LEGAL NEWSLINE

TOPEKA – The Kansas Fights Addiction (KFA) Grant Review Board has approved a third round of funding, totaling $6 million, to support substance use disorder (SUD) services across the state, announced Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach.

OKLAHOMA CITY (June 18, 2024) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond praised a recent ruling by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that ensures Oklahoma schools and universities will continue to separate bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports based on sex assigned at birth.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that Washington state, city, and county governments received a $123.34 million payment from Johnson & Johnson as part of the state's litigation against companies involved in the opioid crisis. The funds are to be split evenly between state and local governments and used to combat the opioid epidemic.

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced over $4.7 million for Central New York from a historic $462 million multistate settlement with JUUL Labs Inc. (JUUL). This settlement addresses the youth vaping epidemic that led to a significant rise in underage e-cigarette use nationwide. New York state will receive a total of $112.7 million, which will be distributed across counties, Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and the five largest cities in the state to support programs aimed at reducing and preventing underage vaping.

Attorney General Mayes Releases Statement on Rulings in Cochise County Election Interference Case

June 18, 2024 (DENVER) – Attorney General Phil Weiser announced today that his office filed a lawsuit against Gee Distributors, LLC and its owner, Christopher Landon Eoff. The investigation found Eoff’s company, doing business as CBDDY, illegally sold cannabis products marketed as federally legal industrial hemp despite containing THC levels up to 35 times higher than allowed by law. This lawsuit marks the first industrial hemp enforcement action taken by the attorney general.

The Virginia Court of Appeals has issued a writ of actual innocence to Marvin Grimm, who was wrongfully convicted in 1976 for murder, abduction, and sodomy. The decision follows a successful petition by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) based on new DNA evidence.

The Justice Department announced today its findings that the State of Missouri violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by unnecessarily institutionalizing adults with mental health disabilities in nursing facilities. The investigation also examined the role of guardianships in such institutionalization.

The last defendant of the six La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang members who were convicted at two separate federal trials was sentenced today. The six defendants were sentenced for racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, and offenses related to the murders of four men in 2019.

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin announced today at the annual Missing Persons Event in Benton that his office will establish a new unit dedicated to investigating cold cases.

The Justice Department announced today its findings that Alaska violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide an accessible ballot for in-person voting, selecting inaccessible polling places for federal, state, and local elections, and maintaining an inaccessible elections website. The ADA mandates that states' voting services, programs, and activities be accessible to individuals with disabilities.

COVINGTON, Kentucky – A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction stopping the U.S. Department of Education from “implementing, enacting, enforcing or taking any action in any manner” regarding the Biden administration’ recent Title IX regulation.

Judicial Branch courts and the Administrative Office of the Courts will be closed Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in observance of Juneteenth. They will reopen on Thursday, June 20 at 8:00 a.m.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - A class action lawsuit claims citric acid ruins Hershey's claims that Pirate's Booty snacks contain no artificial preservatives.

WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Weaving through a maze of different state laws, a Delaware judge dismissed some of more than 150 claims that Syngenta’s paraquat weed killer causes Parkinson’s disease, although other claims remain intact.

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - Truckers will be penalized for crossing below 60th street in Manhattan in order to alleviate traffic congestion, a federal lawsuit says, while the vehicles that cause that gridlock won't.

CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Private lawyers working for state and municipal governments will be paid almost $700 an hour for their work in negotiating some $26 billion in settlements with the opioid industry.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla — Attorney General Ashley Moody is leading a multistate coalition of attorneys general in support of President Trump’s First Amendment rights. This action comes as another prosecutor seeks to impose an unlawful gag order on the former president. The coalition has filed an amicus brief, arguing that such a measure is both wrong and unconstitutional.

LANSING – The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has directed a federal district court to remand the case Nessel v. Enbridge back to state court, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. The Attorney General argued before the Sixth Circuit in March that the case seeking to shut down the aging oil pipeline must be sent back to state court, where it was originally filed and litigated for over a year. The Sixth Circuit agreed and ordered the case to be remanded back to the 30th Circuit Court in Ingham County, where proceedings are expected to resume before Judge James S. Jamo.

Attorney General Miyares Announces Elder Abuse Investigation Center for Central Virginia