The Sixth Circuit recently heard argument in L.W. v. Skrmetti, involving Tennessee’s law prohibiting healthcare providers from performing gender-affirming surgeries and administering hormones or puberty blockers to transgender minors. The district court facially enjoined enforcement of the law as applied to hormones and puberty blockers and applied the preliminary injunction statewide. Tennessee appealed and sought … Continue Reading
Squire Patton Boggs Summer Associate Taylor Lonas summarizes a recent opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit holding that an insanity acquittee bears the burden of proof for showing, after violating the terms of his release, that his continued release would not “create a substantial risk” to the public. 18 … Continue Reading
Our colleagues at the Global Investigations & Compliance Review Blog have written about an important decision the Sixth Circuit issued last week. In its opinion, the Court limited the scope of Anti-Kickback claims under the False Claims Act. You can read more about the decision here. … Continue Reading
In a previous post, we discussed corpus linguistics, an emerging tool in statutory and constitutional interpretation. It appears that the corpus linguistics bug is spreading, both in this Circuit and to other circuits as well. Two recent cases serve as a reminder that the Sixth Circuit is both a thought leader in analyzing and utilizing … Continue Reading
Corpus linguistics has been in the news lately, which gives us a chance to discuss this interesting tool of statutory interpretation and, in the process, revisit some Sixth Circuit views about it. What is corpus linguistics? We will let Circuit Judge Amul Thapar explain: [Corpus linguistics] draws on the common knowledge of the lay person … Continue Reading
Almost a year ago, the Sixth Circuit reheard en banc Preterm-Cleveland v. Himes, which involves a constitutional challenge to an Ohio law that bans abortion where the reason for the abortion is that the fetus has or may have Down syndrome. After the en banc oral argument, the Supreme Court decided June Medical Services LLC … Continue Reading
Ohioans have four ways to cast a ballot in this (currently underway) Presidential election: (1) vote in person on election day, (2) vote in person at some point in the four weeks leading up to election day, (3) mail in an absentee ballot; or (4) drop off an absentee ballot at a drop box. Given … Continue Reading
The bar exam, so the saying goes, is like fording a river that is a mile wide but only an inch deep. Cliché though it may be, the analogy serves as a useful reminder that the exam tests candidates largely on settled, black-letter law rather than novel questions typical of law school exams. Most readers, … Continue Reading
This post arrives (along with many more) thanks to Zach Young, a Cincinnati native and rising 2L at Stanford Law School, where he studies as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. The Kentucky Derby is known as the fastest two minutes in sports. But—in federal court at least—the 2019 contest galloped on until last week. Last Friday (8 days … Continue Reading
In another of the many strands of the Flint water cases, a Sixth Circuit panel (Moore, White, JJ., Sutton, J. concurring) on August 5 reaffirmed its May 2020 decision in Waid vs. Snynder that plaintiffs plausibly alleged the City of Flint and City and State officials (including former Governor Rick Snyder) violated plaintiffs’ substantive due … Continue Reading
This post arrives (along with many more) thanks to Zach Young, a Cincinnati native and rising 2L at Stanford Law School, where he studies as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. He will be contributing to the Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog regularly this summer. The American humorist and writer Mark Twain once counseled: “Never let schooling interfere with your … Continue Reading
This post arrives (along with many more) thanks to Zach Young, a Cincinnati native and rising 2L at Stanford Law School, where he studies as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. He will be contributing to the Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog regularly this summer. An old clerk’s tale refers to the arrival of Florence Allen (1884-1996) to her … Continue Reading
Note — This post arrives (along with many more) thanks to Zach Young, a Cincinnati native and rising 2L at Stanford Law School, where he studies as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. He will be contributing to the Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog regularly this summer. The Sixth Circuit declined last Thursday to relax standing requirements for cases … Continue Reading
Note — This post arrives (along with many more) thanks to Zach Young, a Cincinnati native and rising 2L at Stanford Law School, where he studies as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. He will be contributing to the Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog regularly this summer. Election and pandemic—2020’s strange bedfellows—continue to keep judicial chambers busy. Another virus-adjacent … Continue Reading
Recently a Sixth Circuit panel unanimously agreed in a published opinion that the 2019 Supreme Court decision, PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic, Inc., does not impact the resolution of a circuit case reviving an unsolicited advertisement claim under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The Sixth Circuit Case Matthew N. Fulton, D.D.S., … Continue Reading
The effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue to play out in unexpected ways, as this blog has covered on several occasions. Now the Sixth Circuit has ruled on loan guarantees under the Paycheck Protection Program for sexually-oriented businesses. Can the Small Business Administration, consistent with long-standing agency policy, prohibit sexually-oriented small businesses from eligibility for … Continue Reading
Just two days after a federal district court’s preliminary injunction allowed use of e-signatures to satisfy some Ohio election requirements, the Ohio Attorney General has taken the unusual step of asking the en banc Sixth Circuit to overturn or stay the injunction. And the Sixth Circuit responded with equal if not greater alacrity, calling within … Continue Reading
The full Sixth Circuit has voted to rehear the Detroit right-to-education case. This vacates the panel decision holding that access to literacy was a fundamental constitutional guarantee. The court’s order comes only 6 days after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a settlement with the student plaintiffs and sought dismissal of the suit on mootness grounds. … Continue Reading
Last night the State of Michigan and students from Detroit public schools reached a settlement agreement in a case concerning whether those students had a constitutional right of “access to literacy.” News reports indicate the settlement includes a legislative request by Gov. Whitmer for $94.5 million in literacy funding for Detroit schools, $280,000 for seven … Continue Reading
It’s a question we know has been keeping you up at night, as you reach deep into your quarantine discography: who is (or are) the true author(s) of the Everly Brothers hit, Cathy’s Clown? Sadly, those looking for finality will have to wait. On Monday, a Sixth Circuit panel held that question must be resolved … Continue Reading
This morning—in connection with the Supreme Court’s inaugural teleconference arguments—the Court announced it would review the Sixth Circuit’s decision in CIC Services v. IRS. That case covers the applicability of the Anti-Injunction Act to a challenge to IRS guidance. Certiorari is not altogether surprising, given the sharply contrasting views (and vivid language) the case elicited … Continue Reading
Perhaps the most notable Sixth Circuit opinion of April—and almost certainly the most quotable—was Judge Kethledge’s opinion granting mandamus and reversing leave to amend in the opioid MDL. For a unanimous panel (Siler & Griffin, JJ.), the opinion followed the Circuit’s stay of Judge Polster’s discovery order back in February. That order would’ve required pharmacies … Continue Reading
Those seeking a return to normalcy will be heartened to hear that the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, canceled due to the pandemic, has been rescheduled. Those seeking a cautious reopening will be heartened to hear that the Conference will be held in June…June 2021. From Chief Judge Cole: The Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference has been … Continue Reading
A Sixth Circuit panel held last week, in Gary B. v. Whitmer, that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause guarantees a “right to access to literacy.” As a result, students in some of Detroit’s worst-performing public schools may pursue their claim for improved educational offerings—at least absent further appellate review. The district court dismissed the students’ due … Continue Reading
