Supreme Court

Challenges to a Washington state legislative district

Challenges to a Washington state legislative district

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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.

It’s been a blissful, relist-free month since the court’s last conference. The justices will have a whopping 440 petitions and applications before them on Friday. Only two of those – both involving the same underlying controversy – are one-time relists.

Washington’s bipartisan redistricting commission redrew the state’s 49 legislative districts, including Legislative District … Read the rest

Civil Law

Defense Contractor Prohibition on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Disclosures

Department of Defense contractors are not permitted to “disclose a greenhouse gas inventory or any other report on greenhouse gas emissions.”

As governments across the United States are beginning to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, looking at the back story and teasing out the broad impact of this prohibition is worth our time.

We blogged, Government Proposes Federal Contractors and Their Suppliers Disclose GHG Emissions describing the November 14, 2022, proposed Federal Supplier Climate Risks and Resilience Rule that proposed to … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Wonder Bread truck drivers seek exemption from mandatory arbitration

Wonder Bread truck drivers seek exemption from mandatory arbitration

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Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries Park St. brings the justices yet another case under a statute with which they are all too familiar – the Federal Arbitration Act. As regular readers will know, the court in the last few decades has heard numerous cases under the FAA. The great majority of those cases have involved arguments, by workers or customers, that for one reason or another courts should not enforce a pre-dispute arbitration agreement against them. And in almost all … Read the rest

Supreme Court

The morning read for Thursday, Feb. 15

The morning read for Thursday, Feb. 15

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Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Thursday morning read:

  • Special counsel urges Supreme Court to deny Trump’s request for delay in immunity case (John Fritze, CNN)
  • Special Counsel asks Supreme Court not to delay Trump’s election interference trial (Maureen Groppe, USA Today)
  • The Case for Removing Trump From the Ballot Has a Fatal Originalist Flaw (Brook Thomas, Slate)
  • Founding fathers did not intend
… Read the rest
Civil Law

Candida auris in dogs

Candida auris is an emerging threat that we need to pay attention to. This fungus causes disease almost exclusively in immunocompromised people, with infections most often acquired in hospital. While infections are rare, it’s a bit problem because mortality rates tend to be very high (20-60%), it can cause outbreaks in healthcare facilities, it can live on the skin of healthy people, antifungal resistance is common and routine disinfectants don’t always work very well.

That’s a perfect combination for a … Read the rest

Supreme Court

California man exposed to COVID-19 in prison seeks to contest conditions of confinement

California man exposed to COVID-19 in prison seeks to contest conditions of confinement

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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.

A petition for a writ of habeas corpus allows someone who is incarcerated to challenge the legality of their custody and seek release from prison. The Supreme Court has “left open” whether a habeas petition can be used to challenge prison conditions, and in answering that question for themselves, the … Read the rest

Civil Law

Nine PFAS Compounds Proposed to be Hazardous Constituents Under RCRA

On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published two proposed rules in the Federal Register that would expand the EPA’s authority to address certain per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These rules would significantly increase the EPA’s and authorized state’s authority to address the release of some of the most common PFAS and require responsible parties to conduct assessments, investigations, and clean-ups.

The first proposed rule, Listing of Specific PFAS as … Read the rest