Court Cases
After Waiting Two Days, Justice Department Appeals Transit Mask Ruling
Mystery surrounds the decision by the Biden administration to not ask for an immediate stay of an unanticipated district court ruling to vacate the CDC's masks-on-transit rule. Two days later they appealed as coronavirus cases increase nationwide.
U.S. District Judge Ends Federal Mask Mandate on Transit
A Trump-appointed U.S. district judge in Florida voided the Biden administration's mask mandate that applied to plane, train and bus travel. It had just been renewed by the CDC on April 13 and was due to expire on May 3.
Supreme Court: OSHA Exceeded its Public Health Authority
The Supreme Court ruled that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had overreached its authority to protect the health of workers in large private companies. In a separate decision, it upheld a vaccine mandate for most healthcare workers.
Federal Vax-or-Test Mandate for Large Employers Reinstated
Judges of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided, 2-1, to allow the Biden administration's vax-or-test mandate for private sector employers, removing a stay placed on the OSHA rule by the Fifth Circuit. Enforcement begins Feb. 9.
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds New York State Vaccine Mandate
Health care workers in New York will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 after the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to reject hearing an appeal brought by workers who had sought a religious exemption. Also, an update on the federal vaccine mandate.
Biden's 'Path Out of the Pandemic' Imperiled by Multiple Court Decisions
The vaccine mandate that applies to federal contractors included in President Biden's COVID plan announced in September to slow the Delta surge was halted by a federal judge in Kentucky. That's the third requirement to be paused, leaving only one.
Another Biden COVID Vaccine Mandate on Hold
Last month, a court stayed Biden's large private employer mandate that requires workers to be vaccinated or test-and-mask. On Tuesday, a federal district court judge stayed the vaccine mandate that applies nationwide to most health care workers.
Update: Coronavirus Vaccination Litigation against Biden Administration
The U.S. Justice Department filed its appeal on Nov. 23 before the 6th Circuit Court to reinstate the large private employer vaccination status requirement that the 5th Circuit had stayed after Republican governors and state attorneys general sued.
Pandemic Debate: Civil Liberties vs. Individual Liberties
The American Civil Liberties Union stepped into the nation's masking debate in K-12 schools on the side of parents of students with disabilities. They won the first round in the U.S. Southern District Court of Iowa. Mask mandates are permitted again.
Florida Judge Rules That Governor Overstepped Authority in Banning School Mask Mandates
A group of parents won the first round on Aug. 27 in a state circuit court in a dispute with the governor and state education agencies over the ability of school boards to require all students to wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Supreme Court of Texas Upholds Governor's Ban on Local Mask Mandates
As the coronavirus surges in hard-hit Texas, threatening to overwhelm hospitals, the state supreme court affirmed the right of the governor to preempt local governments from enacting proven health measures to keep residents safe from infection.
Supreme Court Allows Indiana University's Vaccine Mandate to Remain in Place
The Supreme Court rejected a request brought by students to block Indiana University from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations. Students, faculty, and staff are required to be fully vaccinated by August 15.
Coronavirus Litigation: CDC Loses Ability to Regulate Cruise Industry in Win for Florida Governor
In a stunning reversal, a federal appeals court panel on July 23 reversed its ruling issued six days earlier in favor of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after Gov. Ron DeSantis appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.
Justice Department Challenges Hawaii Quarantine
The U.S. Justice Department has intervened in a lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs challenging Hawaii's mandatory two-week quarantine for travelers arriving on the island state. The Trump-appointed judge did not react favorably.
Religion in the Pandemic: First Amendment vs. Public Health and Safety
Conflicts between church and state are being decided in state and federal courts as governors act to protect their constituents from the coronavirus while religious institutions and their supporters seek exceptions from social gathering restrictions.
Will Appeal of Landmark Appeals Court Ruling Allow for Clearing of Tent Cities?
If the Supreme Court hears an appeal of a landmark U.S. Ninth Circuit Court case settled in April, the ruling would have widespread implications for dealing with homeless encampments throughout the West, perhaps nowhere more so than Los Angeles.
Judge: D.C. Metro Does, In Fact, Own Its Facilities
An internet company can't just stop paying for the use of underground transit facilities when it decides the subway company doesn't have the right to charge for the access.
Court Reinstates Coastal Commission's Decision on San Diego Harbor Island Project
A long-running legal battle over proposed hotel developments in San Diego appears to have come to an end.
U.S. Supreme Court Won't Overturn California's Inclusionary Zoning Laws
The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a case with the potential to eradicate inclusionary zoning and in-lieu housing fees in the state of California.
Houston-Galveston Area Council
City of Malibu
Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
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