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The Cato Institute's Jay Schweikert (left), 9th Circuit Judge Daniel Collins (center) and UCLA Law Professor Stuart Banner (right). (Credit: Shutterstock/ALM/Courtesy)

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Will SCOTUS Review the Central District's COVID Ban on Jury Trials?

The fate of the Speedy Trial Act could soon be before the U.S. Supreme Court, or so say proponents of a certiorari petition up for its first conference this Thursday.

Bolstered by a split circuit decision on en banc review, the writ petition concerns not only new issues regarding COVID-19 restrictions but longstanding issues regarding the right to a jury trial, with a May 3 amicus brief warning the appellate ruling "allows District Courts to utilize the ends-of-justice provision to suspend speedy trial rights indefinitely."

The dissent on the en banc review from Judge Daniel Collins also represents what one of Collins' colleagues said is a big change with the appointment of so many new judges over the last few years.

Dissents "have definitely gone up" as more judges want "to express their displeasure that a case did not go en banc," Judge John B. Owens said during a March luncheon with the Federal Bar Association's Orange County chapter. 

Dissenting judges are "basically sending an advertisement or a brief to the Supreme Court saying, 'Hey, Supreme Court, take a look at this,'" Owens said.

Read the rest of my story here.

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In Blow to Bayer, Solicitor General Now Backs $80M Roundup Verdict

Speaking of the U.S. Supreme Court, another cert petition in a 9th Circuit case garnered an unusual change-in-opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice.

U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar Courtesy photo

In an amicus brief filed on Tuesday, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said the U.S. Supreme Court should deny review of Bayer's petition to reverse an $80 million Roundup verdict.

Tuesday's filing comes two years after the Justice Department under President Donald Trump sided with Bayer's preemption argument in the case, which was then before the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

The petition comes as Bayer continues to negotiate settlements of Roundup lawsuits, announcing in 2020 that it would cost nearly $10 billion to resolve 75% of an estimated 125,000 claims

Read the rest of Amanda Bronstad's story here.

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On the Radar

CLM Provider Secures $85M Investment, Looks to Capitalize on Pandemic Growth