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Public Interest

5148 ABA Journal Public Interest articles.

ABA joins NASS and NASED to mobilize lawyers as poll workers for midterm elections

For the fourth election cycle, the American Bar Association is collaborating with the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) to issue a call aimed at mobilizing lawyers to assist as poll workers for the upcoming midterm elections. The Poll Worker, Esq., initiative encourages lawyers, law students and other legal professionals to assist in upcoming elections by serving as poll workers.

Aug 26, 2026 11:45 AM CDT

Judge mentions Dolly Parton’s ‘voluptuous’ look in comment about drag ban

A Texas federal judge invoked singer and actress Dolly Parton on the day that she died to again block a law viewed as a ban on drag performances for being too expansive, noting that the entertainer and philanthropist’s signature “big hair, flamboyant clothes and breast exposure” might have violated the law.

Aug 26, 2026 11:37 AM CDT

Leading change in complex systems

Large institutions may look different from the outside—the U.S. Air Force, the American Bar Association and a modern alternative business structure law firm—but leading change inside them follows remarkably similar patterns.

Aug 25, 2026 2:42 PM CDT

What is the future of unaccompanied children representation after federal funding loss?

The ABA Commission on Immigration has been part of the national legal network that serves unaccompanied children for 20 years—initially through ProBAR, which is based in Harlingen, Texas, and later through its Children’s Immigration Law Academy in Houston and Immigration Justice Project in San Diego.

Aug 25, 2026 11:17 AM CDT

Supreme Court eases path for Trump’s sweeping limits on mail-in balloting

A divided Supreme Court on Monday eased the path for an executive order by President Donald Trump that would impose sweeping new restrictions on mail-in balloting for November’s midterm elections, but the complex and fast-moving legal fight is not over.

Aug 25, 2026 9:30 AM CDT

Privileged Penance: Courts don't get to decide who is clergy or what a confession covers, Arizona Supreme Court says

In a ruling closely watched by both religious freedom and child protection advocates, the Arizona Supreme Court in July found that church leaders are shielded by the state’s clergy-penitent privilege from reporting child abuse disclosed to them. The case involves Paul Adams, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer who was arrested in 2017 after he posted videos of himself abusing his children.

Aug 24, 2026 9:02 AM CDT

Federal judge dismisses defamation suit filed by attorney-owned marijuana company

A Chicago civil rights law firm that owns marijuana dispensaries has lost the latest round in an ongoing dispute with its lenders after a judge dismissed the firm’s defamation lawsuit against the lenders.

Aug 21, 2026 10:06 AM CDT

128 retired jurists file ethics complaint over DHS lawyer’s ‘attacks’ via social media on 4 sitting judges

The general counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is now facing an ethics complaint over his social media posts about the “worst of the worst” judges.

Aug 20, 2026 10:39 AM CDT

7th Circuit sides with Planned Parenthood over sharing abortion information with minors

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago on Tuesday rejected an Indiana “aid-or-assist” law, which prohibits physicians from helping minors obtain an abortion without first meeting the state’s parental consent requirements.

Aug 19, 2026 9:47 AM CDT

Ban on celebrity image, voice use in law firm ads at center of complaint against Florida Bar

Personal injury law firm Morgan & Morgan has filed a complaint against the Florida Bar, alleging that its rule banning firms’ right to use a celebrity’s voice or image in advertising campaigns violates free speech and due process rights.

Aug 18, 2026 11:17 AM CDT

How many people should serve on jury? Groups provide SCOTUS with input

Over a dozen amicus briefs were filed Thursday at the U.S. Supreme Court over a case involving a Florida petitioner named Hamed Kian, who was found guilty by a six-person jury on five felony counts of practicing chiropractic medicine with a suspended license.

Aug 18, 2026 10:44 AM CDT

Angry at the Supreme Court, liberals push a slew of plans for overhauling it

The latest wave of proposals to overhaul the Supreme Court have reached something of a fever pitch over the past few months, as Democrats grow increasingly frustrated with the court’s rightward turn.

Aug 17, 2026 10:19 AM CDT

11 people indicted in ‘multimillion-dollar marriage fraud scheme’

Federal prosecutors in New York have indicted 11 people in connection to a sham marriage operation that they allege helped arrange more than 1,000 fraudulent marriages to aid foreign nationals illegally obtain green cards in the United States.

Aug 14, 2026 10:48 AM CDT

Stand-your-ground law in Wyoming is skewed, says trans woman charged with assault

A Wyoming transgender woman was recently charged with aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent after pulling a gun on three men who she said confronted her with gay slurs and pushed her to the ground.

Aug 13, 2026 11:48 AM CDT

California Supreme Court orders electronic recording for indigent litigants

The California Supreme Court said Monday state trial courts lacking sufficient court reporters to staff courtrooms must provide electronic case recordings to civil litigants who can’t afford to hire their own stenographers.

Aug 13, 2026 10:02 AM CDT

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