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
Tina Marie Bryant took a gun from Maryland and drove to Harrisonburg intending to kill herself there. The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Department went to the hotel where Ms. Bryant was staying and, from outside her locked...more
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
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and the New York Times don’t much like each other. So much so that Palin sued the Times for defamation. Her claim stemmed from a Times editorial that wrongly linked her political action...more
The Virginia State Bar, like most regulators of lawyers around the country, regulates lawyers' advertising. Sweeping new rules proposed by the Bar will dramatically simplify, and in many ways improve, these rules. ...more
It’s been true for a long time, since nearly the dawn of the Republic, that politicians drafting voting districts have tinkered with borders of those districts for a host of reasons. Indeed, “gerrymandering,” owes its name to...more
Police officers in Petersburg had a First Amendment right to post to Facebook their complaints about their police department. A department policy limiting social media postings was unconstitutional. So held the U.S. Court...more
The Virginia Supreme Court, interpreting the Virginia Constitution’s speech and debate clauses, has recognized a legislative privilege from responding to a document subpoena substantially similar to that of the better-known...more
The Virginia Supreme Court issued two opinions in September affecting local government law. Its work resulted in opinions addressing legislative privilege from document requests, and applying a local government tax exemption...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
South Boston police responded to the local Super 8 Motel in the wee hours of May 3, 2013. They came because they’d received phone calls from Linwood Lambert, Jr. asking somewhat unclearly for help. When they arrived, they...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
In 2012, following the 2010 decennial census, Virginia re-drew the boundaries of its Congressional Districts. In 2013, plaintiffs brought a Voting Rights Act challenge to that re-districting. They alleged that the...more
Police Officers are often faced with unimaginable circumstances that most of society runs away from. However, police officers took the oath to protect and serve, and to run towards that danger. Sometimes, running towards...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
Summer brings an annual invasion, in thousands of businesses and in nearly every line of work, of a horde of talented, eager new interns. They’re eager to pad resumes and make contacts. Their new bosses are glad to impart...more