Quotable
He “believed strongly in proceeding one case at a time, letting the law evolve slowly rather than in big, bold pronouncements.”

– William & Mary Law Professor Allison Orr Larsen, speaking about former U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter, who died in May at age 85. Larsen served as one of Souter’s law clerks.

Souter was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1990 by George H.W. Bush, serving nearly two decades before retiring in 2009.

“Justice David Souter served our Court with great distinction for nearly twenty years. He brought uncommon wisdom and kindness to a lifetime of public service. After retiring to his beloved New Hampshire in 2009, he continued to render significant service to our branch by sitting regularly on the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit for more than a decade. He will be greatly missed,” said Chief Justice John G. Roberts.

Source: The New York Times; supremecourt.gov.

By the Numbers
19%

The percentage boost in security funding that federal judges are seeking for 2026.

Judge Amy St. Eve and Judge Michael Scudder Jr., both members of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana), represented the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Budget Committee during a June hearing before the U.S. House’s Judiciary Committee.

They asked for $892 million in security funding “to address a complex and evolving threat environment.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s recent budget request for additional security for the court system was not approved by the Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance.

Source: Reuters; WisPolitics.

Spotlight
Cannabis Litigation Watch: Product Testing & Labeling

Recreational marijuana products are still illegal in Wisconsin, but they are legal in 31 states, including neighboring Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota.

Reports note recent litigation and regulatory issues, including potential product testing and labeling manipulation.

“This is happening everywhere,” wrote Gene Markin in The National Law Review.

“Lab testing fraud, skewed results, data manipulation, and false reporting for profit and market share is a widespread problem affecting nearly every legalized state and recreational market resulting in mislabeling, deception, and increased consumer safety risks.

“Mislabeled products with overinflated THC and/or CBD potencies may spur lawsuits from competitors for unfair competition, deceptive practices, and false advertising.”

Good Ideas?
Age Restrictions on Handgun Sales?

Does it violate constitutional rights to prohibit individuals under age 21 from purchasing handguns?

A three-judge panel for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled (2-1) that such age restrictions are constitutionally valid.

“From English common law to America’s founding and beyond, our regulatory tradition has permitted restrictions on the sale of firearms to individuals under the age of 21,” U.S. Circuit Judge Harvie Wilkinson, a Ronald Reagan appointee, wrote for the majority.

A group of six young people filed class actions to challenge the age restrictions and won judgments in Virginia and West Virginia – but the federal appeals court reversed.

Another judge on the three-judge panel upholding the age regulation: Judge Toby Heytens, a member of Superior High School’s Mock Trial Team in the 1990s. President Joe Biden nominated him to the federal bench in 2021, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate the same year.

From the Archives
All for One, One for All

Donald L. Heaney was president of the State Bar of Wisconsin in 1985, which was 40 years ago. In the August 1985 issue of the Wisconsin Bar Bulletin (now Wisconsin Lawyer), he said the following about the State Bar of Wisconsin:

“As we guide our association and address its energies to the work that must be done, we need to remember that this is an association of all the lawyers in this state. Not all of those lawyers are in the majority and perhaps no lawyer is always in the majority. Yet each lawyer must belong. This requires a degree of delicacy and sensitivity to the interest and the beliefs of those who sometimes or always are a minority. It is the policy of this association to practice these virtues insofar as our human frailty will permit.”