Publications
Greetings, Court Fans! It was a rather slow Monday, with perhaps the most interesting (i.e., controversial) ruling coming in the denial of a motion for stay in Crawford v. Roe (05-A333), involving the right of a pregnant prisoner in Missouri to obtain an abortion. The prisoner, Roe, was initially housed in California and requested […]
Greetings, Court Fans! The Court returned from its recess today for the term’s last argument session, which will end next Wednesday with one of the most eagerly anticipated cases of the term, the Arthur Andersen criminal appeal. Look for that to be the last opinion issued in the term before July 1. The […]
Greetings, Court Fans! The Court came back Thursday with three more opinions in its effort to clear out the docket by the end of the month. We’re still waiting on the biggest remaining decisions – the race and school assignment cases in Seattle and Louisville – but hopefully these will tide you over until […]
Good morning everyone, In response to feedback on my first Supreme Court update, a few introductory comments: First, this will be the last Supreme Court update sent to all lawyers in the firm. Going forward, only litigators and those who request them, will receive the updates. If you would like to receive them, please let […]
Hi everyone! No grants today, but two bits of news. First, the Court denied cert in Borgner v. Florida Bd. of Dentistry (02-165), but Justice Thomas, joined by Justice Ginsburg, dissented from the denial of cert, bemoaning the Court’s failure to take the opportunity to clarify the application of the First Amendment to commercial speech. […]
Greetings, Court fans! Following up on yesterday’s Update, there are three decisions to report. The cases all involve criminal law issues, so if you don’t practice criminal law (or occasionally wish you did), you might want to skip this one, though the Court’s opinion on prudential standing in Kowalski is certainly all litigators. All in […]
Greetings, Court Fans! The Court has returned from its winter recess with a brief flurry of activity in the last few days: one opinion in an argued case, two unsigned rulings in other cases, and a slew of cert grants in an effort to fill out the Term. Today, the Court issued a […]
Greetings Court fans! Adding some excitement to this Term, the Court granted cert in two cases brought by prisoners currently being held at the Navy Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Rasul v. Bush (03-334); Al Odah v. United States (03-343). The prisoners want to challenge the legality of their continued confinement, but the first […]
Greetings Court fans! We’re in the last few weeks of the Term, and so, predictably, the Court issued a handful of decisions today. Five to be exact. Before I turn to those decisions, let me address a few orders. First, late last week, the Court noted probable jurisdiction (read: granted) in the campaign finance law […]
Greetings Court fans! On Wednesday, the last day of argument for October Term 2003, the Court handed down two opinions, a Clean Air Act case and a voting rights case. I’ll begin with the environmental case. In Engine Manufacturers Assn v. South Coast Air Quality Management District (02-1343), the Court reversed the Ninth […]
Greetings, Court Fans! We’re back from a brief hiatus, with five decisions and a few other items to report. Without further ado, here are the summaries: In Garcetti v. Ceballos (04-473), a major decision that came down last week, the Court held 5-4 that when public employees make statements in the context of […]
Greetings Court fans! Ok, three decisions to go, so let’s get to it. First, in a big “non-decision,” the Court dismissed Nike, Inc. v. Kasky (02-575) as improvidently granted. In shorthand, the case was “digged.” This is the “oops” resolution — there is some jurisdictional problem with the case that should have been […]
Greetings, Court fans! The Court issued its first opinions of the session today. Perhaps in the spirit of unity professed by the President and Senator Kerry, both opinions were unanimous and uncontroversial. (Alas, for all of you who bet that Booker and Fanfan would be decided first, we’re sorry to say that you’ll have […]
Greetings, Court fans! The Court returned from its two-week recess today, and the big news is the health of Chief Justice Rehnquist, who just underwent treatment for thyroid cancer. The Chief did not return to work as expected, and his chambers issued the following statement: “I underwent a tracheotomy nine days ago and, […]
Greetings Court fans! Of course, the big news out of the Court today is that they agreed to hear the Pledge of Allegiance case out of the Ninth Circuit (surprise!). They also agreed to hear 7 other cases, so here’s the run down: 1. Littleton Co. v. Z.J. Gifts D-4 LLC (02-1609): A First […]
