Conklin on Wokeness in Judicial Opinions

Anyone who suffered a 9/11-related injury or illness as a result of the WTC attacks or exposure to the harmful toxic dust cloud that hung over Lower Manhattan after the attacks can claim compensation from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF). However, a 9/11 VCF claim is not the only way to receive financial assistance for 9/11-related losses. Legal action via a Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) lawsuit, for instance, has the potential to compensate many thousands of victims. How does JASTA lawsuit compensation impact a VCF claim? Let’s find out. Request A Free ConsultationWhat is a JASTA lawsuit?The Justice Against State Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) was passed into law in 2016, despite a veto from President Obama, based on fears that it could put U.S. service members, diplomats, and taxpayers at “significant risk” should similar laws be adopted by other countries. JASTA essentially weakened the concept of “sovereign…

Early Wednesday morning, a semi-truck crash in Fond du Lac County left the driver seriously injured after his load of paper bales shifted forward and collapsed the cab. According to authorities, the truck was attempting to exit from US Highway 151 to South Main Street when it failed to slow down in time and veered into a ditch. The force of the impact caused the bales of paper to break through the front of the trailer, trapping the 60-year-old driver inside. He was rescued and transported to a nearby hospital with serious injuries. The investigation is ongoing. This crash raises important questions about how the truck was loaded and whether it was properly secured for transport. Could Improper Loading Have Been a Factor in the Crash? The fact that the paper bales shifted forward with such force that they went through the front of the trailer and into the cab suggests that the load may not have been adequately restrained. Semi-trucks hauling heavy materials must use…

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) affirmed Wednesday obligations of states relating to climate change under treaties and customary law. The court emphasized that the severe and far-reaching climate change consequences are an “urgent and existential threat.” The court affirmed that environmental treaties, climate change treaties, and customary law inform one another and are the sources of state obligations at international law. In the instance of the Paris Agreement, state parties consent to limiting the global average temperature increase to well below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This commitment, alongside other provisions and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, is the basis of the states’ obligations relating to climate change. These include the obligation of result to prepare, communicate, and maintain nationally determined contributions with due diligence, and the obligation to implement…

Tracy Krall Tracy cmahanna Wed, 07/23/2025 - 15:26 Krall Family Law Attorney Tracy Krall is a former family law attorney with over 20 years of experience serving families across Arizona. Throughout her legal career, she focused on helping parents navigate the complexities of custody, communication and conflict resolution. Today, she brings that experience to her role as a Professional Liaison for OurFamilyWizard – a trusted platform courts across the country recommend for co-parenting communication. In this role, she works closely with legal and mental health professionals to promote tools like ToneMeter AI and shared parenting calendars that help reduce conflict and support better outcomes for families. LinkedIn

In a recent and significant decision, a Florida appellate court reversed a defendant’s conviction of manslaughter with a firearm because the trial court failed to instruct the jury on the forcible felony self-defense justification, despite substantial evidence supporting it. The court held that the failure to give this instruction was not only erroneous but also prejudicial, requiring reversal and remand for further proceedings. This case serves as a powerful reminder of how critical proper jury instructions are in criminal trials, especially when self-defense is at issue. Lawson v State – 4th DCA 7/23/2025 Facts of the Case The incident began when the defendant and his girlfriend encountered the girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend (the “victim”) in a parking lot. The defendant had prior knowledge of the victim’s violent tendencies, including explicit threats such as, “Who[m]ever I catch you with I’m gonna f**k you and him up. When…

Lincoln Apartments Shooting Walterboro: Legal Claim for Victims? We have over 25 years of experience representing victims of security failures across the United States, and we have recovered nearly $250 million dollars for our Clients.  Read Our Legal Take below to find out what legal options are available to the victims of the Lincoln Apartments shooting. Three Injured in Shooting at Lincoln Apartments in Walterboro, SC. (Live5News.com) Walterboro, SC NEWS – Gunfire rang out at an apartment complex late Monday afternoon, July 21, 2025, leaving three people injured. As reported by Live5News.com, “[t]he Colleton County Fire Rescue says it was one of the agencies that responded to Monday’s shooting, which happened just before 11:20 a.m. Crews and law enforcement were called to the scene of Lincoln Apartments, located on the 400 block of Witsell Street.” Counton2.com is reporting, “Law enforcement arrived to find three people suffering from…

