State v. Baez: When Eyewitness “Flight” Evidence and Retreat Defeat Self-Defense, and When Intent-Charge Errors Are Not Plain Error Introduction In State v. Baez (Conn. Sup. Ct., officially released...
State v. Bard: Unpreserved Severance Claims Are Unreviewable; Articulation Cannot Create Preservation; No Duty to Sever Sua Sponte Under Practice Book § 41-18 1. Introduction In State v. Bard (Conn....
Uncodified and Ambiguous Civil Service Exam Phone Rules Cannot Rationally Support Score Nullification; “Final” Agency Language May Excuse Further Exhaustion I. Introduction Matter of Bifulco v City...
R.C. 3513.311(C) Allows Late Lieutenant-Governor Replacement Only Upon Death; Ohio Supreme Court Original Jurisdiction Bars Declaratory and Prohibitory-Injunction Claims I. Introduction State ex rel....
Expedited Supreme Court Judgment Issuance Under Rule 45.3 in Ongoing Election Disputes (Callais v. Louisiana) Introduction Callais v. Louisiana arises from emergency, post-merits litigation effects...
“Malice Is Malice”: Pennsylvania Rejects a DUI-Specific Malice Test and Reaffirms One Unified Standard Case: Commonwealth v. Peters, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (May 4, 2026) I. Introduction...
Stash-House Enhancement Applies Without Leasehold When De Facto Control or Co-Conspirator Foreseeability Is Shown Case: United States v. Khari Qunarll Smith (6th Cir. May 4, 2026) (not recommended...
Pleading Limits on “Continuing Violation” Theories: An Allegedly Biased Internal Investigation Does Not Extend a Title VII Hostile-Environment Claim Without Plausible Sex-Based Causation or Harasser...
Termination Ends Commission Entitlement When Compensation Clause Limits Commissions to Contracts Accepted Before the Effective Termination Date Case: Touch-N-Buy LLC v. United Consumer Fin. Servs....
Deadly Force “Until Neutralized”: Sixth Circuit Clarifies that the Trigger-Count Is Not the Question I. Introduction Kimberly Vaughn, through the Administration of the Estate of Mohammad J. Isaifan,...
Informal Agency Memoranda that Alter Substantive Rights Are “Rules”; Untimely Procedural Challenges Are Barred, but Timely Objectors Cannot Be Bound by Unpromulgated Changes 1. Introduction In Martel...
Routine Evidence-Retention Deletions Trigger Youngblood (Not Trombetta) Absent Apparent Exculpatory Value—and Require Proof of Bad Faith Introduction In United States v. Orrantia (10th Cir. May 4,...
Second Circuit Leaves Intact: (1) a Pre‑Trial Constraint on Westfall Act Substitution in State‑Filed Cases, and (2) Waiver/Law‑of‑the‑Case Limits on Re‑Litigating Presidential Immunity I....
Technical-Reviewer DNA Testimony Is Not “Plainly” Barred by the Confrontation Clause; ACCA Different-Occasions Errors Require Prejudice Introduction In United States v. Samuel Lee Jones (11th Cir....
Rule 60 Motions After Final Judgment: One-Year Bar, “Reasonable Time” Limits, and Clear-and-Convincing Proof for Fraud on the Court 1. Introduction Harisadhan Patra and Petula Vaz (pro se) appealed...
Smith v. Albany County School District No. 1: Pleading a “Compelled Message” and Limits on Mask-Mandate First Amendment/Due Process Claims I. Introduction In Smith v. Albany County School District...
Section 1225(b)(2)(A) Mandatory Detention Is Limited to Noncitizens “Seeking Admission”; Long-Present Interior Entrants Are Detained (and Bond-Eligible) Under Section 1226(a) I. Introduction Cunha v....
FLSA Collective Action Notice Requires Personal Jurisdiction Over Each Opt-In Claim Under Rule 4(k) 1. Introduction Provencher v. Bimbo Foods Bakeries Distribution LLC (2d Cir. May 4, 2026) addresses...
Griffin v. LaManna: Certificate of Appealability Required to Appeal Denial of Rule 4(a)(5) Extension in State Habeas 1. Introduction In Griffin v. LaManna (2d Cir. Apr. 29, 2026), the Second Circuit...
Class Membership in the Payment Card Settlement Turns on Contractual Intent—not a “Direct Payor” Rule; Settlement Release Bars Later State-Law Indirect-Purchaser Claims 1. Introduction This Second...