U.S. Sixth Circuit

The use of nationwide preliminary injunctions has been on the rise in recent decades. A preliminary injunction is a court order that prohibits one party in a lawsuit from taking a certain action or the government from enforcing a particular rule or law. Unlike, say, a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction can last for the entirety of the litigation. In the case of lawsuits against the federal government, a nationwide injunction applies to all states, regardless of whether a state is party to the lawsuit. This makes it an incredibly powerful tool. The most recent prominent example occurred when a federal district court in Florida ended the public transportation mask mandate.

On July 29, 2016, Michael Wood attended Ohio's Clark County Fair sporting a shirt that read "Fuck the Police." According to Wood, a few people commented on it, including a sheriff's deputy who remarked, "Hey, Wood, I like your shirt." But when a fair executive insisted on Wood's removal, he had a few choice words to say about it.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that the First Amendment rights of student-athletes at Western Michigan University were "likely violated" by the school's COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

Legislation and litigation are increasingly testing the boundaries of Supreme Court precedent regarding abortions. In part, perhaps, because the analysis courts use to weigh the constitutionality of laws restricting abortion access are less clear than they have been in decades. In 2020, Justice Roberts joined with liberal justices in holding that Louisiana's abortion law was unconstitutional in June Medical. However, Justice Roberts differed in his analysis from the plurality.

The Lion's Den, an adult store in Upton, Kentucky, gets most of its business from interstate travelers. That is why it relies in part on advertising to motorists traveling on I-65. Perhaps some of our readers may have noticed a sign on the side of a semi tractor-trailer just off Exit 251 reminding passerby that for the “Lion's Den Adult Superstore Exit Now". The sign is not itself obscene, but nonetheless raised alarm.

Religious and private schools in Kentucky did not go back to in-person classes this week due to a decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that sided with Governor Andy Beshear. Earlier this month, the governor issued an executive order prohibiting in-person classes at all Kentucky schools from November 23 through December 13.