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“Private” Social Media as a Stage Whisper: Seventh Circuit Clarifies Pickering Balancing for Teachers’ Off‑Duty Posts and Rejects the Heckler’s‑Veto Frame

Date: Aug 31, 2025

“Private” Social Media as a Stage Whisper: Seventh Circuit Clarifies Pickering Balancing for Teachers’ Off‑Duty Posts and Rejects the Heckler’s‑Veto Frame Case: Jeanne Hedgepeth v. James A. Britton,...

When a State Court Says “No” to Arbitration, Federal Courts Don’t Re‑Ask: Seventh Circuit Enforces Issue Preclusion After a Denial of Arbitration and Subsequent Settlement

Date: Aug 31, 2025

When a State Court Says “No” to Arbitration, Federal Courts Don’t Re‑Ask: Seventh Circuit Enforces Issue Preclusion After a Denial of Arbitration and Subsequent Settlement Introduction In Mazen Agha...

Anonymous Tips Are Not Enough: Seventh Circuit Tightens Qualified Immunity Where Officers Fail to Corroborate Animal-Neglect Allegations and Clarifies Federal Malicious Prosecution Pleading

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Anonymous Tips Are Not Enough: Seventh Circuit Tightens Qualified Immunity Where Officers Fail to Corroborate Animal-Neglect Allegations and Clarifies Federal Malicious Prosecution Pleading...

No RICO for Disputes over Religious Truth; Reliance-Based Tithing Fraud Must Plead Proximate Cause: The Tenth Circuit’s Dual Holding in Gaddy v. COP of the LDS Church

Date: Aug 31, 2025

No RICO for Disputes over Religious Truth; Reliance-Based Tithing Fraud Must Plead Proximate Cause: The Tenth Circuit’s Dual Holding in Gaddy v. COP of the LDS Church Introduction In a published...

No Bright-Line Bar to Mixed-Motive Family Nexus: Tenth Circuit Vacates BIA’s “Means-to-an-End” Rule in O.C.V. v. Bondi

Date: Aug 31, 2025

No Bright-Line Bar to Mixed-Motive Family Nexus: Tenth Circuit Vacates BIA’s “Means-to-an-End” Rule in O.C.V. v. Bondi Introduction In O.C.V. v. Bondi, the Tenth Circuit issued a published decision...

Tenth Circuit Rejects Categorical Approach to Rule 413 and Reaffirms that Prior Prostitution Is Not Probative of Consent: United States v. Clay

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Tenth Circuit Rejects Categorical Approach to Rule 413 and Reaffirms that Prior Prostitution Is Not Probative of Consent Comprehensive Commentary on United States v. Clay (10th Cir. 2025)...

Prospective Dangerousness as a Constitutional Principle for Disarmament: Tenth Circuit Remands § 922(g)(3) Marijuana Case for Evidence in United States v. Harrison

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Prospective Dangerousness as a Constitutional Principle for Disarmament: Tenth Circuit Remands § 922(g)(3) Marijuana Case for Evidence in United States v. Harrison Introduction United States v....

Deliberate Interval and Distinct-Injury Test Reaffirmed: Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies Non‑Merger of Aggravated Assault and Malice Murder in Allen v. State

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Deliberate Interval and Distinct-Injury Test Reaffirmed: Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies Non‑Merger of Aggravated Assault and Malice Murder in Allen v. State Introduction In Allen v. State, the...

Foster v. State: Admissions as Direct Evidence Limit OCGA § 24-14-6; Minimal Corroboration of Confessions and Deference to Continuance Denials

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Foster v. State: Admissions as Direct Evidence Limit OCGA § 24-14-6; Minimal Corroboration of Confessions and Deference to Continuance Denials Introduction In Foster v. State (Supreme Court of...

Income Approach Restored for LIHTC Valuations: Georgia Supreme Court Overrules Freedom Heights and Clarifies OCGA § 48-5-2(3)(B)(vii)(II)

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Income Approach Restored for LIHTC Valuations: Georgia Supreme Court Overrules Freedom Heights and Clarifies OCGA § 48-5-2(3)(B)(vii)(II) Introduction In Gateway Pines Hahira, LP v. Lowndes County...

