[Eugene Volokh] Nothing New Under the Sun, Here as to Rules That Focus on a Defendant's Being Motivated by Ill Will

Navigating the world of grandparent visitation rights in Texas can be an emotional and complex journey. Grandparents often find themselves caught in the middle of family dynamics and legal hurdles while simply wanting to spend quality time with their grandchildren. The desire to maintain a loving bond with grandchildren can be met with various challenges, especially when disagreements arise with the children’s parents. Understanding the ins and outs of this process is key to ensuring that grandparents can preserve their important role within the family. For many, the legal aspect can seem daunting without proper guidance. The state of Texas has specific laws pertaining to grandparent visitation rights, and knowing these laws is crucial for those who wish to pursue time with their grandchildren through the court system. It’s important to explore how the law supports grandparent rights and the potential roadblocks that may arise. Professional advice can provide…

Illustration with Canva AIWhile many of us prepared to celebrate Independence Day last week, a group of employees from the Environmental Protection Agency were bravely speaking out about what they see as their boss “recklessly undermining the EPA mission” of protecting human health and the environment. In a now-infamous letter sent to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, hundreds of current and former employees outlined five main concerns about the agency’s direction (undermining public trust, ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters, etc.) and expressed interest in working with him, along with members of Congress, to “restore EPA’s credibility as a premier scientific institution.” Instead, about 140 of these federal employees were placed on administrative leave just before the Fourth of July holiday, for a 10-day period — the maximum amount of leave for such an investigation — and are waiting anxiously to hear what the…

Seyfarth Synopsis: The freshly enacted “One Big Beautiful Bill” introduces two above-the-line tax deductions for tips and overtime wages. While these deductions offer potential savings for eligible workers, they come with new compliance obligations and nuanced legal considerations that employers will need to navigate carefully. With Sharpie in hand and military jets overhead, President Trump marked Independence Day by signing H.R. 1, best known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” or “OBBB”—into law. Among the bill’s myriad provisions are two long-promised pledges: no tax on tips, and no tax on overtime. Starting with the 2025 tax year, OBBB will allow workers below certain income thresholds to deduct up to $12,500 in “qualified overtime compensation” ($25,000 for on a joint return), and $25,000 in “qualified tips.” To emphasize the benefit for impacted workers, the White House has launched a calculator…

Duarte-Hernandez v. Rodriguez Divorce Case: Insights from a Dallas Divorce Attorney Divorce proceedings can be complex, especially when they involve disputes over community property, spousal support, and allegations of fraud. The case of Duarte-Hernandez v. Rodriguez, decided by the Court of Appeals of Texas in Austin, provides a compelling example of how Texas courts handle such issues. As a seasoned Dallas divorce attorney, I’ll break down the key elements of this case, offering insights into how it reflects common challenges in Texas divorce law and what it means for individuals navigating similar situations in Dallas. This article is designed to help you understand the legal principles involved and how an experienced attorney can guide you through a divorce. For personalized assistance, visit our divorce services page at https://www.dallasdivorcelawyer.com/practice-areas/. Case Overview: Duarte-Hernandez v. Rodriguez The Duarte-Hernandez v. Rodriguez case centered on…

[The symposium is seeking submissions.] Illustration: Lex Villena; Lev Kropotov Next year is the 100th anniversary of Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty, the Supreme Court decision upholding exclusionary zoning. I think Euclid is one of the worst supreme Court decisions ever, and exclusionary zoning - and the resulting massive housing shortage of which it is the biggest cause - is the biggest property rights issue of our time. In a recent article, In a recent Texas Law Review article, Josh Braver and i argue that exclusionary zoning  violates the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, and outline ways in which a combination of litigation and political action can be used to combat them.  See also our much shorter non-academic article  in the Atlantic. Even many who don't agree with that position can recognize now is a good time to reconsider Euclid and its legacy. Thus, I am happy to announce that the Pacific Legal Foundation - a major public interest law…

In this episode of the State Bar of Texas Podcast, host Rocky Dhir welcomes Alicia Freeman of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program (TLAP) to learn about tools to manage emotional distress—for lawyers and clients. Lawyers often face relentless exposure to stress and trauma, whether navigating emotionally charged areas of the law, handling high-stakes matters, or confronting a host of other pressures inherent to the profession. They discuss how to appropriately engage with clients’ emotional needs, set healthy boundaries, and provide necessary resources. Alicia Freeman is a licensed professional counselor with a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling and a bachelor’s in political science. She is a TLAP clinical professional for the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program at the State Bar of Texas, the owner of Freeman Counseling and Consulting LLC, and co-host for the My Therapist Needs a Therapist podcast. Listen to the…

