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Supreme Court

Justices set aside university free speech challenge

Amid the debate over free speech on university campuses, the justices on Monday set aside a decision by a federal appeals court in a case involving whether so-called “bias-response team policies” – procedures created by universities to solicit, track, and investigate reports of bias – chill students’ speech.

The order in Speech First v. Sands was part of a list of orders from the court’s private conference last week.

Over a dissent by Justice Clarence Thomas that was joined … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices turn away West Point admissions challenge

On Friday afternoon, the justices declined to temporarily block the U.S. Military Academy from considering race in its admissions process. In an unsigned order, the justices turned down a request from the same group that spearheaded challenges to the use of affirmative action in admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, and which now argues that West Point’s use of race violates the Constitution.

Friday’s order also included a relatively unusual statement that provided a possible glimpse … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Washington residents challenge state’s effort to tax long-term capital gains

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 Constitution constrains states from excessively burdening out-of-state commerce – a doctrine known as the dormant commerce clause, because it is implicit in the grant of power to Congress to regulate interstate commerce. Five years ago, a divided Supreme Court held in South Dakota v. Wayfair that, under the doctrine, … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Landlords challenge New York’s longstanding rent-stabilization regime

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.

Rents in New York City are among the highest in the country and rising. According to a report from brokerage firm Douglas Elliman, median rents in Manhattan reached a record high in May of $ 4,395 per month. Meanwhile, only a handful of residential units in the city are rent-controlled, … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Colorado man’s First Amendment challenge will test the scope of protection for threatening speech

There is no dispute that the Facebook messages Billy Raymond Counterman sent to local Colorado musician Coles Whalen made her feel afraid. For years, Counterman sent increasingly menacing messages in which he suggested that he had seen Whalen – who is identified only by her initials in court documents, but who has discussed the case on her website – while driving and made comments such as “Die” and “Fuck off permanently.” Whalen told a family member that she was

… Read the rest

Civil Law

On icy ground: Kamila Valieva and the challenge of pleading “no fault or negligence” in anti-doping cases

Introduction

On 21 February 2023, the World Anti-Doping Agency (“WADA”) issued a statement confirming that it was appealing the decision of the disciplinary tribunal of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (“RUSADA”) in the case of Kamila Valieva to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”). Although the full decision has not been published, the RUSADA tribunal found that the teenage figure skater bore ‘no fault or negligence’ (“NFON”) in testing positive for a … Read the rest

Circuit Courts

In COVID-19, Judicial Conference Met Its Ultimate Challenge

When COVID-19 struck in early 2020, Chief Justice William Howard Taft’s vision of a Judiciary that could work in unison was put to perhaps its greatest test. For critical weeks and months, the Judiciary’s very ability to conduct proceedings was endangered. The Judicial Conference of the United States, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and judges and court staff across the country worked tirelessly to keep courts open and safe.
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest

Supreme Court

Domino’s delivery drivers challenge arbitration clauses after Southwest Airlines ruling

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.

Over the past four decades, the Supreme Court has issued a long string of decisions interpreting the Federal Arbitration Act to provide extensive protection for arbitration agreements. This term, however, was more of a mixed bag. Although the court issued a number of opinions that were pro-arbitration, it also wrote … Read the rest