Supreme Court

Justices schedule first cases of the 2023-24 term

Justices schedule first cases of the 2023-24 term

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Just two weeks after the justices finished releasing their opinions from the 2022-23 term, the court is now looking ahead to next term. The Supreme Court on Friday released the calendar for its October oral argument session. The justices will hear just six cases over five days between Oct. 2 and Oct. 11. The session will, however, include several high-profile cases, such as the challenge to a purported racial gerrymander in South Carolina’s congressional map and a challenge to … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Former candidates say New Jersey’s “slogan statutes” violate the First Amendment

Former candidates say New Jersey’s “slogan statutes” violate the First Amendment

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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.

Laws governing elections and the right to participate in the political process receive varying degrees of scrutiny when challenged in court. The Supreme Court has held that election laws restricting “core political speech” trigger a high degree of suspicion under the First Amendment. By comparison, laws that simply regulate the … Read the rest

Circuit Courts

Susan Oki Mollway, First Asian American Woman on Federal Bench: ‘Believe in Yourself’

As a Japanese American, Judge Susan Oki Mollway never considered herself disadvantaged while growing up in the multicultural environment of Hawaii. So, she was surprised, when she was nominated to the federal bench in 1998, to learn she was the first Asian woman to serve as an Article III federal judge. In recognition of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a new video profile explores Mollway’s heritage.
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest

Civil Law

Environmental Disclosures: CDP announces plastics to be added to Reporting Platform for first time

On April 19, 2023, the influential CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project) announced that nearly 7,000 organizations worldwide can disclose their plastic-related impacts for the first time, as CDP’s global environmental disclosure platform opens for 2023 reporting. CDP is adding plastic-related reporting to its online platform in response to a request from more than 740 investors with US$ 136 trillion in assets.

Last October, CDP reported that a record of around 20,000 organizations (over 18,700 companies representing over half of global market capitalization … Read the rest

Supreme Court

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

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

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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