U.S. Supreme Court …
The U.S. Supreme Court this week threw out a 4th Circuit ruling that blocked South Carolina from ending public funding to Planned Parenthood under Medicaid. The high court dealt a setback to the Navajo Nation, rejecting its bid to require the federal government to develop a plan to secure water access for the tribe on reservation lands in the parched southwest. SCOTUS backed Coinbase’s claim that a proposed customer class action, which a lower court had allowed to proceed, belongs in arbitration. It also agreed to hear a bid by the Biden administration to shield the federal government from lawsuits over errors related to credit reports. As the justices speed toward the end of their current term, decisions are expected on the fate of race-conscious admission policies, LGBT rights and student debt forgiveness.
Hunter Biden’s plea deal …
The president’s son, Hunter Biden, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of willfully failing to pay income taxes and entered into an agreement that could avert a conviction on a gun-related charge. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that half of Americans believe Hunter Biden, who will make an initial appearance in federal court in Delaware on July 26, received preferential treatment from prosecutors. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland denied allegations that the probe into Biden’s tax practices was stymied. Read more about David Weiss, the Donald Trump-appointed U.S. prosecutor in Biden’s case.
Legal Ethics …
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito defended his failure to disclose taking a luxury fishing trip to Alaska in a private jet provided by a billionaire hedge fund manager whose business interests have come before the court. John Eastman, a former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, is fighting to keep his law license after being accused by the State Bar of California of misleading courts and making false public statements about voter fraud in the 2020 election. In the wake of the Tom Girardi scandal, the California Supreme Court adopted a so-called “snitch rule” requiring lawyers to report professional misconduct by fellow attorneys. And, two New York lawyers who submitted a legal brief that included six fictitious case citations generated by ChatGPT were sanctioned by a U.S. judge.
In the cryptoverse …
Fenwick & West turned to Gibson Dunn to represent it as the Silicon Valley-founded law firm faces scrutiny over its role advising now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its indicted founder Sam Bankman-Fried. A U.S. judge denied as a “fishing expedition” Bankman-Fried’s push to get Fenwick to hand over documents he says can help him beat fraud charges. Binance and Binance.US entered into an agreement with the SEC to ensure that U.S. customer assets remain in the United States until a sweeping lawsuit filed this month by the regulatory agency is resolved. Coinbase has become the biggest target of the U.S. crackdown on digital assets. Read about the unusual legal offensive the company launched months ago to counter litigation.
