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Supreme Court

Justices seem to favor IRS in dispute over shareholder’s life insurance policy

The justices were considerably more subdued in the argument in Connelly v. Internal Revenue Service than they were on Tuesday, when they confronted the FDA’s treatment of the abortion drug mifepristone. This is a case about the tax treatment of life insurance policies that closely held corporations use to manage the death of a shareholder. Assume, as is common, a small corporation owned by members of the same family. When one dies, if the surviving shareholders want to keep … Read the rest

Supreme Court

The constitutionality of a magnet school’s admissions policy

The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here.

The Supreme Court will consider a whopping 472 petitions and applications at this Friday’s conference, making it the biggest conference since the behemoth end-of-summer “long conference.” The justices will be reconsidering three cert petitions for the first time.

Last June, the Supreme Court invalidated the undergraduate admissions programs at Harvard and the University of … Read the rest

Circuit Courts

Judicial Conference Revises Policy to Expand Remote Audio Access Over Its Pre-COVID Policy

The Judicial Conference of the United States on Tuesday approved a change to its broadcast policy that expands the public’s access to civil and bankruptcy proceedings over the Judiciary’s longstanding pre-COVID policy, which prohibited all remote public access to federal court proceedings.
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest

Circuit Courts

Judiciary Ends COVID Emergency; Study of Broadcast Policy Continues

The COVID-19 emergency is no longer affecting the functioning of the federal courts, the Judicial Conference’s Executive Committee has found, setting in motion a 120-day grace period in which federal courts may continue to provide the same remote public audio access to civil and bankruptcy proceedings as they did during the emergency.
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest

Civil Law

When good intentions fail: Is your D&I policy inadvertently unlawful?

We have seen a market driven push for companies to embrace diversity and inclusion (D&I) policies over the last few years, which reflects a key shift in social and cultural norms for many organisations. Increasingly, consumers, staff and senior business leaders expect proactive steps to be taken for D&I objectives. Research demonstrates a strong business case for promoting diversity, although some suggest that viewing it through a lens of fairness is more effective. Regardless of the rationale, there are very … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices decline to block Biden policy on social costs of greenhouse gases

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a plea from Louisiana and nine other states to bar federal agencies from considering the social costs of greenhouse gases as part of their decision-making process. In a brief, unsigned order, the justices declined to reinstate a district-court ruling that had temporarily blocked the Biden administration from using the cost estimates. There were no dissents recorded from Thursday’s order.

The dispute in which the justices declined to intervene began last year, after President … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Tough questions for both sides in dispute over “remain in Mexico” policy

The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Tuesday in the battle over the Biden administration’s efforts to end one of the Trump administration’s signature immigration policies. The lower courts ordered the Biden administration to reinstate the controversial policy, which requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while they wait for a hearing in U.S. courts. During nearly two hours of oral argument in Biden v. Texas, the justices appeared torn on whether the Biden administration must maintain the … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Five-justice majority restores Trump-era policy on water pollution, provoking more criticism of emergency docket

A divided Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated a Trump-era environmental policy that makes it harder for states to block projects that may cause water pollution. The unsigned and unexplained decision prompted Chief Justice John Roberts to join the court’s three liberal justices in criticizing the majority’s use of the emergency docket.

The court’s decision “renders the Court’s emergency docket not for emergencies at all,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in dissent. “The docket becomes only another place for merits determinations … Read the rest