Who Has to Register as a Sex Offender in North Carolina—and for How Long?

2024 produced record number of ‘thermonuclear verdicts,’ report finds; what is impact of younger jurors?

‘Pugnacious legal industry website’ is ‘rage read’ for lawyers opposing BigLaw deals with Trump

The latest issue of the Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies (Vol. 16, no. 1, 2025) is out. Contents include:Articles Aneta Peretko, States of Silence: The Growing Influence of Human Rights Courts in Interpreting International Humanitarian Law in the Absence of Opinio Juris Samuel Hartridge & Brendan Walker-Munro, Autonomous Weapons Systems and the ai Alignment Problem Mohammed R. M. Elshobake & Alaa Sakka, Forced Returns and Fragile LivesStrategies for Safeguarding Syrian Refugees and Ensuring Their Protection Caroline Sweeney, The International Response to the Humanitarian Crisis in Syria: A Socio Legal Critique Pratik Purswani & Adithi Rajesh, Beyond Bombs and Bullets: Natural Resource Management in the Indo-Naxalite Non-International Armed Conflict J. P. Vallejo, Manipur: a Genocide?      

A child bicycle accident in Oakland has left a young child hospitalized with severe head trauma. The collision on Monday, May 19, 2025, has raised renewed concerns about bicycle safety in the Oakland area, particularly for vulnerable young riders. Details of the Oakland Bicycle Accident According to fire department officials, the incident occurred at approximately 4:00 p.m. on Monday afternoon at the intersection of Nicol and Coolidge avenues in Oakland. Emergency crews promptly responded to the scene and transported the injured child to a nearby hospital for urgent medical care. The child sustained severe head trauma in the collision, though authorities have not yet released specific details about their current condition. It remains unclear whether the driver involved in the accident remained at the scene or if they are cooperating with the ongoing investigation. Understanding Bicycle Accident Risks for Children Children are particularly vulnerable to bicycle accidents due to…

 Pix credit hereOn the basis of Resolution 26/9 (2014), the Human Rights Council established an open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights. The mandate for the OEIGWG, buttressed by a cohesive and like minded group of supporters, was to elaborate an "international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises." This OEIGWG has sought to do with great vigor, in the process putting together an international network of people who, believing the necessity for legalizing a system of public mandatory human rights due diligence systems, have labored for more than a decade to produce a draft of something that appeals to them and their supporters. Having come close to something that appears to have the characteristics of a finalized draft, the OEIGWG has been engaged through a…

A significant traffic collision involving multiple vehicles occurred on northbound US-101 just south of Moffett Boulevard in Mountain View on May 21, 2025, at approximately 2:34 PM. The crash involved a white box truck, a gray Tesla Model Y, a Toyota Tacoma, and another sedan, resulting in the blockage of lanes 1, 2, and 3. Emergency services were promptly dispatched to the scene to manage the situation and assist those involved. The collision led to a SigAlert being issued, with lanes 1 and 2 remaining blocked for an extended period, causing substantial traffic delays in the area. The box truck, which was carrying construction debris, sustained major front-end damage, while the other vehicles also suffered significant damage. Tow services were called to clear the vehicles from the roadway, and efforts were made to move the vehicles out of the lanes to alleviate traffic congestion. Motorists are advised to expect delays and consider alternate routes while the cleanup and…

India: Our Executive Chairman, Mr. Atul Sharma, has been appointed Co-Chair of the Task Force on Construction Arbitration Protocol, constituted by the Arbitration Bar of India (ABI).

At first, it sounds like a dream: hiring your cousin to help with marketing, bringing your sister on as a partner, or giving your son-in-law a “small stake” in the business. It feels easy, natural, and trust-based. But working with family without clear documentation can turn a warm gesture into a legal headache. Here’s why: Misaligned Expectations Relatives might (wrongfully?) assume the workplace rules don’t apply to or that they’ll be taken care of long-term. But without a written agreement covering responsibilities, pay, equity, and termination or severance provisions, those assumptions can turn into full-blown disputes. And yes, they can sue you, even if you’re related. The Lines Between “Employee” and “Contractor” Get Blurry When a relative starts helping out, it’s easy to start casually and think that you’ll figure it out as you go along. Maybe they start as a contractor and if…

In a recent decision with important implications for artificial intelligence (AI) driven innovation, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) denied a patent for an AI-based medical tool.[1] The refusal was not because the invention was not new or inventive. Rather, the refusal was because the invention did not meet a fundamental rule of U.S. patent law. In Ex parte Michalek, the PTAB specifically acknowledged that the patent claims at issue recited new information about the nexus between certain biomarkers and the development of lung cancer as facilitated by machine learning. In fact, prior to appeal, the applicant had successfully refuted all arguments raised by the patent examiner that the invention was not new or nonobvious. That said, based on U.S. Patent Office guidance and a related example from that guidance, the PTAB still determined the claims were flawed based on the legal principle of subject matter eligibility. Although the facts in this decision concern…

The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament yesterday, 20 May 2025. This was following a raft of amendments being tabled at stage 3. The Law Society of Scotland issued the following statement yesterday: A decade of campaigning by the Law Society of Scotland has resulted in new legislation that... The post Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill Passed appeared first on The Time Blawg.

