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The Daily Docket

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

By Caitlin Tremblay

Good morning. President Trump’s appeal in law firm cases draws two Obama-appointed judges and one Trump appointee. Plus, the 9th Circuit will hear arguments in a lawsuit over a controversial home being built in Glacier National Park; Trump's voting restrictions bill may fail, but parts live on in 23 states; and the tariff refund system is set to launch on Monday. Here’s a look at this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. Don’t look back in anger, we made it to Wednesday. Hope your day goes to eleven.

Trump appeal in law firm cases draws two Obama-appointed judges, one Trump appointee

REUTERS/Kevin Wurm

A D.C. Circuit panel with two Democratic appointees and one Trump appointee will hear the Trump administration’s appeal of rulings that blocked executive orders targeting major law firms over their past clients, diversity policies and political ties. Circuit Judges Sri Srinivasan and Cornelia Pillard, both appointed by former President Obama, and Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, who was appointed by President Trump in his first term, will hear arguments in the appeals on May 14.

The hearing tests whether Trump can punish firms he says “weaponized” the legal system, or whether the orders violate core free‑speech and due‑process protections. The outcome could shape how far future presidents can go in using executive power against the legal profession.

Find out more about the judges here.

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Coming up today

Environment: The 9th Circuit will hear arguments in a lawsuit over a controversial home being built in Glacier National Park. The lawsuit claims a California couple did not have a permit for work that could impact the McDonald Creek, but a lower court ruled that the conservation district lacked the jurisdiction to enforce the Montana Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act on private land within the park.
Social media: U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland will hold a hearing on summary judgment motions in youth social media addiction lawsuits brought by State AGs slated for trial in August.
SCOTUS: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is scheduled to speak at the University of Texas at Austin about the 250th birthday of the United States.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

More top news

Industry insight

A Texas Tech law student has sued the university, alleging administrators violated her free speech rights when they disciplined her over comments she made on campus about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

23

That’s how many states have recently changed their voting procedures to mirror key aspects of the SAVE America Act, President Trump’s sweeping package of voting restrictions, in time for November’s midterm elections, a Reuters analysis shows. Find out more on the state laws here.

"This seems hopeless to me."

—William Kovacic, director of the competition law center at George Washington University, on a potential deal between United Airlines and American Airlines. Any deal would create an industry behemoth and invite extraordinary scrutiny from regulators, labor unions and consumer advocates, all wary of higher fares and ‌reduced competition. Read more analysis here.

In the courts

Immigration: The D.C. Circuit blocked a judge from conducting an investigation into whether the Trump administration willfully violated a judicial order to stop deportation flights of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador. Read the opinion.
Tariffs: U.S. Customs and Border Protection completed the development of the initial phase of the system for refunding $166 billion in tariffs that were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in February, the agency said in a Tuesday court filing.
FTC: The FTC settled three lawsuits accusing companies of falsely claiming their products were made in the United States, including a case against a seller of American flags sourced from China.
IP: The Federal Circuit revived a lawsuit brought by patent owner VLSI Technology against Intel over semiconductor innovations, giving VLSI a new chance to win damages from the chipmaker in their multi-billion-dollar patent dispute. Read the opinion.
Antitrust: PVC pipe maker Westlake and a subsidiary have agreed to pay $67 million to settle price‑fixing claims brought by builders and other buyers, marking the largest settlement so far in nationwide U.S. antitrust litigation over the PVC pipe market.
Environment: The NAACP sued xAI and a subsidiary, claiming they illegally operated more than two dozen gas turbines in Mississippi to power its Colossus 2 data center, posing a health risk to local residents. Read the complaint.
Antitrust: Google was sued in San Francisco federal court by rival app store maker Aptoide, which alleges the tech giant illegally monopolized Android app distribution and billing to shut out competitors. Read the complaint.