Protesters’ legal rights are up for debate

As protests continue to unfold across the country, attorneys are grappling with what rights these demonstrators do and do not have.

May 24, 2024 9:43 AM CDT

What’s the key to community lawyering? Less lawyering and more community

On a two-week visit to Thailand with our program director to visit several True Costs Initiative grantee partners, including the Community Resource Centre Foundation, I learned that real community lawyering looks nothing like “traditional” lawyering, and it is precisely that characteristic that makes it such a potent tool for protecting environmental and human rights.

May 22, 2024 3:13 PM CDT

Amal Clooney was among the experts who advised on the International Criminal Court arrest warrants

Amal Clooney on Monday said she helped weigh the evidence that led to the International Criminal Court’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

May 21, 2024 11:55 AM CDT

Judge allows unjust enrichment suit for use of cancer patient’s ‘immortal’ cells

A federal judge in Maryland has ruled that the estate of Henrietta Lacks can proceed with its lawsuit alleging that a pharmaceutical company unjustly profited from use of her “immortal” cells.

May 21, 2024 10:29 AM CDT

Employer health plan’s exclusion for gender-affirming care violates Title VII, 11th Circuit rules

A federal appeals court has ruled that a health insurance provider can be liable for denying gender-affirming care to transgender people under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

May 14, 2024 12:48 PM CDT

Catholic school can fire gay drama teacher for marrying, 4th Circuit rules

One of the most liberal appellate courts in the country has ruled that a Catholic high school could fire a teacher for marrying another man, a victory for conservative and religious advocacy groups that have pushed back against anti-discrimination law.

May 8, 2024 3:10 PM CDT

SCOTUS declines to stay Idaho ban on gender-affirming care for minors

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Idaho to broadly enforce a ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, the first time the justices have intervened on the contentious issue of transgender health treatments.

Apr 16, 2024 9:45 AM CDT

Judge refuses to toss suit claiming lawyer, a Civil War buff, played ‘Dixie’ and watched disturbing racist videos at work

A fired office manager for Brooklyn, New York City, law firm Wenig Saltiel can proceed with her claim that she was subjected to a hostile work environment because of the alleged actions of a Civil War buff who was formerly a name partner, a federal judge has ruled.

Apr 2, 2024 3:30 PM CDT

May 8, 1867: Trolley segregation ends in New Orleans

Since their inaugural service in the 1830s, streetcars were a source of both convenience and resentment for the Black citizens of New Orleans. With their access limited by local “Black codes” only to “star cars”—segregated trolleys emblazoned with a black star—even free Black workers, housewives and shoppers found a daily reminder that their freedom bore scant resemblance to that of whites.

Apr 1, 2024 12:05 AM CDT

Lawyers representing transgender plaintiffs face possible sanctions for alleged ‘judge shopping’

A federal judge in Alabama has directed 11 lawyers to show cause why they shouldn’t be sanctioned for alleged "judge shopping" in lawsuits challenging a ban on some gender-affirming medical procedures for transgender minors in the state.

Mar 25, 2024 12:45 PM CDT

Drag show ban at Texas university left intact by Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to let a student group host a charity drag show at a public university in Texas, siding with a school official who banned the performance as “derisive, divisive and demoralizing.”

Mar 15, 2024 3:15 PM CDT

Rohingya human rights must be protected, ABA House urges

The House of Delegates is urging the United States and other countries to stop human rights violations and genocide involving the Rohingya, a Muslim minority that lived in Myanmar’s Rakhine state for generations until military crackdowns in 2017 forced nearly 1 million to flee to Bangladesh and other surrounding countries.

Feb 5, 2024 1:45 PM CST

Yale Law’s Owen Fiss talks about threats to democracy and ‘Why We Vote’

After 50 years as a professor at Yale Law School, Owen Fiss says his students are still idealistic and passionate about the rights won in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. A classroom discussion prompted his new book.

Jan 31, 2024 8:47 AM CST

Florida prosecutor ousted by DeSantis gets chance to prove First Amendment claims

Ousted Hillsborough County, Florida, State Attorney Andrew Warren is getting a chance to seek reinstatement on First Amendment grounds as a result of a federal appeals court’s ruling Wednesday.

Jan 11, 2024 8:53 AM CST

Chemerinsky: A year of significant developments at the Supreme Court

“Sometimes in the past, a blockbuster term—like the one a year ago—is followed by a quieter one. But that was not true this year. It was another amazing year in the Supreme Court,” writes Erwin Chemerinsky, University of California at Berkeley law dean.

Dec 19, 2023 11:08 AM CST