affirmation-of-illinois-central-railroad& Case Commentaries

Hoff (2025 ND 164): Conclusory Crane Findings Are Insufficient—District Courts Must Articulate a Specific, Evidence-Based Nexus Between Disorder and Inability to Control

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Hoff (2025 ND 164): Conclusory Crane Findings Are Insufficient—District Courts Must Articulate a Specific, Evidence-Based Nexus Between Disorder and Inability to Control Introduction This North...

Waived Jury-Instruction Challenges Define the Elements for Sufficiency Review: State v. Guthmiller (2025 ND 162)

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Waived Jury-Instruction Challenges Define the Elements for Sufficiency Review: State v. Guthmiller (2025 ND 162) Introduction In State v. Guthmiller, 2025 ND 162, the North Dakota Supreme Court...

Remote Child Testimony Permissible Upon Presence‑Specific Trauma Impairing Communication: Commentary on State v. Moen, 2025 ND 163

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Remote Child Testimony Permissible Upon Presence‑Specific Trauma Impairing Communication: State v. Moen, 2025 ND 163 Introduction In State v. Moen, 2025 ND 163, the North Dakota Supreme Court...

First Department Clarifies: Cooperative Boards Are Not Suable Entities in New York

Date: Oct 10, 2025

First Department Clarifies: Cooperative Boards Are Not Suable Entities in New York Introduction In Tahari v. 860 Fifth Avenue Corporation (2025 NY Slip Op 05584), the Appellate Division, First...

Herrera v. Tempo Carpentry LLC: Strict Waiver of Absent Witnesses in Expedited Workers’ Compensation Hearings Without a Specific Good-Cause Showing

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Herrera v. Tempo Carpentry LLC: Strict Waiver of Absent Witnesses in Expedited Workers’ Compensation Hearings Without a Specific Good-Cause Showing Introduction In Matter of Herrera v. Tempo...

Spada v. Keeler Construction: Causation for Occupational Hearing Loss Must Be Anchored in Audiometric Pattern and Address Alternative Noise Exposures

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Spada v. Keeler Construction: Causation for Occupational Hearing Loss Must Be Anchored in Audiometric Pattern and Address Alternative Noise Exposures Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court,...

Plea “Satisfaction” Clauses Require Defendant to Prove the Predicate Burglary; No Sua Sponte DVSJA Hearing Absent Request — Commentary on People v. Tenace

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Plea “Satisfaction” Clauses Require Defendant to Prove the Predicate Burglary; No Sua Sponte DVSJA Hearing Absent Request Commentary on People v. Tenace, 2025 NY Slip Op 05552 (App Div 3d Dept Oct....

No Immovable Property Exception: Washington Supreme Court Bars Adverse Possession Suits Against Tribes’ Off‑Reservation Lands Absent Congressional Abrogation or Tribal Waiver

Date: Oct 10, 2025

No Immovable Property Exception: Washington Supreme Court Bars Adverse Possession Suits Against Tribes’ Off‑Reservation Lands Absent Congressional Abrogation or Tribal Waiver Introduction In Flying T...

Divisional Conflict and Prompt Diligence as “Extraordinary Circumstances”: Washington Supreme Court Clarifies CR 60(b)(11) Relief for Legal Errors

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Divisional Conflict and Prompt Diligence as “Extraordinary Circumstances”: Washington Supreme Court Clarifies CR 60(b)(11) Relief for Legal Errors Introduction In Luv v. West Coast Servicing, Inc....

Unattested State Crime Lab Autopsy Reports: Error, But Harmless Where Cause of Death Is Undisputed and Liability Is as an Accomplice — Commentary on Nathaniel Fort v. State of Arkansas, 2025 Ark. 148

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Unattested State Crime Lab Autopsy Reports: Error, But Harmless Where Cause of Death Is Undisputed and Liability Is as an Accomplice Introduction In Nathaniel Fort v. State of Arkansas, 2025 Ark....