Cases and Controversies is a recurring series by Carolyn Shapiro, primarily focusing on the effects of the Supreme Court’s rulings, opinions, and procedures on the law, on other institutions, and on our constitutional democracy more generally. In Trump v. CASA, the Supreme Court announced that federal courts do not have the authority, under the Judiciary Act of 1789, to issue injunctions that prevent defendants from engaging in actions related to non-parties, even if those actions are illegal or unconstitutional. As others have pointed out, the practical consequences of the holding are unclear. The court described several mechanisms that might lead to comparably broad injunctive relief, including class actions, cases seeking to “set aside agency action” under the Administrative Procedure Act, and court orders that provide relief to third parties as an incidental but necessary part of providing “complete relief” to the plaintiffs. So litigation…

Does prior express written consent permit calls/texts to consumers during the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) proscribed quiet hours? As our readers know, the FCC is now considering this very issue insofar as it relates to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). In the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright, which opened the door to judicial review of agency interpretation, the FCC’s anticipated ruling may not matter much. This is especially true after a more recent Supreme Court decision which is likely to further erode judicial deference to agency rulemaking and interpretation. Below, we briefly discuss the decision and go into detail about its impact on the issue of consent in TCPA quiet hours cases.   Consent and Quiet Hours Under The TCPA   In McLaughlin Chiropractic Assoc. Inc., McKesson Corp. (“McLaughlin”), the Supreme Court reviewed the Ninth…

For the Balkinization Symposium on Richard Primus, The Oldest Constitutional Question: Enumeration and Federal Power (Harvard University Press, 2025).Sandy Levinson  In February I contributed, under the title Who Is The Audience For This Book?, to a Balkinization symposium on Zack Price’s Constitutional Symmetry: Judging in a Divided Republic. I did not mean to be snarky or to criticize what is in fact an interesting book.  My point was simple, perhaps even simplistic:  The book was in effect a plea to the members of the Supreme Court to mend their ways and to adopt a more self-consciously politically “symmetrical” approach when writing opinions, especially in cases that touched on polarizing issues.  Thus, I argued, it really didn’t matter what the general response might be to Price’s arguments, many of which were certainly compelling, if the justices themselves did not read his book and change their behavior…

In Massachusetts: “Attorneys – Duty to disclose – Rule 1.13(b)” — “Where a plaintiff limited liability company has alleged that a defendant attorney was negligent in not disclosing to the plaintiff’s board of directors certain information that the company’s chief executive officer shared with the attorney regarding a federal investigation, the attorney is entitled to summary judgment because he did not have and did not breach any duty to disclose directly to the board the information that was already known to its CEO.” “‘Massachusetts Premier Soccer LLC ran a for-profit youth soccer business under the name Global Premier Soccer. The parties refer to the plaintiff as ‘GPS.’ Many of GPS’s coaches were foreign nationals who were present in the United States under temporary, non-immigrant visas. During 2018, federal agents began to investigate GPS’s use of these visas for its coaches. Attorney…

In November 2024, people in Afghanistan’s northern Takhar province were met with a surprise when they tuned on the nightly television news: a blank screen. Instead of an anchor sitting at the usual desk, all they saw was Mah-e-Now channel’s logo imposed on a blue background. While a voice was reading out the headlines, there was no actual footage of the events.  This was no technical issue, but rather Mah-E-Now had been forced to comply with a new “morality law” imposed by the Taliban, barring broadcasters from showing images of living beings under the group’s harsh interpretation of sharia law. Soon, similar reports emerged from other parts of the country – from Badghis, Wardak and Kandahar. In Helmand, private TV stations were reportedly forced off the air altogether. It was the latest blow against Afghanistan’s embattled media landscape under the Taliban. Once one of the country’s few unqualified success stories, Afghan…

Ontario Wills and Estates #LawFact of the Day: Life Insurance and Your Estate #law #legal #EstatePlanningLife insurance policies that designate a beneficiary become that beneficiary's property on the day the insured dies. They don't become part of the insured’s Estate and they are not subjected to estate tax.Speak to your insurer to designate or update your beneficiary under your policy. It's a critical step in your estate planning. - Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Office website: www.wiselaw.net Visit our website: www.wiselaw.net