Kirwin Hinds Shooting Atlanta. Justice for Family? Our firm has over 25 years of experience representing victims of security failures across Georgia, and we have secured nearly $250 million dollars for our Clients.  Read Our Legal Take below to find out what legal options are available to the family of Kirwin Hinds. Kirwin Hinds Killed in Atlanta, GA Apartment Complex Shooting. (Stock Photo: MurrayLegal.com) Atlanta, GA – Gunfire rang out at an apartment complex Sunday morning, July 20, 2025, leaving one man dead. As reported by WSBtv.com, “[o]fficers were called to…apartments on Peachwood Circle just off Interstate 85 at 7 a.m. to reports of a shooting.” AtlantaNewsFirst.com is reporting, “[officers] found Kirwin Hinds, 47, with gunshot wounds. He later died of his injuries.” The investigation is ongoing. Potential Legal Claims for Family of Kirwin Hinds? OUR LEGAL TAKE FORMER CLIENT: I had lawyers calling me, and…

Classic sweaty soda can in Key WestInternational brand protection is no longer a luxury for globally-minded businesses – it’s a necessity.  If you’re a trademark owner outside the United States, the Madrid Protocol offers a streamlined way to seek protection in multiple countries using a single application. In the U.S., such an international application is known as a Section 66(a) application under the U.S. Trademark Act, or Lanham Act. This guide explores what Section 66(a) is, when and how to use it, the benefits and limitations, and how to respond to Office Actions or convert a Madrid Protocol filing into a direct U.S. application if necessary. 1. What Is a Section 66(a) Trademark Application? Section 66(a) refers to the provision of the Lanham Act that allows foreign applicants to extend protection to the United States via the Madrid Protocol, an international treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). To file a…

Our healthcare law firm works with many providers who prescribe medications, including controlled substances. A question that comes up is what a provider’s reporting obligations to the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) are when they discover that controlled substances have been stolen from their office or that prescriptions for controlled substances have been fraudulently submitted to patients under their names. This blog covers two considerations that providers should account for when they are notified of theft or fraudulent prescriptions. Please note that this blog post covers reporting obligations to the DEA, not any reporting obligations to state agencies. If you need assistance reporting theft or fraudulent prescriptions to the appropriate sources or would like to discuss this blog post, you may contact our healthcare law firm at (404) 685-1662 (Atlanta) or (706) 722-7886 (Augusta), or by email, info@littlehealthlaw.com. You may also learn more…

Most of the time, when a lawyer unwittingly cites a bunch of fake cases spit out by artificial intelligence, it’s because they never bothered to figure out how the product worked or even superficially consider the ethical implications. They plead with the judge that they’re just a humble scribe of Ashurbanipal who couldn’t possibly grasp the powerful forces involved in asking a mansplaining-as-a-service bot to magic up some cases. As an excuse it doesn’t always work, but tales of ignorance have, thus far, stayed many a judge’s hand. But when the hallucinations come from a lawyer who once published the article “Artifical Intelligence in the Legal Profession: Ethical Considerations,” there’s not a ton of wiggle room. Goldberg Segalla’s Danielle Malaty, who authored the article about ethics, is now out after taking responsibility for a fake cite in a Chicago Housing Authority filing asking the judge to reconsider a…

Last evening, Catherine Montiel, partner at our personal injury law firm, presented an eye-opening seminar titled “What Your Insurance Company Isn’t Telling You” at the Elwood Public Library in East Northport. The response was overwhelming—registration had to be closed due to the high volume of attendees, making the event one of the library’s most successful seminars to date. Empowering the Community Through Education During the seminar, Catherine delivered practical, easy-to-understand advice on insurance policies and how they impact individuals after an accident. The presentation helped attendees learn: What types of coverage are essential (like underinsured motorist protection) What coverage people may be paying for but don’t actually need Why minimum insurance requirements often fall short after serious accidents How better policy choices can lead to long-term savings As a seasoned personal injury attorney, Catherine…

With mental health incidents rising and support systems stretched thin, school districts are pursuing a legal strategy rooted in public nuisance law.

