debate | Judiciary.org

Civil Law

Nomination v. Succession – SC Finally Settles the Debate

Historical Background

The longstanding debate on the conflict between the rights of nominees and legal heirs over the devolution of shares has always been the cause of much controversy and confusion despite the settled legal position holding the legal heir as the ultimate rightful owner of the property. A nominee can act only as a trustee on behalf of the legal heir and hold such property until a conclusive decision on the matter of succession is reached.[1] However, the introduction … Read the rest

Civil Law

Common sense briefly prevails in UK’s “taking back control of our laws” debate

Things have surely come to a pretty pass when it is front page news twice in two weeks that the Government has decided not to press on with doing something daft. First, the abandonment of smart motorways and last week, reports that the Government has backed away from its original proposal to wipe all EU-sourced regulations from the statute book at the end of this year. More predictable is the number of MPs who are nonetheless recorded as being variously … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices debate propriety of litigation in trial courts while defendants are on appeal seeking arbitration

If anything is clear after Tuesday’s argument in Coinbase v. Bielski, it is that the justices are not going to agree on the answer. The case asks what a trial court should do if it denies a defendant’s motion for arbitration. The Federal Arbitration Act gives the defendant the right to an immediate (“interlocutory”) appeal, but it says nothing about a stay of litigation in the district court. So in these cases (proposed class actions against Coinbase, a … Read the rest

Supreme Court

In lawsuit against tech companies, justices debate what it means to “aid and abet” terrorism

The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared wary of a lawsuit seeking to hold Twitter, Facebook, and Google liable for aiding and abetting international terrorism based on ISIS’s use of the companies’ platforms. But during nearly three hours of oral argument, the justices struggled to draw a line between holding organizations responsible for supporting terrorism and allowing organizations to go about legitimate business, even if they may come in contact with terrorists as part of that business.

The dispute, Twitter … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices debate whether Warhol image is “fair use” of photograph of Prince

Wednesday’s argument in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith wandered widely, as the justices considered whether a famous set of images that Andy Warhol based on a 1981 photograph of Prince by the award-winning photographer Lynn Goldsmith were such a “fair” use of the photograph that Warhol’s successors can license them for commercial use without the permission of (or compensation to) Goldsmith.

As Roman Martinez explained on behalf of the Andy Warhol Foundation (which controls the … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Think tank hosts debate on court reform ideas

Though you would be forgiven for forgetting the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court’s 294-page report published last December, it’s becoming harder to miss a wider conversation on the court’s ethics and transparency practices. On Tuesday, the R Street Institute, the free-market focused Washington think tank, held a lunch-time debate on court-reform proposals. Matt Germer, a resident elections fellow at R Street, was joined by Adam White of the American Enterprise Institute, journalist Sarah Isgur of The Dispatch, and … Read the rest

Supreme Court

“Feelings run high”: Two hours of tense debate on an issue that divides the court and the country

A View from the Courtroom is an inside look at significant oral arguments and opinion announcements unfolding in real time.

Outside the Supreme Court building, crowds of demonstrators have gathered for today’s major argument in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Inside the building, though, the new normal that has existed since the justices returned to the bench in October prevails.

Of course, the courtroom would be packed if we weren’t still under pandemic restrictions. Advocates … Read the rest