When states’ rights and health care access clash

From the COVID-19 response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the results of 50 states having individual approaches to public health, medical outcomes and health care access raise troubling questions. A husband-and-wife team of University of Utah professors dig into the ethics of the American health care system in States of Health: The Ethics and Consequences of Policy Variation in a Federal System.

May 15, 2024 4:40 PM CDT

Judge used N-word when questioning whether prosecutors were too aggressive, transcript shows

Updated: A Black judge in Louisiana used the N-word and complained about a “piss-poor" resolution of a case while chastising prosecutors during an April hearing, a transcript indicates.

May 15, 2024 11:19 AM CDT

Justice Department warns against threats to voting rights, election workers

Attorney General Merrick Garland warned Monday of mounting violent threats against election workers across the country, and vowed that the Justice Department will be “relentless” in prosecuting those who threaten the democratic process.

May 14, 2024 12:50 PM CDT

Suit accuses BigLaw partner of ‘regurgitating’ claims of con artist who claimed to be CIA agent

A Swiss oil trading company alleges in a lawsuit that a Baker & Hostetler partner was either fooled by a con artist claiming to be a secret CIA operative or was a conspirator in the man’s scheme.

May 14, 2024 10:24 AM CDT

Lawyer charged with illegally transmitting Michigan data after 2020 election

A lawyer who pressed election fraud claims after the 2020 presidential election is facing new criminal charges alleging that she and a township clerk allowed an unauthorized computer examiner to access voter data that included nonpublic information.

May 9, 2024 2:53 PM CDT

Solicitors general, past and present, reflect on ups and downs of job and arguing before SCOTUS

It isn’t often that a bipartisan group of U.S. solicitors general gather in public to discuss their unique role in the legal system and even gripe a little about the U.S. Supreme Court. But that’s what happened recently in a packed hotel ballroom before the ABA 2024 Litigation Section Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

May 9, 2024 12:02 PM CDT

No separate hearing required when police seize cars loaned to drivers accused of drug crimes, SCOTUS rules

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against two women who loaned their cars to others arrested for drug crimes while using the vehicles, leading Alabama police to seek civil forfeiture of the cars.

May 9, 2024 10:44 AM CDT

Catholic school can fire gay drama teacher for marrying, 4th Circuit rules

One of the most liberal appellate courts in the country has ruled that a Catholic high school could fire a teacher for marrying another man, a victory for conservative and religious advocacy groups that have pushed back against anti-discrimination law.

May 8, 2024 3:10 PM CDT

Judge ordered removed for ‘troubling inability to conform his behavior’ to judicial standards

A California judge who hoped to find the “mole” cooperating with ethics investigators sought a review of employee emails and the hiring of outside counsel to complete the investigation, according to a May 2 decision ordering his removal from office.

May 8, 2024 10:10 AM CDT

Former top prosecutor in St. Louis ‘remains elusive,’ says state auditor who can’t find her

The former top prosecutor for St. Louis “remains elusive,” and “her whereabouts are currently unknown,” according to a May 6 press release by the Missouri state auditor.

May 7, 2024 2:23 PM CDT

Pro-Palestinian groups are Hamas propagandists, BigLaw firm’s suit alleges; is First Amendment an issue?

Updated: A May 1 lawsuit alleges that two pro-Palestinian groups are Hamas propagandists that are involved in campus protests in an effort to justify violence against Israel and Zionists.

May 6, 2024 2:06 PM CDT

Family members struggle to help University of Chicago law grad who became homeless

Many states are trying to figure out how to help people like 44-year-old lawyer Rob Dart, who is living on the streets of Los Angeles after rejecting his medication for psychosis.

May 6, 2024 11:32 AM CDT

Former lawyer will be retried for murder after top Georgia court overturns conviction

Prosecutors are planning to retry a former Atlanta lawyer after his murder conviction was overturned Tuesday by the Georgia Supreme Court.

May 6, 2024 9:26 AM CDT

One thing is already clear at Trump’s NY trial: Nobody liked Michael Cohen

At times during former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial, the testimony has been just as devastating to Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen, who will be a key prosecution witness later this month.

May 2, 2024 12:00 PM CDT

District attorney ‘humbled by my own stupidity’ after failing to stop for police, calling officer name

A district attorney for a county that includes Rochester, New York, issued a video apology Sunday night after she failed to pull over for a traffic stop and called an officer a name after she drove into her garage about a half-mile away.

May 1, 2024 2:01 PM CDT