Supreme Court allows US to implement rule curbing green cards based on likely public assistance

The U.S. Supreme Court allowed on Monday the implementation of the “public charge” rule that makes it easier for the government to deny visas and green cards to immigrants who receive or are likely to receive public assistance.

Jan 27, 2020 2:44 PM CST

DC Bar considers relaxing its already-lenient rules to allow nonlawyer ownership of law firms

The District of Columbia Bar is considering changes to its ethics rules that could allow external ownership of law firms, as well as businesses in which lawyers and nonlawyers provide both legal and nonlegal services.

Jan 27, 2020 10:40 AM CST

Judge calls ICE if he thinks defendants in his courtroom are in US illegally

A Cincinnati judge said he regularly calls U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when he suspects that defendants in his courtroom are in the country illegally.

Jan 27, 2020 10:10 AM CST

7th Circuit is aghast at ‘obduracy’ of Board of Immigration Appeals, which refused to implement its decision

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago didn’t mince words in a Jan. 23 opinion chastising the Board of Immigration Appeals for defying its remand order and concluding the appeals court had ruled incorrectly in the case.

Jan 27, 2020 6:30 AM CST

Judge apologizes for ‘deplorable’ letters he wrote to college newspaper about gay people and AIDS

A municipal court judge in Maumee, Ohio, is apologizing for two anti-gay letters to the editor he wrote as a student at Ohio State University in the 1990s.

Jan 24, 2020 4:09 PM CST

Overturning 2016 precedent, Florida top court says jury unanimity not needed for death penalty

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a 2016 decision and ruled that judges may impose the death penalty even when jurors do not unanimously recommend it.

Jan 24, 2020 2:47 PM CST

Defendant challenges ‘classic dragnet search’ for Google cellphone data within robbery radius

A bank robbery defendant who was arrested based on Google location data is seeking to suppress the evidence under a challenge to the broad warrant that authorized the disclosure.

Jan 24, 2020 10:23 AM CST

CEO discusses the disrupting, displacing and deconstructing of legal services

Ari Kaplan recently spoke with Varun Mehta, the new CEO of Factor, formerly Axiom Managed Solutions, an organization focused on performing complex legal work at scale.

Jan 24, 2020 8:30 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard sues over Hillary Clinton gripe; court order doesn’t stop deportation

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard sues Hillary Clinton for ‘Russian asset’ comment about unnamed candidate

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidate, has filed a defamation suit against Hillary Clinton…

Jan 23, 2020 4:36 PM CST

Bank called police when bias lawsuit plaintiff tried to deposit his settlement checks, lawsuit says

A plaintiff who settled a race discrimination lawsuit against his employer alleges TCF Bank called the police when he tried to deposit his settlement checks and withdraw some of the money.

Jan 23, 2020 3:25 PM CST

9 major climate change cases that could shape the fight to save the planet

Climate change, which has surfaced as a major issue in the 2020 presidential election, is a growing practice area in environmental litigation. Everyone involved (even the U.S. government, which has…

Jan 23, 2020 2:49 PM CST

Asylum-seekers have a right to federal court review of expedited removal orders, ABA amicus brief says

The ABA filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in support of a Sri Lankan who faced political persecution and is challenging a policy that says asylum-seekers are not entitled to federal court review of expedited removal orders.

Jan 23, 2020 12:40 PM CST

Some lawyers worry about proposed DOE rule that would remove restrictions on religious institutions

President Donald Trump announced this month that his administration would make it easier for public school students and teachers to pray on campus and would remove federal funding restrictions for religious groups that provide social services.

Jan 23, 2020 6:00 AM CST

Assistant public defender: ‘I just personally like to give back’

LaToya Bell, an assistant public defender in Houston County in Georgia, a member of the ABA’s Young Lawyers Division and Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division, and a member of the State Bar of Georgia’s Young Lawyers Division, handles as many as 200 to 250 cases at any time involving misdemeanors and traffic offenses in state court. She has earned her own reputation for being hopeful for her clients—hopeful not only that justice is served, but that she can in some way improve their lives.

Jan 22, 2020 1:27 PM CST

5th Circuit denies transgender prisoner’s request to use female pronouns, change court records

A federal appeals court has refused to refer to a transgender inmate by her preferred female pronouns and rejected her request to change court records to reflect her new name.

…

Jan 22, 2020 12:06 PM CST