Proration Compelled: Third Circuit Holds First Step Act’s “for each year” Requires Pro-Rated Good-Conduct Time for Partial-Year Sentences

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Proration Compelled: Third Circuit Holds First Step Act’s “for each year” Requires Pro-Rated Good-Conduct Time for Partial-Year Sentences Introduction In a precedential opinion, the U.S. Court of...

No Outsourcing Escape Hatch: Third Circuit Holds States Remain Liable Under ADA Title II and the Rehabilitation Act for Prison Services Run by Private Contractors

Date: Oct 10, 2025

No Outsourcing Escape Hatch: States Remain Liable Under ADA Title II and the Rehabilitation Act for Prison Services Run by Private Contractors Introduction In a precedential opinion with sweeping...

Accessible Eviction Notice Required: Third Circuit Revives ADA/§504 Claims and Limits Quasi‑Judicial Immunity for Constables

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Accessible Eviction Notice Required: Third Circuit Revives ADA/§504 Claims and Limits Quasi‑Judicial Immunity for Constables Introduction In William Murphy v. State of Delaware Justices of the Peace,...

Chhim v. City of Houston: Pleading Employment Claims Requires Comparator Facts and Decisionmaker Knowledge; Five-Month Temporal Gap Insufficient for Retaliation, and Unbriefed Issues Are Forfeited

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Chhim v. City of Houston: Pleading Employment Claims Requires Comparator Facts and Decisionmaker Knowledge; Five-Month Temporal Gap Insufficient for Retaliation, and Unbriefed Issues Are Forfeited...

Rooker-Feldman Does Not Bar Defamation Suits Targeting Opposing Counsel’s Litigation Statements: The Fifth Circuit’s Clarification in English v. Crochet

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Rooker-Feldman Does Not Bar Defamation Suits Targeting Opposing Counsel’s Litigation Statements: The Fifth Circuit’s Clarification in English v. Crochet Introduction In English v. Crochet, the U.S....

No Safe Harbor in “Ordinary Business” Spending: Fifth Circuit Remands § 523(a)(6) Collateral-Conversion Claim and Reaffirms Strict Debtor-Favorable Standards Under §§ 727(a)(2)(A), (a)(3), and 523(a)(2)(A)

Date: Oct 10, 2025

No Safe Harbor in “Ordinary Business” Spending: Fifth Circuit Remands § 523(a)(6) Collateral-Conversion Claim and Reaffirms Strict Debtor-Favorable Standards Under §§ 727(a)(2)(A), (a)(3), and...

No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy for Trespassers in Tents on Posted Public Land: United States v. Parkerson (5th Cir. 2025)

Date: Oct 10, 2025

No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy for Trespassers in Tents on Posted Public Land: United States v. Parkerson (5th Cir. 2025) Introduction In United States v. Parkerson, the U.S. Court of Appeals...

No Prior Warning Required: Fourth Circuit Affirms Default-for-Discovery Abuse, Post-Default Evidentiary Exclusions, and Net‑Revenue Restitution with “Fencing‑In” Injunction Under the CFPA

Date: Oct 10, 2025

No Prior Warning Required: Fourth Circuit Affirms Default-for-Discovery Abuse, Post-Default Evidentiary Exclusions, and Net‑Revenue Restitution with “Fencing‑In” Injunction Under the CFPA...

Enforcing Separation Agreements in Alaska: Capacity, Duress, and Unconscionability as Gatekeepers to Unequal Property Divisions

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Enforcing Separation Agreements in Alaska: Capacity, Duress, and Unconscionability as Gatekeepers to Unequal Property Divisions Case: Burton Haviland Jr. v. Kimberly Haviland Court: Supreme Court of...

Active Efforts Under ICWA During Pretrial Incarceration: Relative Placement and Tribal Engagement Can Satisfy the Standard

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Active Efforts Under ICWA During Pretrial Incarceration: Relative Placement and Tribal Engagement Can Satisfy the Standard Introduction In Enzo C. v. State, DFCS, OCS, the Alaska Supreme Court...