Civil Law

Medical: Injunctions to prevent identification of institutions and clinicians involved in care (UKSC).

Abbasi and another (Respondents) v Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Appellant);Haastrup (Respondent) v King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (Appellant) [2015] UKSC 15 (Link to UKSC).

The text below is copied from the UKSC press summary.

Justices: Lord Reed (President), Lord Hodge (Deputy President), Lord Briggs, Lord Sales and Lord Stephens

Background to the Appeal

This appeal concerns the basis on which injunctions, granted in connection with proceedings initiated to determine whether it is in a child’s … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court likely to rule for parental opt-out on LGBTQ books in schools

The Supreme Court on Tuesday was sympathetic to a group of Maryland parents who want to be able to opt their elementary-school-aged children out of instruction that includes LGBTQ+ themes. The parents argued that the local school board’s refusal to give them that choice violates their religious beliefs and therefore their constitutional right to freely exercise their religion. During nearly two-and-a-half hours of oral argument, a majority of the justices seemed to agree with them, with several justices questioning whether … Read the rest

Civil Law

U.S. Spotlight on Pharma Imports: What does this mean for Indian Pharma?

U.S. Spotlight on Pharma Imports: What does this mean for Indian Pharma?

The U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), on April 14, 2025, announced the initiation of an investigation into the imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients as well as semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment in the context of U.S. national security. This move could affect India’s USD 10 billion annual pharmaceutical exports to the U.S.

The BIS investigation would determine whether reliance on foreign pharmaceutical supply chains, particularly active pharmaceutical ingredients (“APIs”) and … Read the rest

Circuit Courts

Funding Shortfalls Adversely Affect Key Judiciary Programs

A shortfall in this year’s congressional appropriations is significantly impacting the Judiciary’s ability to ensure security at courthouses at a time of rising threats to federal judges and impairing efforts to provide critical legal defense services to people who can’t afford to hire lawyers.
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest

Civil Law

The FDA and CDC should not be stopped from doing their jobs

Since the start of the Trump Administration, the CDC and FDA have withheld from the public details about a Romaine Lettuce E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that sickened 89 in 15 states with 36 hospitalized, 7 with kidney failure – hemolytic uremic syndrome –  and 1 death.

(Bainbridge Island, WA – April 21, 2025)  “It is disappointing, but with 20,000 employees at Health and Human Services (HHS) being fired, investigating, and reporting on outbreaks and alerting the public to the … Read the rest

Civil Law

Matcha shortage spurs concern about unsafe bargain products in U.S.

A global matcha shortage is flooding U.S. markets with low-quality, potentially hazardous bargain products. Supply chain strains and paused tariffs are raising alarms about food safety.

Japan, the heart of authentic matcha production, is grappling with declining tea yields because of droughts, aging farmers and surging global demand, according to a Japan Times report. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported matcha production grew from 1,471 tons in 2010 to 4,176 tons in 2023. With more than half exported, … Read the rest

Civil Law

PTAB to Discuss “Interim” Bifurcation

Boardside Chat This Thursday

The PTAB will host its next Boardside Chat webinar on Thursday, April 17, noon to 1 p.m. ET, for a discussion of the new interim processes for PTAB workload management. The new processes concern institution of AIA trial proceedings and bifurcation of discretionary considerations from merits and other non-discretionary institution considerations.

The new interim processes were announced on March 26, 2025. The Board will discuss more details about the processes and a question-and-answer session will follow the presentation. (Register Here) … Read the rest