By Tony Liu, Founder and Principal Business Trial Attorney  In Summary:  The “Big Beautiful Bill” proposes to make E-Verify, a federal employment verification system, mandatory nationwide. While designed to strengthen border security, it threatens to upend hiring practices and increase legal exposure for business owners. This article explores what business leaders need to know, including how the law could affect workforce strategy, compliance risks, and proactive steps to protect operations. If you’re relying on fast, flexible hiring or trusting your vendors and partners to do things right, you can’t afford to ignore this. Is Your Workforce Strategy at Risk? The workforce of tomorrow may not be built on speed, flexibility, or even trust—it may be built on paperwork. With the proposed “Big Beautiful Bill” inching closer to the legislative floor, business leaders with lean operations and rapid hiring needs are asking: What will…

Background In Rafiyev v Azerbaijan [2025] ECHR 171, Mr Rafiyev was a follower of the Nurism sect of Islam [5]. In 2017, after attending a funeral, he and others visited a friend, TA, at his house and, at around 1 pm, several police officers raided the house and arrested Mr Rafiyev and twenty-one others. They were ultimately charged with violating the rules on holding religious meetings, contrary to Article 515.0.2 of the Code of Administrative Offences [6&7]. He was found guilty; the court accepted the police evidence that, following the funeral ceremony, he had gone to TA’s house and had prayed, though he had not known that praying at TA’s house had constituted “a religious meeting” [9]. His appeal was unsuccessful [10&11]. Before the ECtHR, he complained of breaches of Article 5 (liberty and security), Article 6 (fair trial) and Article 9 (thought, conscience and religion).  The arguments On the complaints under Article 5, the Government…

On June 23, 2025, Nip & Tuck Plastic Surgery, LLC (“Defendant”) was sued in the Northern District of Georgia for allegedly violating the Do Not Call (“DNC”) provisions of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). DNC compliance means that, in general, companies cannot place telemarketing calls to consumers who have registered their telephone numbers on the DNC registry. As we know, however, the DNC provisions comprise only one small part of what makes up the TCPA. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Facebook v. Duguid, telemarketing plaintiffs have been exploring new avenues to sue for failure to observe proper TCPA compliance procedures. Even if some recent TCPA lawsuit allegations seem novel, it is important to take them seriously, including those claims involving state TCPA equivalents.  A Few of the Most Common Post-Facebook TCPA Allegations  The telemarketing regulatory landscape…

The silence in the fields of Potočari near Srebrenica is louder than any noise. Thousands of white marble gravestones stand in eerie rows, each a monument to a life that was violently cut short. Today’s peaceful valley stands in stark contrast to the chaos of July 1995, when the same area, inside and around the base of a Dutch United Nations battalion, was the scene of unspeakable horror, displacement, and the beginning of an industrial-scale massacre — 8,372 names of innocent victims are engraved on a memorial. Yet this sacred ground is not just a place of remembrance. It is still a place of struggle against the denial and glorification of the internationally recognized genocide against Bosniaks in and around Srebrenica during the 1990s wars in the former Yugoslavia. The 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide is not only a historical point, but also provides a roadmap to this ongoing war – the war against the deniers, not only of that atrocity but…

On today’s episode of Ad Nauseam, Amy and Daniel are back with national treasure, and all-around great person, Lesley Fair, a legal expert, distinguished law professor and former Senior attorney at the Federal Trade Commission. In their series, “You Have Lesley Fair Notice,” Amy and Daniel interview Lesley about her experiences at the FTC and what she thinks of the current challenges attorneys are facing. Questions & Comments: amudge@bakerlaw.com or dkaufman@bakerlaw.com Download Episode Transcript View All Episodes Subscribe to BakerHosts® Apple Podcast | iHeartRadio | Spotify | YouTube

A truck accident can permanently alter your life in a moment. Often resulting in major injuries, increasing medical bills, and long-term financial difficulty, these catastrophic events. Claims for truck accidents are not like those for standard car accidents. They call for federal and state rules, several accountable parties, and big trucking firms with formidable legal teams. The best truck accident lawyers are aware of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR), logbook infractions, driver tiredness, and inappropriate loading techniques; they also grasp this complexity.  The best truck accident lawyers know how to create a strong case and find the underlying cause of an accident. Experience with Litigation of High Stakes Regarding truck accidents, insurance firms understand the stakes and should you as well. Traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, amputations, and other life-altering injuries abound among victims.  The best truck…