Puerto Rico Case Commentaries

Discretionary Liquor-Licensing Inaction Creates No Due-Process Property Interest; Class-of-One Claims End Upon Any Conceivable Rational Basis

Date: May 24, 2026

Discretionary Liquor-Licensing Inaction Creates No Due-Process Property Interest; Class-of-One Claims End Upon Any Conceivable Rational Basis I. Introduction In Anna's Café Place LLC v. Village of...

Merits-First Disposition in Title VII: Courts May Bypass the 15‑Employee Coverage Question When the Record Shows No Race-Based Causation

Date: May 24, 2026

Merits-First Disposition in Title VII: Courts May Bypass the 15‑Employee Coverage Question When the Record Shows No Race-Based Causation I. Introduction Darell Burton v. Will County Sheriff's Merit...

In re Ashton (Or 2026): RPC 3.4(b) “Contingent on Content” Means Payment for Testimony (Not Silence); RPC 8.4(a)(4) Reaches Testimony-Suppressing Settlements (Including Future Proceedings)

Date: May 24, 2026

In re Ashton (Or 2026): RPC 3.4(b) “Contingent on Content” Means Payment for Testimony (Not Silence); RPC 8.4(a)(4) Reaches Testimony-Suppressing Settlements (Including Future Proceedings) 1....

Robinson v. State: One Theft-Aggregation Count per Single “Scheme or Continuing Course of Conduct” (No Monthly Slicing) and One Elder-Exploitation Count per Victim

Date: May 24, 2026

Robinson v. State: One Theft-Aggregation Count per Single “Scheme or Continuing Course of Conduct” (No Monthly Slicing) and One Elder-Exploitation Count per Victim 1. Introduction In ROBINSON...

Limits on Estelle-Based Fifth Amendment Challenges to Unrelated Juvenile Psychological Evaluations; No Ineffective Assistance for Forgoing California § 827 Objection in Nevada Capital Penalty Phase

Date: May 24, 2026

Limits on Estelle-Based Fifth Amendment Challenges to Unrelated Juvenile Psychological Evaluations; No Ineffective Assistance for Forgoing California § 827 Objection in Nevada Capital Penalty Phase...

Rarick v. Smidt: No “Substantial Compliance” Under Iowa Code § 147.140 Without a Jurat or the Words “Penalty of Perjury,” and No Untimely Cure Absent § 147.140(4)

Date: May 23, 2026

No “Substantial Compliance” Under Iowa Code § 147.140 Without a Jurat or the Words “Penalty of Perjury,” and No Untimely Cure Absent § 147.140(4) Case: Teresa Marie Rarick and Richard Dee Rarick v....

Notices of Appeal Filed for Estates by Nonlawyers Are Unauthorized Practice, but Not Automatic Nullities When Counsel Timely Appears

Date: May 23, 2026

Notices of Appeal Filed for Estates by Nonlawyers Are Unauthorized Practice, but Not Automatic Nullities When Counsel Timely Appears 1. Introduction In Patrick Willhoite, individually and as the of...

State v. Reeves (321 Neb. 427): No Structural-Error Reversal Where Allegedly Conflicted Prosecutor Withdraws Pretrial and Unconflicted Special Prosecutor Tries Case

Date: May 23, 2026

State v. Reeves (321 Neb. 427): No Structural-Error Reversal Where Allegedly Conflicted Prosecutor Withdraws Pretrial and Unconflicted Special Prosecutor Tries Case I. Introduction Case: State v....

Impossibility-and-No-Prejudice Limits on “Fenced Jobsite” Conditions in Ohio Property Policies

Date: May 23, 2026

Impossibility-and-No-Prejudice Limits on “Fenced Jobsite” Conditions in Ohio Property Policies 1) Introduction In 3371 Reading, LLC v. Liberty Mutual Group, Inc. (Sixth Cir. May 21, 2026), a property...

Reciprocal Discipline in Nebraska: Probation in Lieu of Suspension for an Inactive Lawyer, with Reinstatement Conditioned on Character-and-Fitness Review

Date: May 23, 2026

Reciprocal Discipline in Nebraska: Probation in Lieu of Suspension for an Inactive Lawyer, with Reinstatement Conditioned on Character-and-Fitness Review Case: State ex rel. Counsel for Dis. v....

