FedSoc Forums

Marlean Ames, a straight woman, was denied promotion and later demoted in her role at the Ohio Department of Youth Services by her lesbian supervisor. The position she sought and her former position were then given to a lesbian woman and a gay man, respectively. This prompted Ames to file suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, arguing that she was unlawfully discriminated against ba...

Encinitas Unified School District required two fifth-grade boys and their assigned kindergarten buddies to read and watch My Shadow is Pink and do an activity, pressuring the kindergartners to choose a color to represent their own shadows. The plaintiffs allege this was designed to make the students question their gender identity. Represented by First Liberty Institute and the National Center for...

It is widely known that schools have instituted equity-focused policies, teacher training, and curriculum. Critics wonder whether this focus on equity is illegal and unconstitutional. Deemar v. District 65 (Evanston/Skokie) involves Dr. Stacy Deemar, a drama teacher in Evanston/Skokie School District 65 in Illinois. She has challenged the District’s allegedly racially charged environment and...

For the first time in years, the U.S. Supreme Court is addressing questions of religious liberty and is doing so with three significant cases: Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission, Mahmoud v. Taylor, and Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, which have the potential to shape religious liberty in the United States for years to come. Join...

With Republicans holding control in Washington, a significant debate has emerged within conservative circles regarding the role of the federal government in primary and secondary education. Should conservatives leverage their electoral mandate to influence the curricula of K-12 schools, or is good governance better served by a more restrained approach? What is the purview of the federal government...

This case concerned the question of whether the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires an agency to study environmental impacts beyond the proximate effects of the action over which the agency has regulatory authority. When the Surface Transportation Board granted a petition from the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition to construct and operate an 80-mile Utah railway, they conducted a...

In Barnes v. Felix the Supreme Court addressed what context courts need to consider when evaluating an excessive force claim brought under the Fourth Amendment. Some circuits, including the Fifth Circuit (which decided Barnes before it reached the Supreme Court), as well as the Second, Fourth, and Eighth Circuits, had adopted the “moment of threat” doctrine. This approach focuses solel...

President Trump has issued several executive orders addressing alleged national security threats and discriminatory practices by some of the most prominent law firms in the country. Some of these firms and attorneys have challenged the EOs and actions taken by the administration in response to them, many of them settling with the administration. What does the Constitution have to say about these a...

On May 7, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit challenging Microsoft's $69 billion purchase of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard, affirming the lower judge's order finding that the FTC was not entitled to a preliminary injunction blocking the deal, which closed in 2023. Hear from former agency officials and amici filers f...

Eric Claeys’ new publication, Natural Property Rights, presents a novel theory of property based on individual, pre-political rights. The book argues that a just system of property protects people's rights to use resources and also orders those rights consistent with natural law and the public welfare. Drawing on influential property theorists such as Grotius, Locke, Blackstone, and early Am...

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order effectively ending birthright citizenship for children born to mothers who are unlawfully present or temporary lawful residents in the United States and whose fathers are not lawful permanent residents at the time of the child’s birth. One day later, four states and three individuals challenged this order in the U.S. District Cou...

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order effectively ending birthright citizenship for children born to mothers who are unlawfully present or temporary lawful residents in the United States and whose fathers are not lawful permanent residents at the time of the child’s birth. One day later, four states and three individuals challenged this order in the U.S. District Cou...

Elizabeth Odette is the Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division in the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General and the Antitrust Task Force Chair for the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). Tune in to this conversation to hear about her work, the antitrust enforcement priorities of NAAG, reflections on the current direction of state antitrust enforcement, and more. Fea...

Currently, the FDIC and NCUA—apart from a limited number of state credit unions—maintain a government-enforced duopoly on deposit insurance. This webinar will explore whether the existing framework should be preserved or reformed, including the potential expansion of private deposit insurance beyond the few states that currently permit it for state credit unions to all banks and credit...

Stablecoins are important emerging financial products, and this webinar will explore their benefits, opportunities, and use cases. Additionally, it will identify risks, challenges, and concerns associated with stablecoins. The webinar will provide an overview of the State of Wyoming’s stablecoin program, known as Wyoming Stable Tokens. Furthermore, it will delve into private sector stable co...

On April 17, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held that Google violated antitrust law through the monopolization of digital advertisement. Google’s “exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google's publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web,” said the Court. This is the second case in which...

Feliciano v. Department of Transportation the Court was presented with the question of whether a federal civilian employee called or ordered to active duty under a provision of law during a national emergency is entitled to differential pay even if the duty is not directly connected to the national emergency. The Federal Circuit had initially held that Nick Feliciano, an air traffic controller wit...

On October 20, 2023, the Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond sued the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board for signing a contract with St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, claiming that St. Isidore cannot participate in the charter school program because it is a religious school. The Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed, holding that the contract violated the Establishment Clause. Th...

Discussions about the United States acquiring Greenland have re-emerged in public discourse, particularly during the second Trump administration, highlighting the enduring strategic importance of the island. This webinar will provide crucial context to the current debate by exploring historical attempts at acquisition, analyzing the underlying strategic and economic interests driving this consider...

Join the Federalist Society for a debate on the role of tariffs during the Trump administration and their lasting impact on trade policy. This panel will explore the economic and legal implications of the administration’s tariff strategy, its effects on American businesses and consumers, and the broader consequences for international trade relations. Experts will discuss whether these polici...

In 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency withdrew California’s previously-granted waiver to implement its Advanced Clean Car Program. This program had been in effect since 2013 and required that car companies reduce carbon dioxide emissions and produce fleets that are at least 15% electric vehicles. The waiver was withdrawn due to a lack of “compelling and extraordinary conditions&...

In January, President Trump renamed the "Gulf of Mexico" the "Gulf of America." The Associated Press refused to follow that lead, keeping "Gulf of Mexico" in its style guide. The White House responded by denying AP reporters access to some White House press events. The AP sued, and Judge McFadden of the District of Columbia recently issued an opinion siding with the AP. What are the First Amendmen...

Since Inauguration Day, President Trump and his Cabinet have taken a range of important executive actions directly impacting environmental law and regulations with a laser focus on achieving domestic energy dominance – a centerpiece of the Trump agenda. This panel will review these executive actions along with other upcoming major regulatory reform activities, and their possible future i...

In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Supreme Court will decide whether parents have the right to be notified and opt their children out of classroom lessons on gender and sexuality that violate their religious beliefs. In 2022, the Montgomery County, Maryland, School Board introduced storybooks for pre-K through fifth-grade classrooms covering topics like gender transitions and pride parades. Maryland law an...

In Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc. the Supreme Court will consider "Whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit erred in holding that the structure of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force violates the Constitution's appointments clause and in declining to sever the statutory provision that it found to unduly insulate the task force from the Health & Human Services secretary&...