Background: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court kept in place an injunction preventing Quincy from installing two ten-foot statues of Catholic saints on its new public safety headquarters. In doing so, the court confirmed that Massachusetts courts will continue to analyze government religious displays under Article 3 of the Declaration of Rights using the state-specific framework established…
Held: Justice Kafker, writing for the full court, first held that the plaintiffs had standing under G. L. c. 40, § 53, the “ten-taxpayer statute.” That law permits at least ten taxable inhabitants to seek relief when a municipality is spending or preparing to spend money for an unlawful purpose. It is not limited to violations of spending statutes. The remaining…
Background: The Las Vegas Police Protective Association and seven Metropolitan Police Department officers sued to stop the department’s Citizen Review Board from publishing officer names and badge numbers. The board reviews internal-affairs investigations and public complaints against peace officers. The association sought to keep identifiers off meeting notices and agendas and out of the board’s public…
Held: The Supreme Court affirmed. Justice Cadish held that the board is a public body subject to Nevada’s Open Meeting Law (OML), NRS Chapter 241. Under NRS 241.020(3)(d)(4), an agenda must name a person when a public body will consider that person’s character, alleged misconduct, professional competence, or physical or mental health. That notice requirement applies even when the discussion itself…
Background: Israel’s government adopted Resolution No. 3661 on December 22, 2025, directing that the military radio station Galei Tzahal, commonly known as Army Radio, cease broadcasting by March 1, 2026. Established by a government decision in 1950, the nationwide station broadcasts news, current affairs, and other programming and operates as a military unit alongside its music-focused…
Held: The three-justice Court unanimously granted the petitions, made the order nisi absolute, and invalidated the government’s closure decision. The shared ground was that the process had been materially influenced by an improper political purpose: suppressing broadcasts perceived as aligned with the governing coalition’s political opponents. The government could legitimately reconsider whether the military should operate a current-affairs station, but it…
Background: The Utah Supreme Court held that a litigant cannot first reveal a contingency-fee calculation after trial when attorney fees are sought as consequential damages. Western Mortgage sued Keith and Lorin Walker over title to roughly 2,300 acres near Sand Hollow Reservoir. The Walkers had planned a large residential development but entered a rescue agreement with…
Held: Justice Nielsen’s opinion reversed the contingency component. Attorney fees recoverable under a statute or prevailing-party contract provision arise from the litigation and are commonly fixed under rule 73. Fees sought under the fiduciary-duty exception are different: they are consequential damages allegedly caused by the original wrongdoing. Their label does not remove them from ordinary damages rules.
Background: Richard Doubtfire applied to set aside a statutory demand served by Timothy Horrell for approximately £430,000. The demand arose from a personal guarantee and indemnity that Doubtfire had executed for liabilities owed by Silversword Developments Limited under a loan facility. Silversword failed to repay, did not dispute its liability, and entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation.
Held: The High Court dismissed the application. Doubtfire had not shown a substantial dispute over the guaranteed debt under rule 10.5(5)(b) of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016. His allegations of duress and undue influence lacked particulars and supporting evidence, while the contemporaneous record showed that he was an experienced businessman, received independent legal advice, described the arrangement as fair,…
Background: Chantella Blackburn suffered a work-related injury after falling from a step ladder onto a third-party vendor’s cart while employed by K-VA-T Food Stores. She received workers’ compensation benefits and separately settled a negligence claim against the vendor for $295,000. Because the settlement did not allocate damages, the administrative law judge determined that one-third represented pain…
Held: The Kentucky Supreme Court first held that the ALJ had jurisdiction to award subrogation against Blackburn’s civil-settlement proceeds. Because an employer’s subrogation right arises under KRS 342.700, resolving the amount recoverable from a third-party settlement falls within the ALJ’s authority.
Background: Mark and Matthew Standen owned a 2.67-acre vacant parcel at the intersection of State Route 83 and Chestnut Ridge Road in North Ridgeville. In 2023, the city used Ohio’s quick-take procedure to acquire part of the parcel for a roundabout and commenced an appropriation action. The project plans depicted a six-inch curb along the remaining…
Held: The Supreme Court of Ohio denied the writ. Although loss or substantial impairment of access to an abutting public roadway is a compensable property interest, the Standens had already exhausted an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law. In a partial-taking proceeding, the jury must determine both compensation for the land taken and any damage to the residue, including…
Background: Lucas Christian Delaney was charged with murdering his sister, Gabriella Delaney, at Cambridge Park in June 2020. On the agreed facts, Delaney repeatedly struck her in the head with a hammer, transferred money from her accounts, stayed elsewhere for several nights and was later admitted voluntarily to Cumberland Hospital. The Court was satisfied beyond reasonable…
Held: Dhanji J found on the balance of probabilities that, when Delaney killed his sister, he had schizophrenia or at least schizoaffective disorder and could not reason with a moderate degree of sense and composure about whether his act, as perceived by reasonable people, was wrong. Both psychiatric experts ultimately agreed that his impairment was not caused solely by temporary intoxication:…
Background: Michael Sherlock applied under Article 40.4.2 of the Constitution for an inquiry into the legality of his detention after he had been refused bail while unrepresented in the District Court. His lack of representation arose during a dispute between certain solicitors and the Department of Justice over legal-aid remuneration. On 5 August 2026, the High…
Held: Mr. Justice Twomey held that Sherlock should not have pursued habeas corpus to challenge the refusal of bail, absent exceptional circumstances. The appropriate remedy was a High Court bail appeal or rehearing. Unlike habeas corpus, which would require immediate release once detention was found unlawful regardless of the seriousness of the charges, a bail appeal would permit the court to…
Background: C was convicted of eight charges of historical sexual offending involving three complainants, J, R and S. J had died before trial, and her evidential video interview was admitted as hearsay. The Court of Appeal set aside the five convictions relating to J, finding that the defence had not received a fair trial on those…
Held: The Supreme Court declined to order a retrial, holding that it was not in the interests of justice. The decision required a factual assessment of the relevant circumstances, including offence seriousness, trial complexity, the burden of another trial, delay, evidential availability and the strength of the Crown case.
Background: Benton County voters petitioned to recall all three Port of Benton commissioners: Scott Keller, William O’Neil, and Lori Stevens. Most charges concerned alleged conduct by Keller before he became a commissioner and were dismissed because pre-election conduct cannot support recall.
Held: The Washington Supreme Court affirmed the trial court in full. Charges alleging retaliation against Howard and Myers were factually sufficient because the petitions and incorporated materials gave the commissioners meaningful notice of the alleged conduct and supported a reasonable inference of retaliation.
Background: Brian Dooley Kent, admitted in New York in 2019 and Pennsylvania in 2004, represented a person investigating a potential abuse claim against a religious organization. While the client was represented by Kent’s firm, Kent and the client exchanged flirtatious personal messages and engaged in sexual touching. Pennsylvania disciplinary authorities found that the relationship created a…
Held: The Third Department imposed reciprocal discipline for Kent’s conflict and failure to withdraw, but declined to find a New York sexual-relations violation. The Pennsylvania conflict rules were substantially similar to New York Rules 1.7(a)(2) and 1.16(a)(2): Kent’s personal interest impaired the professional relationship, and he should not have continued the representation. Those admitted violations therefore supported discipline in New York.