A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw |
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Today Harvard University will urge a federal judge to order the Trump administration to restore about $2.5 billion in terminated federal grants and cease efforts to cut off research funding to the school. Here’s what to know: |
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The hearing before U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston marks a crucial moment in the White House's escalating conflict with Harvard, which has been the target of a series of actions by the administration after the university rejected a list of demands to make changes to its governance, hiring and admissions practices.
- The university has become a central focus of a broad campaign by the administration to leverage federal funding to overhaul U.S. academia, which Trump says is gripped by antisemitic and "radical left" ideologies.
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Among the earliest actions the administration took against Harvard was the cancellation of hundreds of grants awarded to researchers on the grounds that the school failed to do enough to address the harassment of Jewish students on campus. Absent a ruling declaring the grant terminations unlawful, Harvard says hundreds of ongoing research projects will be deprived of crucial funding, jeopardizing research into cancer treatments, infectious diseases and Parkinson's disease.
- In May, Harvard expanded its lawsuit against the administration after officials said they were terminating more grant money. Read the amended complaint.
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The administration has also threatened Harvard’s tax exempt status; sought to bar international students from attending the school; threatened Harvard's accreditation status; and opened the door to cutting off more funding by finding it violated federal civil rights law.
- Read more about today’s hearing.
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U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston will hold a motion hearing in a lawsuit brought by three cisgender female Ivy League swimmers challenging an NCAA and Ivy League decision to allow transgender women to compete in the sport. Read the complaint.
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The 3rd Circuit will hear arguments in a Second Amendment case over whether the government can permanently bar individuals from possessing guns and ammunition after a single, non-violent DUI conviction. The district court ruled it could not. Read the district court ruling.
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A class action trial is set to begin in San Francisco federal court where fertility tracking app Flo Health and Meta Platforms are accused of violating the privacy of millions of Flo users. Damages could add up to $190 billion or more. Jenna Greene took a look at the case in her most recent column.
- A federal judge will sentence a former Louisville police officer for violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights, in a hearing that could become contentious after the DOJ abruptly asked the court to impose a one-day prison term.
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Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes. |
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Ohio became the third state to reconsider rules requiring attorneys to attend ABA-accredited law schools in order to be admitted to practice law. The decision comes after the Trump administration threatened to revoke the ABA’s status as the government’s designated accreditor of law schools due to its DEI efforts. Read more here.
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The ABA will receive $3.2 million in domestic violence training grants through 2027 after the DOJ declined to appeal a preliminary injunction blocking it from canceling the funding. Read more here.
- California is now the largest state court system to adopt rules over generative AI. Learn more about the rules here.
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That’s how much Christine Hunsicker, founder of the now-bankrupt clothing technology startup CaaStle, is accused of defrauding investors out of. Hunsicker was criminally charged and accused of promoting the company to investors as a more than $1.4 billion "Clothing-as-a-Service" business that helped companies rent apparel to consumers with an option to buy, despite knowing it was financially distressed and short of cash. Read more.
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"It was going to be really awkward for the court."
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