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

May 8, 1867: Trolley segregation ends in New Orleans

Since their inaugural service in the 1830s, streetcars were a source of both convenience and resentment for the Black citizens of New Orleans. With their access limited by local “Black codes” only to “star cars”—segregated trolleys emblazoned with a black star—even free Black workers, housewives and shoppers found a daily reminder that their freedom bore scant resemblance to that of whites.

Apr 1, 2024 12:05 AM CDT

Controversial qualified immunity doctrine faces tests in Louisiana

The U.S. Supreme Court has recently declined to hear cases challenging qualified immunity. But legal scholars believe they’ve found inroads to challenging the judicial doctrine, including a transcription error in the text of an 1871 law.

Feb 1, 2024 12:50 AM CST

Living through Hurricane Katrina inspired Alessandra Jerolleman’s disaster justice advocacy

Alessandra Jerolleman lost her home, her car and much of her community to the Hurricane Katrina’s powerful surge and flood waters. But Jerolleman found the hurricane also changed her life in another profound way.

Jan 24, 2024 2:32 PM CST

‘Nuclear verdicts’ and ‘litigation tourism’ are partly why these state courts are top ‘judicial hellholes,’ report says

Courts in Georgia and Pennsylvania are named as top "judicial hellholes" for their friendliness to tort plaintiffs in a report by the American Tort Reform Foundation.

Dec 8, 2023 2:13 PM CST

Mandatory bar violated First Amendment by posting rainbow flag, wellness advice, 5th Circuit says

Updated: A federal appeals court has ruled for a Louisiana lawyer who alleged that the mandatory state bar association violated his First Amendment rights by spending dues money on speech that is not germane to regulating lawyers or improving legal services.

Nov 15, 2023 9:04 AM CST

Did US violate First Amendment by pressuring social media? Supreme Court will decide

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider whether the U.S. government unconstitutionally pressured social media companies to curb COVID-19 misinformation and other content.

Oct 24, 2023 9:00 AM CDT

MacArthur grant winners include 2 law profs and democracy lawyer, all Yale Law grads

Updated: A democracy lawyer and legal scholars studying global migration and incarceration practices will each receive $800,000 after being named 2023 MacArthur Foundation fellows.

Oct 4, 2023 3:21 PM CDT

Justice Alito temporarily blocks curbs on Biden administration’s communications with social media

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Thursday temporarily blocked an injunction that curbed the Biden administration’s communications with social media.

Sep 15, 2023 9:45 AM CDT

US pressure on social media over misinformation likely unconstitutional, 5th Circuit says

Updated: The U.S. government likely violated the First Amendment by pressuring social media companies to block COVID-19 misinformation and other content, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

Sep 11, 2023 10:42 AM CDT

25 federal district courts have always had white judges

Twenty-five out of 94 federal district courts have never had a judge of color, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis.

Sep 5, 2023 12:36 PM CDT

Louisiana man’s jokes about sheriff’s department are protected free speech, 5th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a Louisiana man who was arrested after posting on Facebook that a local sheriff’s department had ordered its deputies to shoot people who were infected with COVID-19.

Aug 28, 2023 11:43 AM CDT

Religious act may protect Jehovah’s Witness who refused psychiatric meds before trial, 5th Circuit says

A federal judge should consider the religious claims of a defendant who has refused to take psychiatric medications to become competent for trial on a charge of threatening a New Orleans judge, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Aug 15, 2023 2:09 PM CDT

Referee faults Florida Bar probe of lawyer accused of improperly soliciting hurricane clients

A Florida partner with a Louisiana law firm did not improperly solicit Florida clients after Hurricane Ian and did not attempt to mislead the public about the nature of a truck, a trailer and a tent set up in a parking lot for client meetings, according to a referee in an ethics case.

Aug 15, 2023 8:29 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: ‘Taco Tuesday’ trademark spat resolved; Trump Organization settles with Michael Cohen

‘Taco Tuesday’ trademark abandoned

Taco John’s has agreed to give up its “Taco Tuesday” trademark after Taco Bell sought its cancellation in what it described as a “liberation” campaign.…

Jul 21, 2023 2:35 PM CDT