(Originally published by Civitas Institute on April 28, 2025) Stanford Law Professor Michael McConnellWhat is the original meaning of the Free Exercise Clause? Does that original meaning support religious exemptions from generally applicable laws? Click here to download this white paper as a PDF. Three scholars who work on religious liberty issues share their electronic conversation on the topic. Michael McConnell, a former judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, has argued for many years and with significant influence that the First Amendment’s original meaning sometimes requires religious exemptions. Vincent Phillip Muñoz, a non-resident senior fellow at Civitas and professor at the University of Notre Dame, has challenged the claim of religious exemptions on originalist grounds. ‍Andrew Koppelman—professor of law, political science, and philosophy at Northwestern University—has argued for religious exemptions on…

The good news is that Ed Martin will not be the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In the end, even Republicans in the Senate had too many misgivings to hand one of the most powerful roles within the Department of Justice to a January 6 wingnut. The bad news is that the same administration that invented DOGE so they could install an idiot man-child over the entire executive branch has already worked out how to invest power in their unconfirmable stooges and shunted Martin off to the — on paper — more humble role as head of the DOJ’s “Weaponization Working Group.” Much like the Musk situation, Martin might well prove more damaging in this role. For those who have always wondered: “What if we turned the Justice Department over to a 4Chan troll?” Martin delivers, having gone on record that, when he can’t prosecute the president’s political enemies — because they’ve actually committed no crimes —…

It is clear now how the Trump Administration plans to handle what remains of modern administrative law while advancing its agenda. The plan is to break it. Just look at the Administration’s conduct over its first 100 days. Wacky executive orders that are no less dangerous for becoming instantly infamous. Abuses of interim final rules, direct final rules, and “good cause” rulemaking. Changing compliance dates without rulemakings. Collusive litigation. Claims that huge swathes of law simply do not apply to the Administration’s plans. And on, and on, and on. In light of everything we’ve seen, it is clear what the endgame is: break the law enough times and in enough ways that an outgunned band of attorneys general, private litigants, and nonprofits can do only so much in response. People who represent everyday Americans, not oligarchs, have finite resources and face standing and other doctrines that limit our ability to stop the deluge. At the…

Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts on motherhood in the legal profession, in partnership with our friends at MothersEsquire. Welcome Sonya L. Sigler back to our pages. Click here if you’d like to donate to MothersEsquire. As I reflected upon in my last article, for a long time, I thought self-care meant squeezing in activities that made me feel better — like reading, knitting, or the occasional kick-boxing class. And while those activities do matter for my self-care, I eventually realized something deeper: True self-care is about alignment. It’s about designing a life that actually reflects what matters most to you — not what looks good on paper. Not what others expect, but what you value at your core. In the first two articles of this series, we explored the importance of noticing your energy — what fuels you and what drains you — and the critical mindshift from external expectations to…

Can judge order US to ask El Salvador for migrant’s release? 4th Circuit says yes, return can’t be done ‘telepathically’

[Ilya Somin's upcoming speaking engagements.] (NA)I have been remiss this semester in failing to post my usual list of upcoming speaking engagements. However, I do have some coming up in the next several weeks that I would like to list for interested readers. Unless otherwise noted, all are in person and open to the public.  I may update this post with additional events. Below, I also note some information on earlier engagements for which video or audio is available. May 27, 12-1:00 PM, Cato Institute, Washington, DC: "Tariffs, Emergencies, and Presidential Power." (panel with Cato Institute scholar Walter Olson). Virtual event. Free registration available here. May 31, 3-4 PM, Pruyne Lecture Hall, Fayerweather Hall, Amherst College, Amherst, MA: "Challenges Facing American Democracy." This event is primarily for Amherst College alumni, students, and employees (part of Amherst's 2025 alumni reunion activities). But I think members of the…

What today’s rainmakers do differently

As of this writing, seven lawsuits have been filed challenging the legality of President Trump’s unilateral imposition of tariffs. The briefing is farthest along in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump, pending in the Court of International Trade. That court has scheduled a hearing for May 13 on all pending motions, including a motion for a preliminary injunction. Appeals from the Court of International Trade go to the Federal Circuit. Arguably, of all the cases challenging Trump administration actions, the tariff cases have the greatest consequence for the national economy as well as the division of authority between Congress and the Executive. Stanford Law Professor Michael McConnellBoth sides agree that the President has no inherent constitutional authority to set tariffs. President Trump’s power, if it exists, must come from statute. The government relies on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA). IEEPA gives the President power to take…