Epstein lawyer Roy Black, ‘GOAT of criminal defense lawyers,’ dies at 80

The Supreme Court of Canada affirmed Thursday the constitutionality of sex work-related offenses. The court held that the impugned offenses do not infringe the right to security of sex workers under Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The appeal concerned Criminal Code sections 286.2 and 286.3, which prohibit the procurement of sexual services and the obtainment of benefits from the purchase of sexual services. The court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the provisions, ruling that they do not infringe the right to security of sex workers. The court reasoned that the offenses do not prevent sex workers from adopting safety measures, including using fixed indoor locations, hiring third-party security service providers or operating in cooperation with other sex workers. The bench considered the legislative background of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. The court found that the provisions aim to reduce the demand for sex work…

Wonder Which Law Schools Have The Strongest Political Skew?: Make your guesses then read this list! $200M Is A Little Too Late: Trump’s legal “wins” are getting overshadowed by huge media losses. Can’t Make This Up: Federal judge claws back opinion after discovering mistakes and misquotes. Looks like AI! Former Biglaw Partner Disbarred Over Illegal Sexting: The former Bryan Cave partner was caught attempting to sext a minor. Some Unexpected Success Indicators: Read up on these “FRETZINISMS” and thank us later. The post It Was The Left Of Times, It Was The Right Of Times — See Also appeared first on Above the Law.

The Trump administration came once again to the Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon and asked the justices to pause an order by a federal court in Massachusetts that would require the National Institutes of Health to pay grants that NIH had terminated because they conflicted with the Trump administration’s “policy positions on diversity, equity, and inclusion.” U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the justices that the case “presents a particularly clear case for this Court to intervene and stop errant district courts from continuing to disregard this Court’s rulings.” The government relies on an April 4, 2025, order in which the Supreme Court temporarily allowed the Department of Education to halt millions of dollars in teacher-training grants that included funding for DEI initiatives. In an unsigned three-page opinion in that case, a divided court concluded that the government is likely to show that U.S. District Judge Myong…

Jeremy Kidd (Drake University - Law School) & Todd J. Zywicki (George Mason Law) have posted Public Choice Theory and Law (Entry In Elgar Concise Encyclopedia Of Legal Theory And Philosophy (Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Public choice theory applies economic principles—especially rational self-interest, incentive structures, and methodological individualism—to the study of political and legal institutions. While traditionally used to explain legislative and regulatory behavior, this entry explores how public choice insights apply more broadly across the legal landscape. Concepts such as concentrated benefits and dispersed costs, rational ignorance, and rent-seeking help explain how legal actors—judges, litigants, bureaucrats, and interest groups—interact within institutional constraints. The entry examines how these dynamics shape the evolution of litigation, the behavior of administrative agencies, and even constitutional…

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Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday pleaded Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to veto recently approved legislation that would significantly weaken environmental licensing requirements across the country. The group stressed that the bill undermines Brazil’s human rights and environmental obligations by weakening oversight of high-risk activities like fossil fuel production and cattle ranching in the Amazon, likely accelerating climate change. The organization also cautioned that, under the bill, disasters like the Brumadinho Dam collapse could occur again without proper environmental assessments, echoing concerns raised by over 350 civil society organizations. Maria Laura Canineu, deputy environment and human rights director at HRW, noted that “allowing projects to go forward without environmental impact assessments is a recipe for disaster.” She underscored how the bill threatens the health and livelihoods of affected communities. The…

Federal judge withdraws opinion after lawyer points out fake quotes, misstated case outcomes

Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Niger authorities on Wednesday to immediately release former president Mohamed Bazoum who remains in detention since being ousted two years ago in a military coup. The organization argued that the continued detention represents a violation of fundamental human rights and democratic principles and emphasized the broader concerns about democratic governance and political rights in the region. Illaria Allegrozzi, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated: Niger’s military junta demonstrates its contempt for the rule of law every day it detains former President Bazoum and his wife. His politically motivated detention and prosecution discredit any junta claims to a more democratic Niger. HRW pointed out that the junta’s repression extends beyond Bazoum’s detention and recounted widespread crackdowns on political opposition, peaceful dissent and independent media. Bazoum is charged with high treason and plotting with the purpose…

Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor of Law FACULTY VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT The City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law seeks several qualified (unitary) tenure track candidates across a broad curricular spectrum, including four faculty positions to teach in at least one of the following required courses: Civil Procedure, 1L Lawyering, Critical Race Theory, and Public Institutions (Administrative Law), and (preferably) at least one of the following elective areas: Immigration, Health, Environmental, and Employment/Labor Law. The ideal candidate will commit to teach one of the listed required courses and in one of the elective areas. The Committee will consider lateral appointments at all levels for qualified candidates. Appointments are to begin no later than Fall 2026. CUNY School of Law is a national leader in progressive legal education, being top ranked for public interest law and for clinical programs. CUNY is also the most diverse law school in the nation, in…

Back in May, Butler Snow received a particularly irate order to show cause. The firm represented the Alabama Department of Corrections in case where an inmate was stabbed 20 times — not 20 times in one sitting, 20 different times — and the inmate objected to the timing of a proposed deposition noting that the Corrections filing “appears to have fabricated citations to legal authority in his motion for leave, ‘possibly through the use of generative artificial intelligence,'” as the order explained. Judge Anna Manasco just issued her decision on this one and it’s 51 pages of hot fire. When the dust settled, three attorneys — two partners and an of counsel — earned a public reprimand, got disqualified from the case, and referred to the state bar. The court also went out of its way to release without sanction the associates on the case and the firm itself. In a profession where accolades accumulate at the top and…