Greetings, Court Fans! The deluge begins . . . the Court hit us with six opinions yesterday. The decisions were largely uncontroversial (unlike the Jackson verdict!), with two civil cases and four criminal cases, including two Batson cases regarding the use of peremptory challenges during jury selection. We’ll do the other four today, and […]
Greetings Court fans! Didn’t the summer just fly by? It seems like just yesterday that we were all watching the Court hand down its final opinions from OT 2002 and wondering which Justices, if any, would retire. Well, they’re all back for another Term, and so am I. Welcome to another Term of Supreme […]
Greetings, Court fans! We owe you a few more summaries before the Court comes back Monday with yet more decisions, so let’s get right to it. In Schriro v. Landrigan (05-1575), a 5-4 Court reversed a Ninth Circuit habeas ruling (surprise!). Landrigan, while serving time for multiple violent crimes, escaped and killed another man. At […]
Greetings, Court fans! The first Supreme Court battle over the 2004 election has officially come and gone in Spencer v. Pugh, 04A360, and Summit County Democratic Central & Executive Committee, 04A364, and for all practical purposes it has gone the Republicans’ way. As the Ohioans in the audience are surely tired of hearing, Ohio is […]
Greetings Court fans! Finally, I’m back! Thanks for your patience. We have a lot of ground to cover — 6 decisions and 2 order lists — so I’ll split it up into a couple emails to reduce your reading load. The opinions covered in this email all deal, in one way or another, with sex […]
Since 2012, Connecticut has permitted patients with certain medical conditions to use and possess medical marijuana to treat those conditions. The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut held this month that federal law does not preempt the provisions of Connecticut's Palliative Use of Marijuana Act (PUMA) prohibiting employers from firing or refusing to […]
On August 24, 2017 President Trump issued Executive Order 13808 imposing additional sanctions against the Government of Venezuela for human rights abuses, a deepening humanitarian crisis, an attempt to usurp the democratically elected National Assembly, and ongoing repression of political opposition. This comes on the heels of several recent additions by the Department of Treasury, […]
On August 29th, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced that it is initiating a review and immediate stay of the pay data collection portion of the most recently revised EEO-1 form. What does this mean for employers and federal contractors who are obligated to submit an EEO-1? Employers will report on race, ethnicity […]
On September 7, 2017, Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos announced a marked policy shift in how the Department of Education will approach Title IX enforcement with regard to sexual misconduct. DeVos indicated that the Department plans to withdraw the controversial Dear Colleague Letters issued during the Obama administration. Instead, the Department will issue formal regulations […]
In February 2017, the Fraud Section of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) released new guidance, entitled Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs, on how it evaluates corporate compliance programs in the context of a criminal investigation. For many years, the DOJ, as well as other federal and state agencies, have emphasized the importance of […]
Each year, Wiggin and Dana LLP and LeadingAge Connecticut collaborate to produce a comprehensive summary of new Connecticut laws affecting providers of services for the elderly. This year's Summary reports on legislation affecting nursing homes, residential care homes, home health care agencies and senior housing. Topics include: state-wide implementation of the use of medical orders […]
On September 21, 2017, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13810 (E.O. 13810 or the Order). The Order follows the recent Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which directed the imposition of additional sanctions in connection with Iran, Russia and North Korea. The Order is particularly significant because it authorizes imposition of secondary sanctions […]
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a new fee schedule for the upcoming year. This new fee schedule will take effect on January 16, 2018. Any fees paid on or after this date will be subject to the new rates regardless of when the fee was incurred. The new fee schedule, which […]
Wiggin and Dana’s Intellectual Property Practice Group is proud to bring you some exciting updates and information on what’s been happening. To view the slideshow, please click the image below.
At this time, we do not know the duration of the United States Government shutdown due to the current budget impasse. In fact, the Government may be up and running by the time you receive this Advisory. In the event the shutdown continues, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has advised that it has […]