Strategist

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights recently announced investigations into bans on mask mandates in six states, specifically examining how these bans impact students with disabilities. On August 30, the OCR sent letters to chief state school officers in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah, alerting them of the investigations. Notably missing from the list are Texas and Arkansas, which have enacted similar laws or executive orders but are not currently enforcing them due to court orders. Florida was also missing from the first round of letters. However, attempts to enforce the ban in the Sunshine State have landed them on the Department of Education's "to do" list.

Sidney Powell and other lawyers connected to a Michigan lawsuit to overturn the 2020 election have been sanctioned by a federal judge, who called the suit a "historic and profound abuse of the judicial process." Judge Linda Parker of Michigan's Eastern District held that, regardless of whether there was fraud in the 2020 election in the state of Michigan, the attorneys who filed the lawsuit "abused the well-established rules" of litigation and proffered claims that were not backed by law.

Two giant tobacco companies, R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris, had a $37 million verdict against them overturned by the Florida Court of Appeals because of inflammatory comments made by the lawyer for plaintiff Richard Mahfuz to the jury at closing arguments. Mahfuz sued the tobacco companies for wrongful death after his wife passed away from lung cancer. The jury awarded actual and punitive damages in almost exactly the amount the plaintiff requested.

Legal cannabis is not just a budding industry for growers and sellers. A whole new line of business presents opportunities for a lot of other ancillary professionals: lawyers, accountants, real estate investors, bankers, and more. But in Georgia, a state that is just now dipping a toe into the medical marijuana business, providing legal representation to weed entrepreneurs could mean professional consequences.

The State Bar of Texas is investigating Attorney General Ken Paxton for his role in trying to overturn the election results in four battleground states. According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, Paxton is under investigation for making potentially misleading statements and challenging the election process in bad faith. A Widely Criticized Lawsuit It is relatively rare that a state bar would investigate an attorney for making a legal argument.

With a guilty verdict on all counts, Derek Chauvin is facing a significant sentence. However, the case is not over. It is expected Chauvin will appeal, arguing for a mistrial. And one count, his conviction for third-degree murder, has a significant legal cloud surrounding it.