interpreting-& Case Commentaries

No Herculean Efforts Required: Montana Supreme Court Reaffirms Fact-Dependent “Reasonable Efforts” in Interstate Child Welfare Cases

Date: Oct 10, 2025

No Herculean Efforts Required: Montana Supreme Court Reaffirms Fact-Dependent “Reasonable Efforts” in Interstate Child Welfare Cases Introduction In Matter of B.B.-R., YINC (Supreme Court of Montana,...

Reasonable Efforts Are Fact-Dependent and Need Not Be Herculean; ICPC Omission Alone Does Not Defeat Reunification Efforts: Montana Supreme Court Affirms Termination of Parental Rights in Matter of K.B. & B.B.-R. (Noncitable)

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Reasonable Efforts Are Fact-Dependent and Need Not Be Herculean; ICPC Omission Alone Does Not Defeat Reunification Efforts: Montana Supreme Court Affirms Termination of Parental Rights in Matter of...

Reaffirmation That Guardianship Need Not Be Considered Once Statutory Grounds for Termination Are Met, and That the 15-of-22-Month Presumption Governs Best-Interest Analysis — Matter of P.M.L.O. (Mont. 2025)

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Reaffirmation That Guardianship Need Not Be Considered Once Statutory Grounds for Termination Are Met, and That the 15-of-22-Month Presumption Governs Best-Interest Analysis — Matter of P.M.L.O....

Montana Supreme Court Bars Compelled Two‑Way Video Appearance After Valid Waiver; Successive Commitment Petitions Not Barred by Preclusion — Matter of T.W. (2025 MT 225)

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Montana Supreme Court Bars Compelled Two‑Way Video Appearance After Valid Waiver; Successive Commitment Petitions Not Barred by Preclusion — Matter of T.W. (2025 MT 225) Introduction In Matter of...

Nonprecedential Affirmance of HRC Retaliation Dismissals: Rebutted Presumption and Harmless Procedural Error Under MAPA (Vaccaro v. Three Forks Area Ambulance Service)

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Nonprecedential Affirmance of HRC Retaliation Dismissals: Rebutted Presumption and Harmless Procedural Error Under MAPA Case: Vaccaro v. Three Forks Area Ambulance Service, 2025 MT 230N (Mont. Oct....

Post-Habeas Removal of Illegal Restitution Is Not a Resentencing: The Oral–Written Sentence Rule Does Not Apply — Woods v. Wead (Mont. 2025)

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Post-Habeas Removal of Illegal Restitution Is Not a Resentencing: The Oral–Written Sentence Rule Does Not Apply — Woods v. Wead (Mont. 2025) Introduction In Woods v. Wead (Mont. Oct. 7, 2025), the...

Misaligned Debtor–Trustee Interests Preclude Res Judicata Against Chapter 7 Trustees; Claim Objections Under Rule 3007 Are Timely Absent Court-Set Deadlines

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Misaligned Debtor–Trustee Interests Preclude Res Judicata Against Chapter 7 Trustees; Claim Objections Under Rule 3007 Are Timely Absent Court-Set Deadlines Commentary on Myer's Lawn Care Services,...

Second Circuit Confirms Special-Needs Authority to Search a Parolee’s Cellphone, Distinguishing Riley When the Device Is Unauthorized

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Second Circuit Confirms Special-Needs Authority to Search a Parolee’s Cellphone, Distinguishing Riley When the Device Is Unauthorized Introduction In United States v. Smurphat (No. 24-1707, 2d Cir....

Eleventh Circuit Clarifies: Post-Representation Privacy Torts Are Outside Narrow Retainer Arbitration Clauses; “Confidential Arbitration” Is Not a Duty of Confidentiality

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Eleventh Circuit Clarifies: Post-Representation Privacy Torts Are Outside Narrow Retainer Arbitration Clauses; “Confidential Arbitration” Is Not a Duty of Confidentiality Introduction In Janet L....

§ 46504 Requires Only General Intent: Eleventh Circuit Reaffirms No Need to Prove Intent to Intimidate or to Interfere, and Clarifies that “Knowingly” Attaches to Conduct (United States v. Olvera)

Date: Oct 10, 2025

§ 46504 Requires Only General Intent: Eleventh Circuit Reaffirms No Need to Prove Intent to Intimidate or to Interfere, and Clarifies that “Knowingly” Attaches to Conduct (United States v. Olvera)...

