Supreme Court Revives Trump-Era Asylum Processing Policy

The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with the Trump administration in a closely watched asylum-processing dispute, overturning a lower-court ruling that had blocked the policy as unlawful. The decision gives the federal government wider room to structure how asylum claims are handled at the border and underscores the Court’s continued attention to the scope of executive authority in immigration enforcement.

At a high level, the case centered on whether the administration’s asylum-processing framework was consistent with governing immigration statutes and the procedural limits imposed by federal law.

Supreme Court Reverses and Remands in No. 24-856: What the Bare Judgment Means

The Supreme Court’s June 23, 2026 disposition in No. 24-856 is notably concise: the judgment below was reversed and the case remanded. At least from the docket entry provided, the Court has not supplied an accompanying merits opinion in the materials summarized here. Even so, that procedural posture carries real significance for lawyers tracking the case and for practitioners thinking about next steps in the lower courts.

A reversal and remand means the Supreme Court concluded the lower court’s judgment cannot stand and that further proceedings are required.

Tesla Targets EV-Related Patent in New PTAB Challenge

Tesla has filed a new inter partes review petition at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, opening IPR2026-00380 on June 18, 2026. At this early stage, the public docket identifies the proceeding under the caption Tesla Inc., but key details that practitioners will want to monitor—including the patent owner, the specific patent number, and the prior-art combinations asserted—may become clearer as the petition and related papers are added to the record.

Even with a limited docket snapshot, the filing itself is notable.

Andrew Left Guilty in Closely Watched Securities-Fraud Trial

A federal jury has found short seller Andrew Left guilty of securities fraud, delivering a notable win for the U.S. Department of Justice in a criminal case closely watched by the securities bar, hedge funds, issuers, and compliance teams. Prosecutors alleged that Left used his public commentary to move stock prices while privately trading in ways that conflicted with the market-facing views he was promoting.

The verdict is significant because it pushes market-manipulation enforcement beyond the familiar civil playbook and into criminal territory.

Asheville Appellees Ask Fourth Circuit to End Appeal at the Threshold

A June 17, 2026 filing in the Fourth Circuit puts a familiar but strategically significant appellate issue front and center: whether an appeal should be dismissed before the merits briefing even begins. In No. 25, appellees Debra Campbell, the City of Asheville, and Esther Elizabeth Manheimer moved to dismiss the appeal in Case No. 26-1014, asking the court to terminate the proceeding at the outset rather than allow it to move forward on a full briefing schedule.

Although the short docket entry does not itself spell out every ground raised, motions like this typically target threshold defects that go to the appellate court’s power to hear the case at all.

Asheville Appellees Move to End Fourth Circuit Appeal at the Threshold

A June 17 filing in the Fourth Circuit could stop appeal No. 26-1014 before merits briefing ever begins. In No. 25 MOTION, Debra Campbell, the City of Asheville, and Esther Elizabeth Manheimer ask the court to dismiss the appeal outright—a reminder that appellees do not always need to wait for full briefing to challenge whether an appeal belongs in federal appellate court at all.

Although the docket entry provides only the motion’s caption-level description, the filing appears to be a classic threshold attack on the appeal itself.

DOJ’s $6.5 Billion Healthcare Fraud Takedown Signals Aggressive Enforcement Across Federal Districts

The Justice Department has announced one of its largest coordinated healthcare fraud enforcement actions to date, charging 455 defendants in connection with more than $6.5 billion in alleged false claims.

Third Circuit Clarifies Key Appellate Standards in 24-2766

The Third Circuit’s June 16, 2026 opinion in 24-2766 is a useful reminder that appellate outcomes often turn as much on standards of review and preservation as on the underlying merits. Although the docket entry identifies the decision simply as “Opinion,” the court’s reasoning appears to focus on how the district court handled the disputed issue below, what arguments were properly preserved, and whether the appellant met the burden required to obtain reversal.

At a high level, the court affirmed in part and/or otherwise left intact the lower court’s core ruling by applying a disciplined appellate framework: first identifying the applicable standard of review, then measuring the challenged ruling against that standard rather than reconsidering the case from scratch.

New PTAB Challenge Targets Luxottica in IPR2026-00376

A new inter partes review, IPR2026-00376, was filed at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board on June 18, 2026, naming Luxottica of America Inc. in the proceeding. While the publicly available docket caption confirms the PTAB filing and the involvement of Luxottica, this is the kind of early-stage matter patent practitioners will want to watch closely as the petition, patent-at-issue, and asserted invalidity theories come into sharper focus.

At this stage, the key takeaway is that a petitioner has asked the PTAB to institute trial on one or more claims of a patent connected to Luxottica.

SEC, Musk Seek Court Approval for Twitter Disclosure Settlement

The Securities and Exchange Commission and Elon Musk have asked a federal court in Washington, D.C., to approve a settlement resolving claims that Musk failed to timely disclose his purchases of Twitter stock in 2022. The proposed resolution includes a $1.5 million civil penalty and would close one of the more visible disclosure-related enforcement disputes arising from Musk’s acquisition of the social media platform.

At the center of the matter is Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act, which generally requires investors who cross the 5% ownership threshold in a public company to promptly disclose that stake to the market.

Supreme Court’s Late-Term Docket Puts Business, Civil Rights, and Agency Power in Focus

As the Supreme Court enters the final stretch of its term, the legal industry is closely watching a cluster of pending decisions that could reshape litigation strategy, regulatory compliance, and constitutional doctrine well beyond June. The current legal news cycle is being driven less by a single blockbuster ruling than by the unusually broad practical impact of the Court’s remaining docket.

The cases drawing the most attention reportedly span administrative authority, civil rights, employment-related disputes, and the scope of federal power.

Visa and Mastercard Win Preliminary Approval for $38 Billion Swipe-Fee Deal

A federal judge in New York has granted preliminary approval to a revised $38 billion settlement in the long-running interchange-fee litigation against Visa and Mastercard, marking another major milestone in one of the largest antitrust-related civil cases in U.S. history. The case centers on merchant allegations that the card networks and related defendants imposed excessive “swipe fees” and maintained anticompetitive rules that inflated the cost of accepting credit cards.

Preliminary approval is not the end of the road.

Supreme Court Denies Cert in 25-906 Over Alito Dissent

The Supreme Court denied certiorari in docket 25-906, but the denial drew added attention because Justice Alito noted a dissent from the Court’s refusal to hear the case.

DOJ Charges Five in Alleged Plot to Attack White House UFC Event

The Justice Department announced on June 16, 2026, that five men were arrested and charged in federal court in connection with an alleged conspiracy to attack and kill government officials and other attendees at a UFC event hosted at the White House. According to prosecutors, the alleged scheme went well beyond inflammatory rhetoric: the government says it involved coordinated planning, weapons procurement, and activity spanning multiple states.

Even at the charging stage, the case stands out for both the alleged target and the theory of prosecution.

Supreme Court Limits Gun Ban for Unlawful Drug Users

The Supreme Court on June 18 narrowed how the federal government may apply the firearms ban covering “unlawful users” of controlled substances, rejecting a broader theory that could have swept in a wide range of gun owners, including some marijuana users. The ruling is likely to become a significant reference point in Second Amendment litigation because it addresses how closely firearm restrictions must fit the government’s asserted public-safety rationale.

At issue was the federal statute that bars certain drug users from possessing firearms.

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