A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw |
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The federal judiciary is urging Congress to shift courthouse management away from the executive branch, citing mounting risks and longstanding neglect. Here’s what to know: |
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- Judicial leaders say courthouses are in “crisis,” pointing to an $8.3 billion repair backlog and decades of inadequate oversight by the General Services Administration.
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A new draft bill, the Space and Facilities Management Effectiveness Act of 2026, would gradually transfer control of courthouse facilities from the GSA to the judiciary, starting with up to 10 districts.
- The judiciary argues urgent action is needed to address critical system failures, underfunded repairs, security concerns, and worsening costs, problems they say were intensified by recent GSA reorganization under the Trump administration.
- Relations with the GSA have deteriorated, especially after cost‑cutting efforts led the agency to threaten lease cancellations and propose selling dozens of properties, including multiple courthouses, some of which have already been sold.
- Nate Raymond has more here.
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SCOTUS: The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue opinions in pending, argued cases.
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SCOTUS: The court will also hear oral arguments in Pung v. Isabella County, where the justices will consider the constitutionality of tax foreclosure sales.
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Civil rights: U.S. District Judge Indira Twalani in Boston will hold a hearing to discuss a decision by the Trump administration to reverse course on firing nearly every employee at a 1960s-era agency within the DOJ known as "America's peacemaker" that is tasked with quelling racial and ethnic tensions in U.S. communities.
- Criminal: Harvey Weinstein is due to appear in New York state criminal court in Manhattan for a hearing ahead of the movie mogul's third rape trial. A trial date may be set at this hearing.
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Criminal: Jasveen Sangha known as the "Ketamine Queen", who pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the death of Matthew Perry, is scheduled to be sentenced. Sangha faces up to 65 years in prison.
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Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes. |
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U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington in Michigan is taking a leave of absence pending the resolution of criminal drunken driving charges arising out of his arrest in October, when he was unable to explain why airbags for his damaged Cadillac had been deployed.
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10th Circuit Judge Timothy Tymkovich announced plans to retire from active service, giving President Trump a new vacancy he could fill on the Denver-based court. Read more here.
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Conservative group Faculty, Alumni, & Students Opposed to Racial Preferences is seeking to revive its lawsuit against Northwestern University alleging its law school discriminates against white men in faculty hiring, after a federal judge dismissed the case in January.
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"Some of the most skillful, experienced, and reputable attorneys strike out on their own or with several colleagues."
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—9th Circuit Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr., writing for a unanimous appellate panel in ruling that a trial judge in California improperly slashed the hourly rates sought by four‑lawyer Gaw Poe after it won an antitrust case, saying that a firm’s size cannot be used to justify awarding lower fees. Read the decision.
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