EEZ Equals “High Seas” for MDLEA; § 70502(d)(1)(C) Constitutional; No Nexus Requirement: Eleventh Circuit Summarily Affirms in United States v. Feyber De Avila (Consolidated)

Date: Oct 10, 2025

EEZ Equals “High Seas” for MDLEA; § 70502(d)(1)(C) Constitutional; No Nexus Requirement: Eleventh Circuit Summarily Affirms in United States v. Feyber De Avila (Consolidated) Introduction In a...

EEZ Counts as “High Seas,” MDLEA Needs No U.S. Nexus, and “Stateless Vessel” Definition Is Not Cabined by International Law: Eleventh Circuit’s Summary Affirmance in United States v. Santiago, De Avila, and Ulloa

Date: Oct 10, 2025

EEZ Counts as “High Seas,” MDLEA Needs No U.S. Nexus, and “Stateless Vessel” Definition Is Not Cabined by International Law: Eleventh Circuit’s Summary Affirmance in United States v. Santiago, De...

EEZs Are “High Seas” for Felonies Clause; MDLEA’s Stateless‑Vessel Definition Upheld; No Nexus Requirement: Eleventh Circuit’s Summary Affirmance in United States v. Wallyst Rochist Ulloa (consol. with Santiago & De Avila)

Date: Oct 10, 2025

EEZs Are “High Seas” for Felonies Clause; MDLEA’s Stateless‑Vessel Definition Upheld; No Nexus Requirement Case: United States v. Wallyst Rochist Ulloa (consolidated with United States v. Ramon...

No Nexus for Intrafamilial Land Disputes: Sixth Circuit Reaffirms Personal-Motive Bar and Treats Nexus as a Factual Finding in Asylum Claims

Date: Oct 10, 2025

No Nexus for Intrafamilial Land Disputes: Sixth Circuit Reaffirms Personal-Motive Bar and Treats Nexus as a Factual Finding in Asylum Claims Introduction In Masud Ahmed v. Pamela Bondi, the United...

Acceptance Means More Than a Plea: Sixth Circuit Authorizes Use of Post‑Indictment Jailhouse Drug Misconduct and False Denials to Defeat §3E1.1—Even If Not §1B1.3 Relevant Conduct; Explicit Bostic Concurrence Invokes Invited Error

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Acceptance Means More Than a Plea: Sixth Circuit Authorizes Use of Post‑Indictment Jailhouse Drug Misconduct and False Denials to Defeat §3E1.1—Even If Not §1B1.3 Relevant Conduct; Explicit Bostic...

No Automatic Liberal Construction for Legally Trained Pro Se Litigants; Rule 41(b) Dismissal Affirmed Under Ehrenhaus After Failure to Cure Pleading Defects

Date: Oct 10, 2025

No Automatic Liberal Construction for Legally Trained Pro Se Litigants; Rule 41(b) Dismissal Affirmed Under Ehrenhaus After Failure to Cure Pleading Defects Introduction In Cohen v. Hartman, No....

Centrality of Motive and the Reporting Requirement: The Tenth Circuit’s Published Clarification on Nexus, State Protection, and Internal Relocation in Mixed‑Motive Asylum Claims (Jimenez v. Bondi)

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Centrality of Motive and the Reporting Requirement: The Tenth Circuit’s Published Clarification on Nexus, State Protection, and Internal Relocation in Mixed‑Motive Asylum Claims Introduction In...

No Plain-Error Duty to Advise Juveniles of Murphy’s “Appreciable Period” Requirement for § 1201 Kidnapping

Date: Oct 10, 2025

No Plain-Error Duty to Advise Juveniles of Murphy’s “Appreciable Period” Requirement for § 1201 Kidnapping Case: United States v. Doe, No. 25-9902 (10th Cir. Oct. 7, 2025) Court: United States Court...

Record-Based Justification Suffices: Tenth Circuit Affirms Alcohol-Abstinence and Bar-Restriction Conditions Under Plain-Error Review Even Without On-the-Record Reasons

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Record-Based Justification Suffices: Tenth Circuit Affirms Alcohol-Abstinence and Bar-Restriction Conditions Under Plain-Error Review Even Without On-the-Record Reasons Introduction In United States...

Attorney General’s Authority to Represent the State and State Officers in Post‑Conviction Proceedings Clarified; “Technical Failure” Discretion Applied — State v. Antoinette Frank (La. 2025)

Date: Oct 10, 2025

Attorney General’s Authority to Represent the State and State Officers in Post‑Conviction Proceedings Clarified; “Technical Failure” Discretion Applied — State v. Antoinette Frank (La. 2025)...

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