Opinions from 2025

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves three separate lawsuits filed by individuals, organizations, and states to prevent the enforcement of President Trump's Executive Order No. 14160. This order specifies conditions under which a person born ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and its universal-service contribution scheme, which requires telecommunications carriers to contribute to a fund that subsidizes communications services for underserved ...

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2023, Texas enacted H.B. 1181, which requires commercial websites publishing sexually explicit content to verify that visitors are 18 or older. The law aims to prevent minors from accessing such content, with violations ...

Justia Opinion Summary: During the 2022-2023 school year, the Montgomery County Board of Education introduced LGBTQ+-inclusive storybooks into the public school curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grade. Initially, the Board allowed parents ...

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1984, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) created the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to make evidence-based recommendations on preventive healthcare services. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 required ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Pierre Riley, a Jamaican citizen, was ordered removed from the United States by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under expedited procedures for aliens convicted of aggravated felonies. Riley sought relief under the ...

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2018, South Carolina excluded Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program, citing state law prohibiting public funds for abortion. Planned Parenthood and patient Julie Edwards sued, claiming the exclusion violated the ...

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Tony Hewitt, Corey Duffey, and Jarvis Ross were convicted of multiple counts of bank robbery and conspiracy, along with corresponding §924(c) offenses for using a firearm during a crime of violence. Each received ...

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998, Ruben Gutierrez was charged with capital murder in Texas for his involvement in the killing of Escolastica Harrison. The prosecution argued that Gutierrez used one of two screwdrivers to stab Harrison. The jury convicted ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Karyn Stanley, a firefighter for the City of Sanford, Florida, since 1999, was forced to retire in 2018 due to a disability. When she was hired, the City provided health insurance until age 65 for retirees with 25 years of ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves two separate lawsuits filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York under the Antiterrorism Act of 1990 (ATA). The plaintiffs, American citizens injured or killed in terror ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved California regulations under the Clean Air Act that require automakers to produce more electric vehicles and fewer gasoline-powered vehicles to reduce emissions. Several ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Edgardo Esteras pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin and was sentenced to 12 months in prison followed by a 6-year term of supervised release. After completing his prison term, Esteras was arrested for allegedly ...

Justia Opinion Summary: McKesson Corporation sent unsolicited fax advertisements to medical practices, including McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates, in 2009 and 2010. McLaughlin sued McKesson in 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA) mandates that manufacturers must obtain approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before marketing any new tobacco product. In 2016, the FDA classified ...

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, inmate Kyle Richards alleged that Thomas Perttu, a prison employee, sexually harassed him and other inmates. Richards also claimed that Perttu destroyed his grievance documents and retaliated against him for ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Interim Storage Partners (ISP) applied for a license to build a facility in West Texas to store spent nuclear fuel. During the licensing process, a Texas government agency and Fasken Land and Minerals, a private business, ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its denial of small refinery exemption petitions under the Clean Air Act's (CAA) renewable fuel program. The CAA requires most domestic refineries to blend renewable ...

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2023, Tennessee enacted Senate Bill 1 (SB1), which prohibits healthcare providers from prescribing, administering, or dispensing puberty blockers or hormones to minors for the purpose of enabling them to identify with ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) disapproval of state emissions-control plans submitted by Oklahoma and Utah. The EPA disapproved these plans, asserting that they did not comply with the Clean ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Danny Rivers was convicted in Texas state court of continuous sexual abuse of a child and related charges. After failing to obtain relief through direct appeal and state habeas proceedings, Rivers filed his first federal ...

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, Jennifer Zuch and her then-husband Patrick Gennardo filed late 2010 federal tax returns. Gennardo's return showed a significant balance due, which he addressed by submitting an offer in compromise, involving $50,000 ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Simon Soto, a Marine Corps veteran, served from 2000 to 2006 and was medically retired due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In 2016, Soto applied for combat-related special compensation (CRSC) and was approved, but ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Donte Parrish, a federal inmate, was placed in restrictive segregated confinement for 23 months due to his suspected involvement in another inmate's death. After being cleared of wrongdoing by a hearing officer, Parrish filed ...

Justia Opinion Summary: A.J.T., a teenage girl with a rare form of epilepsy, moved to Minnesota in 2015. Her new school district, Osseo Area Public Schools, denied her parents' requests to include evening instruction in her Individualized Educational ...

Justia Opinion Summary: In October 2017, the FBI mistakenly raided the home of Hilliard Toi Cliatt, Curtrina Martin, and her 7-year-old son in suburban Atlanta, instead of the intended gang hideout. The error occurred due to Special Agent Guerra's ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The Government of Mexico filed a lawsuit against seven American gun manufacturers, alleging that the companies aided and abetted unlawful gun sales that routed firearms to Mexican drug cartels. Mexico claimed that the manufacturers ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc., and its subentities sought an exemption from Wisconsin's unemployment compensation taxes, claiming they were controlled by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Superior and operated primarily for ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Devas Multimedia Private Ltd. entered into a satellite-leasing agreement with Antrix Corporation Ltd., a company owned by the Republic of India. The agreement was terminated by Antrix under a force majeure clause when the ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Marlean Ames, a heterosexual woman, worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services since 2004. In 2019, she applied for a management position but was passed over in favor of a lesbian woman. Subsequently, Ames was demoted ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, victims and families of victims of terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas between 2001 and 2003, sued BLOM Bank SAL under the Anti-Terrorism Act, alleging that the bank aided and abetted the attacks by providing ...

