11th Circuit

The 11th Circuit upheld the convictions of four activists affiliated with the African People’s Socialist Party and Black Hammer for conspiring as unregistered Russian agents. The court ruled the law used to prosecute them served a content-neutral national security interest, citing evidence of collaboration with Aleksandr Ionov, a Russian-linked figure, to promote Russian propaganda and stage protests.

Latona Lambert, director of a Georgia Air Force base daycare, was convicted for failing to report suspected child abuse. The 11th Circuit upheld her conviction, ruling she had reason to suspect mental injury based on reports of teachers cursing at toddlers and playing profane music. Teachers Zhanay Flynn and Antanesha Fritz pleaded guilty to child cruelty.

The 11th Circuit Court allowed Florida to enforce its law banning minors from attending 'adult live performances' like drag shows, overturning a previous injunction. The majority argued the law protects children's well-being, while dissenters claimed it targets drag performances. Florida joins four other states with similar bans.

The 11th Circuit ruled a lawsuit against Georgia Power Company and Honeywell International for mercury and PCB pollution must be heard in federal court under the federal officer removal statute, as the companies' cleanup obligations are directed by the EPA. The case, initially sent to state court, involves a 2016 EPA consent decree requiring a $29 million cleanup of a polluted marsh site.

Florida is appealing an injunction blocking its 2023 law (SB 1718), which criminalizes transporting individuals who illegally entered the U.S. and were not inspected by federal authorities. The 11th Circuit is reviewing whether the law conflicts with federal immigration authority, with judges questioning if it is preempted by existing federal statutes. The Farmworker Association of Florida argues the law is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, fearing felony charges for transporting farmworkers.

Two Alabama fishermen were seriously injured in 2020 after their boat crashed into an unmarked duck blind on Guntersville Lake. The 11th Circuit ruled they can pursue a negligence lawsuit against the Tennessee Valley Authority but not the federal government, citing the discretionary function exception in the Suits in Admiralty Act.

The 11th Circuit upheld a lower court's dismissal of expert reports in two lawsuits against Lockheed Martin, finding that two expert witnesses failed to reliably apply their methodologies to link carcinogenic chemicals from a Florida weapons facility to plaintiffs' health issues. Plaintiffs, who allege cancer and other diseases from chemical exposure, now lack expert reports to support their claims, and their legal representatives expressed disappointment.

Two Florida-based fishermen are challenging a regulation that reduced gag grouper catch quotas by 85%, arguing the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council lacked constitutional authority to implement the rule under the Appointments Clause. The case, involving Amendment 56, was appealed to the 11th Circuit after a federal judge declined to vacate the regulation but restricted the council's use of 'pocket vetoes.'

Latona Lambert, a former daycare director at a Georgia Air Force base, appeals her conviction for failing to report suspected child abuse. Prosecutors argue surveillance footage and reports from a coworker indicate Lambert knew of abuse by two daycare workers, but Lambert claims the government failed to prove she had direct knowledge of the abuse.

A federal judge blocked Florida's 'Stop Woke Act,' which restricted classroom discussions on systemic racism and gender injustice, comparing its approach to George Orwell's '1984.' The law faced legal challenges for infringing on free speech in higher education, with a court ruling it crossed First Amendment boundaries.

Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized the 11th Circuit Court's 2-1 ruling blocking Florida's 'Stop WOKE Act,' calling it judicial overreach. The law prohibited teaching concepts like systemic racism in state universities, which DeSantis argued were ideological fads undermining academic missions. The court majority, including Trump appointee Britt Grant, ruled the law violated free speech, while dissenting judge Barbara Lagoa, also a Trump appointee, disagreed.

The 11th Circuit struck down part of Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, ruling it unconstitutional for restricting professors' classroom speech on race, gender, and diversity. The 2-1 decision rejected Florida officials' request to overturn a lower court's injunction against enforcing the law's provisions, which banned discussions of eight specific concepts related to race, color, national origin, or sex.

The 11th Circuit unanimously ruled that the federal government's use of private accreditation agencies to determine eligibility for financial aid at public colleges is constitutional, rejecting Florida's challenge to the Higher Education Act. Florida argued the system violated constitutional clauses, but the court found the accreditation requirement reasonable and consistent with Congress's goal of ensuring federal aid goes to quality institutions.

The 11th Circuit Court ruled that child predators have a right to live with their children. The article references the ruling and coverage of related oral arguments.

The Supreme Court refused to block the release of an $8.2 million jury verdict in favor of Roy Moore, a Republican politician, against a Democratic super PAC. The 11th Circuit had earlier overturned the verdict, ruling the PAC's ad, which implied Moore solicited sex from a 14-year-old girl, constituted a negligent error rather than actual malice.

The Supreme Court refused to revive Alan Dershowitz's $300 million defamation lawsuit against CNN, upholding a 1964 precedent protecting press freedom. The 7-2 decision denied a challenge to the 'actual malice' standard for defamation claims involving public figures, which requires proof of knowledge or reckless disregard for falsity.

Two cryptocurrency creators, Michael Kane (CEO of Hydrogen Technology) and Shane Hampton (head of engineering), are challenging their federal convictions in the 11th Circuit for securities fraud related to manipulating the price of Hydro cryptocurrency tokens using automated bots. They were convicted in 2024 of conspiring to commit securities price manipulation and wire fraud, with Kane receiving a three-year and nine-month sentence and Hampton a two-year and 11-month sentence.

A Spanish national, Alvaro Lopez Tardon, is appealing a 150-year prison sentence for drug trafficking and money laundering, arguing U.S. sentencing guidelines should not apply to crimes committed in Spain. Prosecutors allege he ran a seven-year cocaine smuggling operation from Miami to Spain, using proceeds to fund luxury purchases in the U.S.

A detainee in Florida’s Bay County Jail removed his own eyeballs after allegedly being ignored during a psychotic crisis, leading to a lawsuit claiming officials were deliberately indifferent to his mental health needs. The 11th Circuit is reviewing whether the case can proceed, with the defendant’s attorney arguing jail counselors failed to provide necessary care.

The 11th Circuit declined to resolve whether insurers must defend pharmacies in opioid crisis lawsuits, instead certifying the issue to Georgia and Florida's Supreme Courts due to ambiguity in state insurance law. Insurers argue their policies exclude coverage for economic losses tied to the opioid epidemic, while the lawsuits allege pharmacy practices caused bodily injuries like addiction and overdose.

Two Georgia Republicans introduced impeachment resolutions against U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross, alleging she engaged in sexual activity in her chambers, attended a partisan political event, and lied to investigators. Ross, a federal judge since 2014, faces potential removal through impeachment, with the House Judiciary Committee deciding next steps.

Justice Clarence Thomas declined to immediately restore Alabama's 2023 congressional map but ordered Democratic plaintiffs to defend the court-approved special-master map by Monday. The case involves a dispute over voting rights and redistricting, with Alabama Republicans arguing the map violates equal protection and Democrats claiming it preserves a second Black-opportunity district.

A federal appeals court struck down the Trump administration's mandatory ICE detention policy, ruling that it does not grant the Executive authority to detain every unadmitted alien without bond. This decision is the latest in a series of rulings on the controversial policy. The case may eventually be heard by the Supreme Court.