“A policy allowing only “respectful and courteous” public comments at town meetings violates the state constitution, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled. The Massachusetts town of Southborough’s comment policy violated protections for freedom of assembly and freedom of speech in the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, the top state court Read more…
“Nearly 60 years after the U.S. Supreme Court established a key First Amendment precedent protecting protesters’ rights, the freedom to assemble and the right to protest have once again been called into question. On March 2, 1961, a young James Clyburn and nearly 200 other young African Americans marched from Read more…
“Prosecutors in Michigan will have to prove that the parents of alleged school shooter Ethan Crumbley were grossly negligent or reckless to obtain a conviction for involuntary manslaughter, experts have told Reuters. Prosecutors charged James and Jennifer Crumbley on Friday. Their 15-year-old son is charged as an adult with 24 Read more…
“A Boston lawyer has been ordered to show cause why he shouldn’t face further sanctions for allegedly taking advantage of a Zoom deposition to secretly whisper answers to his client. The lawyer is Jeffrey Rosin, the managing partner of O’Hagan Meyer’s Boston office and an employment litigator. He has been ordered Read more…
“ Sixteen student athletes at Western Michigan University who were denied a religious exemption from a vaccine mandate will likely succeed in their lawsuit, a federal appeals court has ruled. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the university violated the students’ right to the free exercise of Read more…
“An Australian real estate agent is facing a defamation lawsuit because of a missing apostrophe in his Facebook post. The real estate agent, Anthony Zadravic, wrote the post last year about his former employer, Stuart Gan, and his alleged failure to pay money into Australia’s retirement system, report the New York Read more…
“The New York law firm Siri & Glimstad is fighting mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations with litigation and warning letters dispatched to schools and employers. The Washington Post has a story on Siri & Glimstad’s efforts and arguments—partly funded by the Informed Consent Action Network, a Texas-based nonprofit group fighting mandatory vaccines. Even before Read more…
“ U.S. Supreme Court justices are hanging up their phones after a year and a half of teleconference arguments because of the pandemic and returning to the bench for the new term that begins Monday. But the marble walls of their fortresslike building may do little to shield them from Read more…
“When the U.S. Supreme Court resumes in-person oral arguments Oct. 4, it won’t return to the pre-pandemic questioning format. Instead, the Supreme Court will adopt a hybrid format that combines the old style of jump-in-when-you-can questioning with the more orderly take-your-turn questioning that happened when justices participated by telephone. Bloomberg Law, Law360 and SCOTUSblog are Read more…
“There will soon be a big change for jury selection in Arizona. The Arizona Supreme Court published a rule modification Friday ending the use of peremptory challenges in civil and criminal cases. It will be implemented Jan. 1. An Aug. 30 order details the changes. Robert Chang, a professor at the Seattle Read more…