Social media is one of the fastest ways to deliver information to a large group of people. Occasionally on social media, it is common to “block” people so that you do not have to see their posts and vice versa. However, when a public official blocks someone and prevents them from receiving information—is this a violation of their First Amendment rights? This November the Supreme Court must determine if public officials engaging in “state action” are constitutionally permitted to block certain parents from their social media accounts used to promote school policies and provide general information to others[1]. Depending on… read more »
Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Biden Administration’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan
Today in our nation’s capital, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in relation to the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan (hereinafter, the “Plan”). The Court heard arguments in two different cases – Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown – both of which involve similar yet distinct factual backgrounds and issues of law that will impact the very future of this debt cancellation. While the Court will not reach a final decision on these cases for another several months (many experts predict late June of 2023), today’s events provided a “sneak-preview” of where the Court is likely… read more »
Inherited IRAs are Not Protected from Judgment Creditors
The Internal Revenue Code defines an IRA as an individual retirement account/ annuity which was acquired because of the death of another person when the recipient was not the surviving spouse. The Judicial Code protects retirement funds and accounts from attachment or execution by judgment creditors. Until recently, Pennsylvania Courts had not addressed whether inherited IRAs were subject to that protection. In June, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied an appeal from a January 2022 ruling by the Superior Court of Pennsylvania regarding Inherited IRAs. The issue arose in an Allegheny County garnishment action and was eventually presented before the Pennsylvania… read more »
Eviction Update: SCOTUS Strikes Down CDC Moratorium
On August 26, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a per curiam decision stating that the statute on which the Center for Disease Control relied to issue a moratorium on residential evictions does not grant the CDC the authority that it claims. The court went on to state that it would be a different matter “if Congress had specifically authorized the action that the CDC has taken.” Instead, the Court stated, the CDC imposed a nationwide eviction moratorium while claiming authority under an old statute which allowed the CDC to implement pest extermination and fumigation. After a… read more »
