Free Newsletter
Study shows SLU’s decline in law school enrollment
Saint Louis University School of Law is among the 25 law schools with the largest percent declines in enrollment, according to a new study by legal education magazine The National Jurist.
Wolff wins Supreme Court pool
Former state Supreme Court Judge Michael A. Wolff won the second annual Missouri Lawyers Weekly Supreme Court prediction pool.
Novel bill attempts to restore med mal caps
Can you change a constitutional right without actually amending the constitution? Sponsors of a bill under consideration in a Missouri Senate committee are trying to find out.
Ending the revolving door
Mayor Francis Slay has criticized city judges for granting probation too easily. But not everyone thinks that putting a large share of people on probation is wrong. Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael Wolff has spoken out about the need for alternatives to prison. Data show that especially for those convicted of nonviolent crimes, Wolff said, […]
Private jail owes tax on inmate items, court rules
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that a company operating a private jail in Johnson County must pay the state sales and use taxes on consumable items it supplies to inmates. But one judge is questioning whether a private company is even legally authorized to operate a jail. ICC Management Inc. is in charge of operating […]
High court refuses Batson challenge
Almost 17 years after Herbert Smulls was convicted of first-degree murder it looks as if his case is coming to an end. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court said it won’t review Smulls’ claims that he is entitled to another trial due to a St. Louis County judge’s decision to allow the prosecutor to strike […]
Three apologies, no explanation for delay
It was a case challenging the constitutionality of workers’ compensation reform laws passed at the beginning of then-Gov. Matt Blunt’s term – politically tinged and high profile. How the Missouri Supreme Court handled the case was unusual. First, the judges took 15 months to decide it, ruling Tuesday that workers who were excluded from […]
Execution protocol not subject to rulemaking procedures
Death-row inmates lost an administrative challenge to the state’s lethal-injection method when the Missouri Supreme Court held in a 4-3 decision that the injection protocol is not subject to notice-and-comment rulemaking. Seventeen inmates claimed in Middleton, et al. v. Missouri Department of Corrections, et al. that the DOC violated the state’s administrative procedures law in [&hell[...]
Prospects dim for raising judges’ salaries
The Missouri Citizens' Commission on Compensation met in late November in Jefferson City and approved a proposal stipulating a raise for judges and elected officials if state employees receive a salary increase. One person undecided on the measure is Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia. The newly elected state senator said he would need to study the proposal more before making a decision on it.
Judges ask Obama to revise guidelines
Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael A. Wolff and the chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court have asked President-elect Barack Obama to work toward a “major change in state and federal sentencing practices.” The judges mailed their request to Obama’s team in a letter dated Dec. 29. In the letter, they recommended doing away with […]
Latest Opinion Digests
- Immigration: Asylum-Withholding of Removal-Appellate Jurisdiction
- Criminal Law: Child Pornography-Bottom-of-Guidelines Sentence-Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence
- Criminal Law: Child Abuse-Sufficiency Of Evidence-Closing Argument
- Civil Rights: Religious Freedom-RLUIPA-Res Judicata
- Civil Practice: Res Judicata-Stop Work Order
- Immigration: Drug Conviction-Removability-Overbreadth of State Offense
- Civil Practice: Asset Forfeiture-Sanctions
- Civil Rights: Due Process-Failure to State Claim
- Probate : Revocable Trust – Amendment – Reformation
- Employer – Employee : Unpaid Commissions – At-Will Status
- Criminal Law : Post-Conviction Relief – Effectiveness Of Counsel – Conflict Of Interest
- Appellate Practice : Jurisdiction – Final Judgment
Top stories
- Nurse entitled to disability benefits despite working months after accident, Supreme Court rules
- Eastern District rules 10 cases against TitleMax may proceed without arbitration
- Supreme Court declines to hear Republican appeals on abortion ballot initiatives
- Cole County jury awards $1.56 billion in Roundup case headed for appeal
- Jury gives massive award after fleeing suspect causes fatal crash
- 8th Circuit tosses suit claiming false sale prices
- Attorney general releases report on Kim Gardner investigation
- Legal Limelight: Jason C. Smith, Office Managing Partner, Spencer Fane
