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April 14, 2023

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Here’s a quick look at today’s top legal news. Have a great weekend!

Additional writing by Tanvi Shenoy.

U.S. appeals court judge faces rare probe into competency, misconduct

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman is under investigation by her own court for allegedly failing to carry out her duties and refusing to respond to other judges’ concerns, court officials said on Friday. An order signed by Federal Circuit Chief Judge Kimberly Moore said a three-judge committee had determined that Newman, 95, may “suffer a disability that interferes with her ability to perform the responsibilities of her office.” In an earlier order in March, Moore said Newman had shown signs of cognitive and physical impairment, delayed filing opinions, disclosed sensitive medical information to her staff and allowed one of her law clerks to exhibit unspecified “unprofessional and inappropriate behavior.” Newman and Moore did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Read more about the investigation.

More top news:

Coming up next week…

Opening statements are set to begin on Monday in Wilmington, Delaware, in a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox Corp and Fox News. Dominion is seeking $1.6 billion in damages over the network’s coverage of false vote-rigging claims in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Here’s what to expect.

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Week in review…

REUTERS/Mike Segar

Donald Trump’s legal woes…

An appeals court in D.C. said it did not have enough facts to decide whether Donald Trump deserved immunity from the first of two civil defamation lawsuits by E. Jean Carroll, a writer who said the former U.S. president raped her nearly three decades ago. Trump wanted to postpone the second trial scheduled for April 25 at least until May 23, but U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan denied his request. Also this week, Trump also this week faced questioning under oath in a $250 million business fraud lawsuit brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Finally, Trump also sued his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen seeking at least $500 million in damages after Cohen testified before the Manhattan grand jury that indicted Trump.

Legal fight over the abortion pill…

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, on April 7 suspended the FDA’s approval of the key abortion pill mifepristone, a decision that legal experts say could severely weaken the agency if allowed to stand. The U.S. appealed but the 5th Circuit declined to block portions of Kacsmaryk’s order, reinstating certain restrictions on the pill’s distribution. The DOJ filed an emergency request asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block those limits, and executives from more than 300 biotech and pharmaceutical industry companies, as well as mifepristone manufacturer Danco Laboratories, have called for the reversal of the federal judge’s decision. But even if legal efforts fail and the order goes into effect, essentially rendering the drug unapproved, legal experts say the FDA could nonetheless continue to allow access to the drug. Read more to find out what happens next.

U.S. document leak…

Jack Douglas Teixeira, the 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air National Guard accused of leaking top secret military intelligence records online, made his initial appearance before a federal judge in Boston on Friday to face charges he unlawfully copied and transmitted classified materials. Here’s what we’ve learned about Teixeira and here’s why experts say the leak shows the clash between “need to know” versus “need to share.”

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Appeals court ruling could curtail fat fees in consumer fraud class actions

Life just got a little more complicated — and probably a bit less remunerative — for class-action lawyers who litigate false-labeling cases in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. The 11th Circuit ruled on Wednesday that class action plaintiffs who claim products are falsely labeled do not have standing to pursue injunction relief unless they offer concrete evidence that they are at risk of future injury from purchasing the product again. Why does that affect class counsel fees? Alison Frankel’s latest column explains that trial judges often consider injunctive relief — typically, defendants’ promises to change packaging to remove allegedly deceptive language — when they award fees. But Wednesday’s ruling puts plaintiffs lawyers in a bind: If they argue a falsely advertised product is a hoax, they also can’t credibly assert arguments that would establish their right to seek injunctive relief for the class.

Check out other recent pieces from all our columnists: Alison Frankel, Jenna Greene and Hassan Kanu