Articles

After an action-packed start to the term, the Supreme Court returns to the bench next week for the first winter oral argument sitting. And while the term was frontloaded with headline-grabbing cases, the court has a few high-profile cases coming up — and even more waiting in the wings. In February, the justices will hear two cases involving wh ...

In 2015, officials in Hennepin County seized an elderly woman's condo and sold it, over about $2,300 of unpaid property taxes, plus $12,700 in penalties, interest and fees. They sold that home for $40,000 and kept every penny, robbing elderly Geraldine Tyler of her home equity. And that's just one example. From 2014 through 2021, local governmen ...

In 2006, the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners declared war on shopping mall teeth whiteners. They sent 47 cease-and-desist letters to operators of kiosks offering teeth whitening services. These kiosks were selling over-the-counter teeth whitening products and offering a chair for people to sit in and apply the products themselves. The dent ...

In August 2021, the Malibu City Council refused to let a family build an addition to their home for their 80 plus year old, disabled grandmother. Councilmembers claimed they understood the importance of her situation and wanted to help, but—gosh-darn-it—their hands were tied by the law, which simply wouldn't allow them to grant the permit. But ...

Not many cases involving speeding and littering end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. Fewer still involve shooting a cat. Hardly any will set national policy for property rights disputes involving 620 million acres of federal lands. On Nov. 30, the Supreme Court heard arguments in just such a case. At issue in Wilkins v. United States is a highl ...

In Alameda County, California, a pandemic-era eviction ban has been in place for almost three years, even though COVID no longer poses the same threat it once did. As a result, "mom and pop" landlords have found themselves losing their livelihoods and dealing with problematic, and sometimes violent, tenants with no way to get rid of them, and wi ...

It often starts with a knock. Someone comes to the front door holding papers—legal documents—and hands them over. You're being sued. Even so, you can draw some comfort from the fact that the U.S. promises, at least in theory, equal justice under the law. The Constitution guarantees protections such as a fair trial, an impartial judge and jury, ...

"Why don't you take a look around? You know what's about to happen, what they're up against. They could use a good pilot like you. You're turning your back on them." As the Galactic Empire closed in, Luke Skywalker was desperate for Han Solo to take up the Rebel cause. From the start of the movie Star Wars: A New Hope, Solo made it abundantly ...

In federal and state courts around the country, Americans often face an uneven playing field when they square off against executive agencies, thanks to doctrines that require judges to rubber stamp agency interpretations of the law. And while the Supreme Court may be slow-walking the end of Chevron and Auer deference in the federal courts, state co ...