Last month, in Snyder v. United States, the Supreme Court of the United States narrowly construed the federal anti-bribery statute. In that case, the mayor of Portage, Indiana worked with other officials to carefully prepare...more
7/2/2024
/ Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Fraud ,
Illegal Gratuities ,
Mayors ,
Public Bidding ,
Public Corruption ,
Public Officials ,
Public Servants ,
SCOTUS ,
Snyder v United States ,
Undue Influence Claims ,
Virginia
Everyone on social media at some point has to figure out how they’re going to use it. Will their account be public? Will they post information about family? Current events? Religion? Politics? If the account’s not open to...more
It happens often enough that lawyers receive communications from clients that have a “dual purpose.” In part the communication seeks legal advice. In part, though, the communication asks for business, or family, or personal...more
The US Supreme Court decided City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Austin yesterday. The case got the Court back into deciding what kinds of outdoor signs can be regulated. You might think that driving down the...more
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court provided very helpful instruction on how to enforce arbitration agreements under the Federal Arbitration Act. Short answer: most of the time, arbitrations will get enforced in state court,...more
What do you suppose the Supreme Court might tell a politician who filed a lawsuit complaining that other politicians said mean things about him? You might think the Court would say, “Toughen up, Buttercup!” Well, yesterday,...more
Contracts around the country, concerning every manner of commercial transaction from employment matters to real estate acquisition to consumer purchases, increasingly include a requirement that disputes will be resolved...more
4/26/2019
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Arbitration ,
Consent ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lamps Plus Inc v Varela ,
Motion to Compel ,
Preemption ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS
On Monday the Supreme Court avoided deciding, once again, when, if ever, political gerrymandering violates the Constitution. In Gill v. Whitford, the Supreme Court was presented with startling evidence that Wisconsin...more
6/22/2018
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Gerrymandering ,
Gill v Whitford ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Political Parties ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Vacated ,
Voting Rights
The US Supreme Court decided yesterday what Court watchers thought might be a landmark case deciding whether the rights to free exercise of religion and free speech trumped the rights of gays and lesbians to have access to...more
6/6/2018
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Free Speech ,
LGBTQ ,
Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd v Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
Private Sector ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Reversal ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a Tucson police officer who shot a woman four times could not be sued for violating the woman’s Constitutional rights. The case is a significant win for government officials. It’s a...more
In Wisconsin, legislative assembly elections are like Alice – they’re through the looking glass. After redistricting in 2011, Wisconsin Republicans lost the popular vote for legislative seats with only 49% of the votes cast....more
The Supreme Court has reversed Gov. Bob McDonnell's conviction for bribery under the Hobbs Act. In ruling his conviction must be set aside, the High Court conceded the case was "distasteful," but unanimously concluded that...more
The Supreme Court of the United States, in a 6-2 ruling, has fleshed out the Constitutional requirement for proving injury in a Fair Credit Reporting Act case. In Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, the Court held, in a boost to...more
Google, or its parent company Alphabet, is the most valuable company in the world. It doesn't want for much and, least of all, for ambition and imagination. So its revolutionary Google Library project, to catalog and...more
The Supreme Court of the United States, in Kingsley v. Hendrickson, waded into the metaphysical discussion of what plaintiffs must prove about corrections officers’ state of mind in a lawsuit alleging the officers used...more
The Supreme Court of the United States handed down today an important First Amendment case concerning governments’ ability to regulate commonly displayed informational signs.
In Reed v. Town of Gilbert,...more
6/24/2015
/ Churches ,
Compelling Governmental Interest ,
Content-Neutral ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Local Ordinance ,
Reed v Town of Gilbert ,
SCOTUS ,
Signs ,
Strict Scrutiny Standard ,
Zoning Laws
In Gelboim v. Bank of America, the Supreme Court of the United States clarified the appellate rights of litigants in Multi-District Litigation. The Court's ruling in January expands the availability of appeal as an option to...more
On January 14, 2014, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in T-Mobile South, LLC v. City of Roswell.
At issue was the breadth of the requirement in 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7)(B)(iii) of the Telecommunications...more
Today, the Court handed down its ruling in Town of Greece. In a sweeping ruling, the Court upheld the local government’s religious invocations in a 5-4 decision. The ruling pretty dramatically and explicitly broadens the...more