Hall v. State: Georgia Supreme Court Rejects “Generic Motive to Control” Under Rule 404(b) but Upholds Prior Domestic Violence to Prove Intent and Absence of Accident; Excited Utterances by Non-Eyewitness Child Clarified

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Hall v. State: Georgia Supreme Court Rejects “Generic Motive to Control” Under Rule 404(b) but Upholds Prior Domestic Violence to Prove Intent and Absence of Accident; Excited Utterances by...

Pursuit Eliminates Justification and Defendant Admissions Defeat Georgia’s Circumstantial Evidence Rule: A Commentary on Mack v. State (Ga. 2025)

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Pursuit Eliminates Justification and Defendant Admissions Defeat Georgia’s Circumstantial Evidence Rule: A Commentary on Mack v. State (Ga. 2025) Introduction In Mack v. State, the Supreme Court of...

No Voluntary Manslaughter Charge Without Serious Provocation: Georgia Supreme Court Reaffirms Plain-Error Limits and Strickland Prejudice in Marrow v. State

Date: Aug 31, 2025

No Voluntary Manslaughter Charge Without Serious Provocation: Georgia Supreme Court Reaffirms Plain-Error Limits and Strickland Prejudice in Marrow v. State Introduction In Marrow v. State (Supreme...

Payne v. State: Limiting Debelbot and Clarifying Photo‑Lineup Challenges—Media Exposure Arguments Go to Weight, and “50%” Reasonable‑Doubt Misstatements Are Deficient but Not Automatically Prejudicial

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Payne v. State: Limiting Debelbot and Clarifying Photo‑Lineup Challenges—Media Exposure Arguments Go to Weight, and “50%” Reasonable‑Doubt Misstatements Are Deficient but Not Automatically...

Limiting the “Bolstering” Harmless-Error Rule: Prior Inconsistent Statements Fall Outside the Exclusion in Georgia

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Limiting the “Bolstering” Harmless-Error Rule: Prior Inconsistent Statements Fall Outside the Exclusion in Georgia Introduction In Richardson v. State (Supreme Court of Georgia, Aug. 26, 2025), the...

Scott v. State (Ga. 2025): Independent Evidence Required to Show Prejudice on Ineffective-Assistance Claims Based on Unpursued Delusional-Compulsion Defenses; No Abuse in Denying Serial Continuances

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Scott v. State (Ga. 2025): Independent Evidence Required to Show Prejudice on Ineffective-Assistance Claims Based on Unpursued Delusional-Compulsion Defenses; No Abuse in Denying Serial Continuances...

Incremental Tort Reform Survives Equal Protection: Williams v. Regency Hospital Reaffirms Georgia’s Non‑Tolling Rule for Mentally Incompetent Medical‑Malpractice Plaintiffs

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Incremental Tort Reform Survives Equal Protection: Williams v. Regency Hospital Reaffirms Georgia’s Non‑Tolling Rule for Mentally Incompetent Medical‑Malpractice Plaintiffs Introduction In Williams...

Walton v. State: Preservation Pitfalls, Plain‑Error Limits, and the Narrow Path for Unpreserved 404(b) Gang Evidence

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Walton v. State: Preservation Pitfalls, Plain‑Error Limits, and the Narrow Path for Unpreserved 404(b) Gang Evidence Introduction In Walton v. State, the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Richard...

Record Silence and Personal Waiver Foreclose Ineffective-Assistance Claims About Advice Not to Testify: Woods v. State (Ga. 2025)

Date: Aug 31, 2025

Record Silence and Personal Waiver Foreclose Ineffective-Assistance Claims About Advice Not to Testify: Woods v. State (Ga. 2025) Introduction In Woods v. State, the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed...

Municipal Immunity Does Not Automatically Defeat Fraud Claims: Alabama Supreme Court Clarifies § 11-47-190 and Limits Mandamus Review to Preserved Immunity Grounds

Date: Aug 30, 2025

Municipal Immunity Does Not Automatically Defeat Fraud Claims: Alabama Supreme Court Clarifies § 11-47-190 and Limits Mandamus Review to Preserved Immunity Grounds Introduction In Ex parte City of...

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