Civil Law

Fifth Circuit Says Telework is Not A Presumptively Reasonable Accommodation (US)

Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced many employees to temporarily work from home, employers have struggled to bring those remote employees back to the office. Since the return to business as (almost) usual, many employees have asked to extend their flexible teleworking arrangements, sometimes by requesting remote work as a disability accommodation. Those employees would do well to heed a recent Fifth Circuit decision, Hayes v. GStek, Inc., No. 25-30392 (5th Cir. May 8, 2026), which warns that “[t]he COVID … Read the rest

Civil Law

NYDFS says disparate impact remains in effect

Countering an Executive Order issued by President Trump  and the adoption by the CFPB of its final rule revising Regulation B, the New York Department of Financial Services recently issued an Industry Letter warning the financial institutions that it regulates that they must consider disparate impact when lending.

“Regulated Entities are reminded that under Section 296-a, covered credit decisions that result in a disparate impact may constitute an unlawful discriminatory practice,” the agency wrote in a letter to financial institutions.… Read the rest

Civil Law

In a Batson Challenge, what Prosecutor Says is Everything or is It?

Before getting started on the blog entry for the week, I did finish Over Ruled. What is clear from reading the book, is that Justice Gorsuch clearly believes that the administrative state had gotten too big and that sufficient guardrails for the administrative state do not exist. Also, from reading that book, it is pretty clear to me that he would think Loper Bright overruled Kisor v. Wilkie. So, administrative regulations he will uphold will have to have a very … 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

Supreme Court

AI won’t displace human judges, but will affect judiciary, Roberts says in annual report

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In his annual report, Chief Justice John Roberts on Sunday addressed the future of artificial intelligence in the judiciary. Roberts predicted that “human judges will be around for a while,” but he also suggested that “judicial work—particularly at the trial level—will be significantly affected by AI,” and he assured members of the public that committees within the federal judiciary would consider the use of AI in litigation in the federal courts.

Roberts submits the annual report each year on … Read the rest

Civil Law

US court says no distinction between managerial and non-managerial duties of directors

On 31 August 2023 the Supreme Court of Maryland held (overruling a previous decision) that there is no distinction between the ‘managerial’ and ‘non-managerial’ duties of directors of a Maryland corporation and said that the “sole source of the duties of the director is found in section 2-401.1 of the Maryland General Corporation Law (MGCL) which places the powers of the corporation in the hands of the directors.

The case involved a preliminary dispute regarding the framing of the causes of action … Read the rest