Justia Opinion Summary: A group of seven Utah counties, known as the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, applied to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board for approval to construct an 88-mile railroad line in Utah's Uinta Basin. This project aimed ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Stamatios Kousisis and Alpha Painting and Construction Co. were awarded two contracts by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) for painting projects in Philadelphia. Federal regulations required subcontracting ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The President invoked the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to remove Venezuelan nationals identified as members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA), a designated foreign terrorist organization. Two detainees, along with a putative class of ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Roberto Felix, Jr., a law enforcement officer, stopped Ashtian Barnes for suspected toll violations. During the stop, Barnes began to drive away, prompting Felix to jump onto the car's doorsill and fire two shots, fatally ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Nick Feliciano, an air traffic controller with the Federal Aviation Administration and a Coast Guard reserve petty officer, was called to active duty in July 2012 under 10 U.S.C. §12301(d). He served until February 2017, ...

Justia Opinion Summary: A group of over 200 hospitals claimed that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) miscalculated their Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) adjustments, which provide additional funding to hospitals treating a ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Monsalvo Velázquez, a Mexican national, entered the U.S. unlawfully and has lived in Colorado for about 20 years. The federal government initiated removal proceedings against him in 2011. He requested either suspension of ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners, representing a class of current and former Cornell University employees, participated in two defined-contribution retirement plans from 2010 to 2016. They sued Cornell and other plan fiduciaries in 2017, alleging ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves the detention and removal of Venezuelan nationals believed to be members of Tren de Aragua (TdA), a group designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department. The President issued a proclamation ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on March 10, 2025, preventing the Government from terminating various education-related grants. The order also ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Douglas Horn, a commercial truck driver, purchased and consumed a CBD tincture called "Dixie X," marketed as THC-free by Medical Marijuana, Inc. After a random drug test by his employer detected THC in his system, Horn was ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denying authorization for respondents to market certain flavored e-cigarette products. The FDA's decision was based on the lack of sufficient scientific evidence demonstrating ...

Justia Opinion Summary: A Utah-based transportation business, All Resort Group, became insolvent in 2013 due to poor management and financial malfeasance. Two shareholders misappropriated $145,000 in company funds to pay their personal federal tax ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves the interpretation of the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) in relation to weapon parts kits and unfinished frames or receivers. The GCA mandates that those involved in the import, manufacture, or sale of firearms ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Salvatore Delligatti, an associate of the Genovese crime family, was convicted of using or carrying a firearm during a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. §924(c). He had recruited gang members to kill a suspected police informant ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Patrick Thompson took out three loans totaling $219,000 from a bank. After the bank failed, the FDIC took over the collection of the loans. Thompson disputed the $269,120.58 balance shown on his invoice, claiming he had only ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners, veterans Joshua Bufkin and Norman Thornton, applied for service-connected PTSD disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Bufkin's claim was denied due to insufficient evidence linking ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The City and County of San Francisco operates two combined wastewater treatment facilities that process both wastewater and stormwater. During heavy precipitation, these facilities may discharge untreated water into the Pacific ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Dewberry Engineers sued Dewberry Group for trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, alleging that Dewberry Group's use of the "Dewberry" name violated their trademark rights. Dewberry Group, a real-estate development ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Gary Waetzig, a former employee of Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., filed a federal age-discrimination lawsuit against the company. He later submitted his claims for arbitration and voluntarily dismissed his federal lawsuit ...

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, Justin Sneed murdered Barry Van Treese at an Oklahoma hotel managed by Richard Glossip. Sneed claimed Glossip orchestrated the murder to steal Van Treese's money. Glossip denied involvement but was convicted and ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Virginia drivers whose licenses were suspended for failing to pay court fines challenged the constitutionality of the statute under 42 U.S.C. §1983. The District Court granted a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Jewish survivors of the Hungarian Holocaust and their heirs sued Hungary and its national railway (MÁV) in federal court, seeking damages for property allegedly seized during World War II. They claimed that Hungary and MÁV ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The E-Rate program, established under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, subsidizes internet and telecommunications services for schools and libraries. The program is funded by contributions from telecommunications carriers, ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Several unemployed workers in Alabama applied for unemployment benefits and claimed that the Alabama Department of Labor unlawfully delayed processing their claims. They sued the Alabama Secretary of Labor in state court ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Brenda Andrew was convicted by an Oklahoma jury of murdering her husband, Rob Andrew, and was sentenced to death. During her trial, the prosecution introduced extensive evidence about her sex life and personal failings, which ...

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which will make it unlawful for companies in the U.S. to provide services to distribute, maintain, or update TikTok unless its ...

Justia Opinion Summary: Anastasia Wullschleger sued Royal Canin U.S.A., Inc. in state court, alleging deceptive marketing practices. Her original complaint included both federal and state law claims. Royal Canin removed the case to federal court ...

Justia Opinion Summary: EMD Sales, Inc. distributes food products in the Washington, D.C. area and employs sales representatives who manage inventory and take orders at grocery stores. Several sales representatives sued EMD, alleging that the company ...