Supreme Court

Supreme Court to hear case on criminal penalties for homelessness

Supreme Court to hear case on criminal penalties for homelessness

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The Supreme Court will hear oral argument on Monday in a case that one legal expert has called the “most important Supreme Court case about homelessness in at least 40 years.” The issue before the court is the constitutionality of ordinances in an Oregon town that bar people who are homeless from using blankets, pillows, or cardboard boxes for protection from the elements while sleeping within the city limits. Defending the ordinances, the city contends that the laws simply … Read the rest

Civil Law

Law Democratized: A Blueprint for Solving the Access to Justice Crisis

Few social issues are more significant than unequal access to justice. Any nation that aspires to the highest level of democracy must make the civil justice system accessible not just to the affluent, but those of modest means.

Professor Renee Knake Jefferson‘s excellent new book “Law Democratized: A Blueprint for Solving the Justice Crisis” explains exactly where we are, where we need to go, and how we can get there.

An updated version of my review is available at The … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Kentucky man says police violated Fourth Amendment by searching his backpack during arrest

Kentucky man says police violated Fourth Amendment by searching his backpack during arrest

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The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

The Fourth Amendment generally bars police from searching people or their property without a warrant. The Supreme Court has made an exception for searches made during an arrest. But although that exception applies to arrestees themselves, it only extends to their nearby possessions if there is a risk they can … Read the rest

Civil Law

Broadcast Station Contest Rules Aren’t Just for Contestants, They Apply to the Stations, Too!

The FCC recently released a Notice of Apparent Liability (“NAL”) for a forfeiture of $ 8,000 that should be a cautionary tale for other broadcast licensees that conduct contests for listeners or viewers.  This fine arose out of the station’s failure to conduct a contest in accordance with its announced terms, and specifically to make payment of a prize by the deadline which the station had established for itself.  The FCC found that this failure was a violation of its … Read the rest

Supreme Court

The morning read for Wednesday, April 17

The morning read for Wednesday, April 17

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The court expects to issue one or more opinions this morning in argued cases from the current term. Following the opinion announcements, the court will hear oral arguments in Thornell v. Jones. Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Wednesday morning read:

  • Supreme Court gives skeptical eye to key statute used to prosecute Jan. 6 rioters (Nina Totenberg, NPR)
  • Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s
… Read the rest
Supreme Court

Court allows Idaho to generally enforce ban on gender-transition care for minors

Court allows Idaho to generally enforce ban on gender-transition care for minors

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The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for Idaho to temporarily enforce a state law criminalizing gender-transition care for minors against anyone who is not part of a lawsuit currently challenging that ban. In a brief order, the justices granted the state’s request to limit the scope of an earlier order entered by a federal district court in Idaho, which had barred the state from enforcing the law at all while a challenge to its constitutionality continues.

The … Read the rest

Civil Law

CFPB Spring 2024 Supervisory Highlights looks at consumer reporting companies and furnishers

The CFPB has released the Spring 2024 edition of Supervisory Highlights.  The report discusses CFPB examinations in connection with credit reporting and furnishing that were completed from April 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023.

Key findings by CFPB examiners are described below.

Examinations of credit reporting companies (CRCs) found the following deficiencies:

  • CRCs failed to timely implement blocks of information after receiving the requisite information relating to an alleged identity theft, without otherwise making a reasonable determination with respect to
… Read the rest