ABA Journal

States

28919 ABA Journal States articles.

Weekly Briefs: ‘Zero matrimonial knowledge’ judge gets reprimand; judge adopts AI policy

Judge sanctioned after disclaiming family law knowledge

The New Jersey Supreme Court publicly reprimanded Judge Michael J. Kassel of the Camden County Superior Court in New Jersey on Wednesday

3M faces trial over ‘forever chemicals’ in firefighting foam in ‘bet-the-company’ litigation

3M faces its first trial out of about 4,000 lawsuits claiming that its cancer-linked “forever chemicals” known as PFAs have leached into groundwater.

Judge who once prosecuted murder defendant fails to get colleague kicked off the case

Judge Patrick Connolly of Los Angeles County won’t be able to disqualify a colleague from considering the resentencing of a defendant Connolly once prosecuted.

Jackson is lone dissenter as Supreme Court allows company to sue union in state court

The U.S. Supreme Court’s newest justice was the only dissenter Thursday, when the high court allowed a concrete company to sue a union local in state court for alleged destruction of corporate property.

Judge’s ‘Beowulf’ and Whistler’s mother references raise concerns with Maryland justices

An appeals judge who compared a Black defendant to a monster in the epic poem Beowulf used language that could be interpreted as evoking racial stereotypes, according to the Maryland Supreme Court.

Genetic genealogy leads to arrest of lawyer in series of rapes

A corporate lawyer in the New York City area has been charged with the sexual assaults of four women in Boston in 2007 and 2008 after police used genetic genealogy to link him to the crimes.

Food labeling lawyer’s ‘warehouse of complaints’ are ‘not fit for public consumption,’ judge says

A federal judge in Illinois who has a knack for criticizing lawyers with biting prose has turned his attention to a lawyer who battles food companies over their labeling.

Slate for next term announced by ABA Legal Ed council

Judge Bridget Mary McCormack, a retired Michigan Supreme Court chief justice, is slated to serve as the next council chair of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar during the next term.

If SCOTUS rules against racial preferences, this 4th Circuit decision presents next issue

If the U.S. Supreme Court restricts the consideration of race in college admissions, there is another looming issue: whether schools can use race-neutral tools that boost diversity.

Brown v. Board of Education should be renamed, group plans to tell Supreme Court

A lawyer in Camden, South Carolina, plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to rename Brown v. Board of Education for the first case taken to federal court in a quest to eliminate the separate-but-equal doctrine.

May judge attend law firm celebration with free food and drinks? Not in this state, draft opinion says

A draft ethics opinion says California judges should not attend law office celebrations with free food and drinks.

Rights Work: UChicago constitutional law course brings together incarcerated youths, law students

The eight-week class is designed to give incarcerated youths an opportunity to consider their rights while exposing the law students to the younger students’ worldview through in-class discussions on topics that include freedom of speech, due process and reproductive freedom, along with weekly mentoring sessions.

Colorado bill limits ‘reunification treatment’ in child custody cases, requires training and expertise

Family courts in Colorado custody cases can’t cut off a child’s contact with a protective parent to whom they are bonded just to improve a relationship with a rejected parent accused of abuse or domestic violence, according to a bill signed into law last week.

Judge finds out why brief cited nonexistent cases—ChatGPT did research

A federal judge in New York City has ordered two lawyers and their law firm to show cause why they shouldn’t be sanctioned for submitting a brief with citations to fake cases, thanks to research by ChatGPT.

Lewis Brisbois report cited as Texas AG heads to state Senate trial after impeachment

Impeached Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had a legitimate reason to fire whistleblowers, according to a tweet by his office citing a law firm report backing up that claim.

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