agrees to $95M settlement in Siri privacy class-action case

Apple has agreed to end a five-year legal battle over user privacy related to its virtual assistant Siri with a $95 million payout to affected customers, according to a preliminary settlement.

Jan 2, 2025 2:30 PM CST

Justice Department IG seeks new protections on seizing communications of lawmakers, journalists

The Justice Department during Donald Trump’s first presidential term used concerning and surreptitious tactics to obtain communications from members of Congress, their staffers and news reporters as prosecutors investigated public leaks of sensitive government information, according to a report released Tuesday by the Justice Department’s inspector general.

Dec 10, 2024 1:15 PM CST

Supreme Court will consider reviving another curb on agency power known as nondelegation doctrine

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider whether Congress and the Federal Communications Commission violated the nondelegation doctrine in a challenge to fees imposed on telecommunications carriers to help provide service in underserved areas.

Nov 25, 2024 12:03 PM CST

DOJ seeks forced sale of Chrome, other big changes at Google in monopoly case

The Justice Department is seeking to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser and make other major changes to remedy its illegal search monopoly, prosecutors told a Washington court Wednesday, setting a marker in the landmark case before the incoming Trump administration makes its own determinations about how to proceed.

Nov 21, 2024 3:48 PM CST

FCC slashes cost of phone calls for inmates, capping decades-long effort

The cost of phone calls will drop dramatically for incarcerated people under new rules that federal regulators have approved, concluding a decades-long effort to provide relief to the nation’s 2 million inmates and their families.

Jul 22, 2024 8:21 AM CDT

Norfolk Southern reaches $600 million settlement in East Palestine lawsuit

Norfolk Southern announced Tuesday that it had agreed to a $600 million settlement to resolve a string of lawsuits the railroad faced after last year’s train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a resolution that lawyers say could help thousands of affected residents.

Apr 10, 2024 3:00 PM CDT

Titanic law helps ship owner limit liability in Baltimore bridge collapse

The owner of the ship that rammed into a Baltimore bridge could face hundreds of millions of dollars in damage claims after the accident sent vehicles plunging into the water and threw the eastern US transportation network into chaos. But legal experts said there is a path for reducing liability under an obscure 19th-century law once invoked by the owner of the Titanic to limit its payout for the 1912 sinking.

Mar 27, 2024 1:45 PM CDT

‘Seinfeld’ episode inspired new telemarketing law in New Jersey

Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill last week that that requires telemarketers to provide a callback number and to identify themselves and whom they represent within 30 seconds.

May 26, 2023 12:26 PM CDT

Aubrey Coleman is helping bring communities access to high-speed internet and other infrastructure

In January 2021, Aubrey Coleman became a program manager at Microsoft and began working with internet service providers to bring affordable broadband to people living in unserved rural areas across the country. He also partners with community organizations to educate residents on how to obtain federal subsidies to reduce the price of internet access; how to safely navigate the internet; and how to access computers or tablets at lower prices.

Feb 1, 2023 12:50 AM CST

The metaverse and Web3 are all the rage, but the law is stuck at Web1

The metaverse and Web3, including virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens and more, are evolving to become another Wild West technology frontier where existing laws are hard to apply, legal experts say.

Oct 1, 2022 2:10 AM CDT