Effective-Prohibition Claims Under 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7)(B)(i) Must Challenge Siting Rules (Regulation), Not a Single Permit Denial

Date: May 23, 2026

Effective-Prohibition Claims Under 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7)(B)(i) Must Challenge Siting Rules (“Regulation”), Not a Single Permit Denial Case: T-Mobile South, LLC v. City of Roswell, Georgia (11th Cir....

Speculative “May Have Lived Longer” Testimony Is Insufficient to Prove Workers’ Compensation Death Causation When a Work Injury Delays Cancer Treatment

Date: May 23, 2026

Speculative “May Have Lived Longer” Testimony Is Insufficient to Prove Workers’ Compensation Death Causation When a Work Injury Delays Cancer Treatment 1. Introduction In Hastreiter v. Foltz...

Iowa: Good-Faith Lease Termination and FED Litigation Do Not Repudiate a Lease or Toll a Tenant’s Renewal-Option Deadline

Date: May 23, 2026

Iowa: Good-Faith Lease Termination and FED Litigation Do Not Repudiate a Lease or Toll a Tenant’s Renewal-Option Deadline 1. Introduction In MidWestOne Bank, Trustee, Haywood B. Belle Family Trust v....

Herod v. Guerrero Commentary

Date: May 23, 2026

“Shifted Science” DNA Reinterpretation Does Not, Without Trial-Stage Materiality, Excuse Procedural Default of Brady/Napue Claims on Federal Habeas 1. Introduction Case: Herod v. Guerrero, No....

Virginia Mineral Lands Taxation: A Code § 58.1-3712 License Tax Does Not Displace Code § 58.1-3286(1) Assessment of Lands “Improved and Under Development” (Including Gas Reserves)

Date: May 23, 2026

Virginia Mineral Lands Taxation: A Code § 58.1-3712 License Tax Does Not Displace Code § 58.1-3286(1) Assessment of Lands “Improved and Under Development” (Including Gas Reserves) I. Introduction In...

Tennessee’s “Compelling Interest” Standard for Sealing First-Amendment-Protected Judicial Records (as Applied to Rule 10B Disqualification Motions)

Date: May 23, 2026

Tennessee’s “Compelling Interest” Standard for Sealing First-Amendment-Protected Judicial Records (as Applied to Rule 10B Disqualification Motions) Commentary on State of Tennessee v. Randall C....

Compelling-Interest, Written-Order, Narrow-Tailoring Requirements for Sealing Rule 10B Disqualification Filings; Rule 10 Review Available to Media Intervenors

Date: May 23, 2026

Compelling-Interest, Written-Order, Narrow-Tailoring Requirements for Sealing Rule 10B Disqualification Filings; Rule 10 Review Available to Media Intervenors Case: State of Tennessee v. Randall C....

Title III “Tainted Property” Rule: Trafficking Liability Attaches to Use of Confiscated Physical Property Even When the Plaintiff’s Interest Was Time-Limited

Date: May 23, 2026

Title III “Tainted Property” Rule: Trafficking Liability Attaches to Use of Confiscated Physical Property Even When the Plaintiff’s Interest Was Time-Limited 1. Introduction Havana Docks Corp. v....

No Supreme Court Rule on Aggregating Multiple IQ Scores Under Atkins (Certiorari Dismissed as Improvidently Granted)

Date: May 23, 2026

No Supreme Court Rule on Aggregating Multiple IQ Scores Under Atkins (Certiorari Dismissed as Improvidently Granted) Case: Hamm v. Smith, 608 U. S. ____ (2026) (per curiam) Court / Date: U.S. Supreme...

ERISA Withdrawal Liability: Actuarial Assumptions Need Not Be Adopted by the Measurement Date

Date: May 23, 2026

ERISA Withdrawal Liability: Actuarial Assumptions Need Not Be Adopted by the Measurement Date 1. Introduction M & K Employee Solutions, LLC, et al. v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund (608...