Keep your finger on the legal world's pulse

The Trump administration has appealed a federal judge's decision to strike down an executive order targeting Perkins Coie over its past legal work for Hillary Clinton and others. The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging the May 2 ruling by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell. Three other federal judges in Washington have rejected executive orders against law firms WilmerHale, Jenner & Block and Susman Godfrey. The DOJ has not yet filed appeal notices in those cases. Perkins Coie said it was looking forward to presenting its case to the appeals court, and noted that judges in Washington "permanently blocked all four unlawful executive orders targeting law firms because those orders violate core constitutional freedoms."

 

Bloomberg Law

U.S. News

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of parents in a case against Maryland's Montgomery County Public Schools regarding the opt-out policy for certain storybook readings. The court's 6-3 decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor found that the school board violated parents' First Amendment rights by not allowing them to opt their children out of lessons that conflict with their religious beliefs. Justice Samuel Alito stated that the school board's actions “substantially interfere with the religious development of petitioners' children.” The ruling comes after a lawsuit from a group of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish parents who argued that mandatory participation in LGBTQ+-themed lessons constituted coercion. Dissenting Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned that the ruling could lead to chaos in public education, imposing burdens on schools to provide advance notice for every lesson that might conflict with parental beliefs.

 

The Baltimore Sun

NPR / National Public Radio

PBS

Politico

President Donald Trump and Paramount Global are said to be in "good faith, advanced, settlement negotiations" to resolve a lawsuit filed by Trump against CBS in October, alleging the network deceptively edited a "60 Minutes" interview with then-vice president Kamala Harris. Lawyers yesterday asked a judge in Texas to delay all proceedings until Thursday. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Trump has sought $20bn but a mediator proposed a $20m settlement. The network had previously said the lawsuit is "completely without merit" and asked a judge to dismiss the case.

 

CNN

Fox News

New York Times

Reuters

President Donald Trump yesterday dropped his federal lawsuit against Iowa pollster Ann Selzer and The Des Moines Register before refiling it hours later in state court. The president accuses Selzer of fraud after she conducted a poll immediately before the 2024 election that showed Kamala Harris leading in Iowa. He ended up winning the state. Trump had initially filed the lawsuit in Iowa District Court in Polk County in December. The case was later moved to federal court. Earlier this month, a federal judge denied Trump's request to move the case back to state court.

 

NBC News

The Gazette Cedar Rapids Iowa

Apple has lost its attempt to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and state attorneys general, marking a significant victory for the Biden administration's aggressive enforcement stance, which has been carried on by enforcers under President Trump. The lawsuit accused the company of blocking competitors from accessing essential features on its devices. U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals said that “allegations of this nature . . . are sufficient” to proceed. The case, filed in March 2024, could lead to years of litigation, with the DOJ asserting that Apple has deliberately created barriers to stifle competition. While Apple’s lawyers argued that the case lacks evidence of consumer harm, the judge ruled that the claims can move forward, indicating a complex legal battle ahead.

 

Los Angeles Times

Reuters

General Motors has successfully persuaded a federal appeals court to decertify a class action lawsuit concerning approximately 800,000 vehicles sold with faulty transmissions, citing significant differences among vehicle owners. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the case, which involved various models from 2015 to 2019, could not be overseen by a single judge due to the complexity of the claims involved.

 

Reuters

A Honda employee has filed a lawsuit against the automaker, alleging that he is not compensated for essential tasks performed before and after his shift at the Marysville production facility. Joab Scott claims he spends approximately 30 minutes preparing for his 6 a.m. shift and an additional 20 minutes after work, which he argues should be paid as overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The suit was filed on June 19 in U.S. District Court's Southern District of Ohio. Courtlyn Roser-Jones, an associate professor of law at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law, says the law is clear that the workday, and compensation, begins when employees put on required equipment and gear. "There is a pretty wide collection of case law about what is called donning and doffing - gear you have to wear that's required, then it's considered part of your continuous workday," said Roser-Jones, who specializes in labor law. "There's never a perfect case, but this sounds like it meets that requirement." The suit seeks class-action status.

 

The Columbus Dispatch

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has reported a “sophisticated and targeted” cyber attack, prompting immediate measures to limit damage. The ICC said: "A Court-wide impact analysis is being carried out and steps are already being taken to mitigate any effects of the incident." This attack follows a previous incident in 2023 and occurred during a week when The Hague hosted a NATO summit, raising concerns about security. The ICC currently has ongoing high-profile investigations, including those related to Russian war crimes in Ukraine, and has previously faced espionage attempts. The court has not confirmed whether any confidential information was compromised, and it continues to deal with the repercussions of the attack. WiFi services are still not fully restored.

 

ABC News

The Independent

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has introduced the "No Adversarial AI Act," which aims to prohibit the use of artificial intelligence models developed in China, including those from DeepSeek, within U.S. government agencies. The legislation follows concerns that DeepSeek is supporting China's military and intelligence efforts. It would establish a framework to regularly update a list of banned AI technologies from adversarial nations including Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Representative John Moolenaar said: "The U.S. must draw a hard line: hostile AI systems have no business operating inside our government."

 

Reuters

London's Competition Appeal Tribunal has ruled that Visa and Mastercard's multilateral interchange fees violate European competition law. Both companies plan to appeal the decision. Visa asserts that interchange fees are essential for a secure digital payments ecosystem. David Scott, global managing partner of law firm Scott+Scott, said: "This ruling is a significant win for all merchants who have been paying excessive interchange fees."

 

Reuters

Agustín Carstens, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, has warned that the global economy is at a "pivotal moment" as it enters a "new era of heightened uncertainty and unpredictability." This, he said, is testing public trust in institutions such as central banks. Mr Carstens, the former governor of Mexico's central bank, said increasing protectionism and trade fragmentation is "particular concerning" as they were exacerbating a decline in economic and productivity growth. He also voiced concern over evidence that the world economy is becoming less resilient to shocks. Pointing to rising debt levels, Mr Carstens said: "This trend cannot continue."

 

Reuters