Large language models (LLMs) have become a major touchpoint at the state and local level in recent years. LLMs’ ability to create images, videos, music, writing, and other artistic works of varying social value has sparked a rush across the states to introduce legislation and regulations to limit the possible harms that might ensue. More recently, that rush has also extended to the federal level. In May, President Donald Trump signed S. 146, the TAKE IT DOWN Act (formally, the “Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act.”) Sponsored by Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the law focuses on harms arising from so-called “revenge porn,” in which either genuine photos or video or “digital forgeries” intended to look like real persons are shared online without the subject’s consent.  Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) has also introduced S. 1367, the NO FAKES Act…

Security Failure? Jveon Jones Shooting Mayfield Heights.  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 family of Jveon Jones. Jveon Jones Killed in Mayfield Heights, OH Apartment Complex Shooting. (WKYC.com) Mayfield Heights, OH – Gunfire rang out at an apartment complex Tuesday night, July 22, 2025, leaving one young man dead. As reported by WKYC.com, “officers were called around 9:45 p.m. to [apartments] at 6811 Mayfield Road, where they found a man dead in a fourth-floor hallway.” Cleveland19.com is reporting, “[t]he Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner identified the man as Jveon A. Jones of Euclid.” The investigation is ongoing. Legal Options Available to Family of Jveon Jones? OUR LEGAL TAKE FORMER CLIENT: I had lawyers…

The Information Systems Security Association (“ISSA”) – Los Angeles Chapter (“ISSA-LA”) recently confirmed that Solutions Law Press publisher and author Cynthia Marcotte Stamer will conduct “Cybersecurity Jedi Skills Training” at the 2025 Annual Security Summit 2025 ISSA-LA is hosting on September 17-18, 2025, at the Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica, California. Under constant threat from potentially draconian operational, financial and legal mayhem from cybercriminals’ ransomware and other cyberattacks, organizations, investors, breach victims, business partners, and federal and state regulators increasingly expect cybersecurity and other IT leaders to defend their organization’s proprietary knowledge, workforce, finance, and other mission critical data and systems cyberthreats from dark web with the skill of Jedi knights. While even the most skilled cyberwarriors can’t render their data and operating systems…

In 2023, Daniel Waxman was a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, leading their torts practice in the New York office. But his legal career came screeching to a halt in June 2023, when Waxman was arrested for attempting to meet up with a 14-year-old girl he was texting for a month, when in reality he was communicating with an undercover cop. In April 2024, Waxman pleaded guilty to attempted dissemination of indecent materials to minors, and was sentenced to five years probation. But that slap on the wrist has a much more devastating impact on his legal career. The guilty plea to a felony automatically triggered his disbarment, which was entered by the Appellate Division’s First Judicial Department of the New York Supreme Court, retroactive to Waxman’s conviction. The firm provided the following statement on their former partner to ABA Journal, “When we learned of the allegations, Daniel Waxman was immediately suspended from the firm, never worked…

Earlier this month, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas approved a consent judgment vacating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Medical Debt Rule. The decision holds that the CFPB exceeded its authority under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) when enacting the Rule. This development has significant implications for healthcare providers and other entities involved in the reporting and use of medical debt information. Background: The Medical Debt Rule and FCRA The FCRA, permits Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) to report medical debt information—provided it is coded to protect patient privacy—i.e., it does not disclose the patient’s health condition or procedure.  Continuing with its efforts to prioritize medical debt rulemaking, the CFPB’s Medical Debt Rule, finalized in January 2025, sought to prohibit CRAs from including any medical debt…

Courtney M. Cox (Fordham University School of Law) has posted Super-Dicta (173 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1575 (2025)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A weird thing happens when a conscientious, rational judge lacks certainty and has the humility to know it: she will often decide cases for reasons that differ from the reasons in her opinions. To illustrate, suppose she thinks it’s 50/50 whether Defendant’s copying infringed or was fair use. She could rationally flip a coin. But if she does, and she finds for Defendant, it will not be because of fair use. Rather, it will be because she thought it was 50/50 whether the copying was fair use—and the coin landed tails. Coin-flip cases are rare, but uncertainty is not. There are more sophisticated tools for responding rationally when the judge’s doubts about what she ought to do are not in complete equipoise. And so, the point remains: when a judge is uncertain about what she ought to do and is…

Let’s be honest — this is one of those stories where I’m going to tell you to not fall for the red herring. The title is true enough, BBC has coverage on Columbia’s recent agreement to pay $200M over accusations that it failed to protect Jewish students. However, it is not the real story. If this happened back in March, back when Paul Weiss caved to The Orange One, it would have been the real story. Alas, we are here — and the real story is actually in dialogue with this: Trump: We’re going to win so much, you may even get tired of winning and you’ll say please, please, it’s too much winning, we can’t take it anymore…and I’ll say NO IT ISN’T…we have to keep winning, we have to win MORE. pic.twitter.com/B6tVXAKL1q— TEAM USA (@TEAM_USA__) November 13, 2024We’ve hit point of the American public being tired of too much winning, but it’s not for the reason that he predicted.…

Apartment Shooting Nashville: Legal Claim for Victim? 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 victim of the Nashville Apartment shooting. Woman Injured in Shooting at Apartment Complex on 26th Avenue North in Nashville, TN. (Fox17.com) Nashville, TN NEWS – Gunfire rang out at an apartment complex early Wednesday morning, July 23, 2025, leaving one woman injured. As reported by Fox17.com, “[the shooting] happened at an apartment complex on 26th Avenue North, just off Rosa Parks Boulevard near Clarksville Pike. The call came into police dispatch around 4 a.m.” WSMV.com is reporting, “MNPD said officers found a woman shot when they arrived…That woman was transported to a Nashville area hospital.” The investigation is…