Challenging a CICA Stay Override? The Federal Circuit Confirms You Don’t Need to Prove Irreparable Harm

In Life Science Logistics, LLC v. United States,[1] the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) affirmed that a disappointed bidder challenging an agency’s override of a Competition in Contracting Act (“CICA”) stay must only show the override was arbitrary and capricious. The court rejected the government’s argument that the plaintiff must also satisfy the traditional four-factor test for preliminary injunctions—likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable harm, balance of equities, and benefit to the public. … Read the rest

Fifth Circuit Finds Evidence That One of Defendants Attorneys Slept During His Capital Murder Trial Insufficient to Prove Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

It’s often said that the ineffective assistance of counsel test is so tough to satisfy that even evidence that a defendant’s attorney slept during trial is insufficient to satisfy the standard. The latest example is Alvarez v. Guerrero, 2025 WL 3719047 (5th Cir. 2025).

In Alvarez, “Juan Carlos Alvarez was sentenced to death for the murders of Michael Aguirre and Jose Varela.” He later appealed, claiming that one of his two trial counsel slept during trial.

A majority … Read the rest

Climate Justice Denied: Ninth Circuit Dismisses Juliana v. United States

The environmental climate change case that has attracted the most attention, Juliana v. United States has come to an unceremonious end and all Americans should be concerned. On May 1, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered, “The district court is instructed to dismiss the case forthwith for lack of Article III standing, without leave to amend.

Without regard to one’s perspective on the merits of the claims, the dismissal of this case after nearly a decade … Read the rest