Were you one of the attorneys barred in Wisconsin losing sleep because pennies on the dollar of your bar dues went to diversifying the profession? Fret no longer! After devoting hours upon hours to this most precious cause, the Wisconsin Institutite for Law and Liberty has come to an agreement with the Wisconsin Bar. ABA Journal has coverage: A final settlement has been reached in a December 2023 lawsuit challenging diversity efforts in State Bar of Wisconsin programs.…The bar previously agreed in April 2024 to redefine “diversity” as it applies to its Diversity Clerkship Program, which offers paid Wisconsin summer internships at private law firms, corporate legal departments and governmental agencies. The new definition says diversity “means including people with differing characteristics, beliefs, experiences, interests and viewpoints.” For what its worth, this definition of diversity would probably still manage to piss off whatever pool…

By Guest Blogger Tyler Ochoa Last week, a federal judge in New York dismissed a lawsuit filed two-and-a-half years ago by then-former President Donald Trump against journalist Bob Woodward and his publisher, Simon & Schuster, over publication of The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward’s Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trump.  Trump v. Simon & Schuster, Inc., Case No. 1:23-cv-06883, 2025 WL 2017888 (S.D.N.Y. July 18, 2025). The lawsuit involves sound recordings of 19 interviews that President Trump voluntarily gave to Woodward between December 2019 and August 2020, plus one interview from 2016 (when Trump was still a candidate). More than eight hours of excerpts from those recorded interviews were published by Simon & Schuster in October 2022 as an audiobook, and transcripts were published in paperback and ebook formats. The Second Amended Complaint sought a declaratory judgment that Trump was a joint author and copyright owner of the recordings, or in the…

Richard M. Re, Harvard Law School, has posted To a Conservative Warren Court, a draft of his Foreword to the HLR issue on the Supreme Court:Ideological conflict has masked an underlying continuity in the American legal system. In recent years, the Supreme Court -- while obviously subject to fierce criticism -- has been doing its part to preserve the rule of law, as distinct from partisan politics. That was true in the Warren Court era and remains true today. --Dan Ernst 

The following is a guest post by Alexander Salopek, a collection development specialist in the Collection Services Division of the Law Library of Congress. He previously wrote posts on Fred Korematsu’s Drive for Justice, Fred Korematsu Winning Justice, Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, Ibrahim Muteferrika, First Muslim Printer of the Ottoman Empire, and The Coroner’s Court, Westminster, London: Pic of the Week, among others. This Memorial Day weekend, I attended the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD) conference in Calgary, Canada. Given my background as primarily a U.S. law librarian with most of my formal collection work being done at the U.S. Supreme Court, it was a boon to be able to learn about law librarianship in a different country. I was both lucky and a little unlucky – since the Canadian legal system is in English, although there is a French version of everything too. It is a common law country…

UN humanitarian officials reported Tuesday that United Nations staff in the Gaza Strip have been collapsing from hunger and extreme exhaustion, underscoring the deepening humanitarian crisis. The increasing physical toll on aid workers has intensified global concerns over the survival of the civilian population in the war-torn enclave, where access to food, water, and medical supplies remains critically limited. Juliette Touma, Director of Communications for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), stated that medical personnel, journalists, and humanitarian workers, including UN staff, were fainting while performing their duties, emphasizing that “seeking food has become as deadly as the bombardments.” The severity of the situation in the Gaza Strip is further evidenced by new data published in a statement from the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), which documented over 1,000 Palestinian…

Taylor Garrett, Byron Garrett Shooting Kansas City: Legal Claims for Families? We have over 25 years of experience representing victims of security failures across the United States, and we have recovered nearly $250 million dollars for our Clients.  Read Our Legal Take below to find out what legal options are available to the families of Taylor Garrett and Byron Garrett. Jordan Spencer Killed in Memphis, TN Convenience Store Shooting. (Stock Photo: MurrayLegal.com) Kansas City, MO – Gunfire rang out at a convenience store Sunday afternoon, July 20, 2025, leaving two men dead. As reported by Fox4KC.com, “[o]fficers were called to a convenience store at the intersection of Truman Ave. and Brooklyn St. around 1:15 p.m., according to reports. Inside the store, they found two unresponsive adult men suffering from gunshot wounds.” According to the report, “[t]hose officers then began to render aid to the victims until EMS could respond. However,…