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The Daily Docket

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

By Caitlin Tremblay

Good morning. Opening statements are expected today in the tax evasion trial of prominent lawyer Tom Goldstein. It’s shaping up to be a busy day in the courts. The 9th Circuit will hear cases involving youth social media use and temporary protected status for Venezuelans and Haitians. Plus, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue opinions with the tariffs case still pending. Here are some very cool photos of the Dakar Rally, one of the most dangerous off-road races in the world. We’ve made it to Wednesday, now let’s floor it to Friday.

Has Tom Goldstein's luck run out?

REUTERS/Leah Millis

Tom Goldstein was a prominent lawyer in Washington who argued dozens of cases before the U.S. Supreme Court until a double life involving high-stakes poker games sidetracked his career. Now Goldstein is wagering that jurors will reject federal tax evasion charges brought against him and spare him from prison.

Jury selection kicked off earlier this week and opening statements are expected today before U.S. District Judge Lydia Griggsby in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Goldstein has denied knowingly violating the law, saying in court papers that errors in his tax returns were due to sloppiness by his bookkeepers and accountants. He pleaded not guilty and twice turned down an offer of a plea deal by the DOJ. Read more here.

Followup: Yesterday I flagged U.S. Supreme Court arguments over transgender sports bans in two states. Here’s how that went.

Coming up today

SCOTUS: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in two cases and is also expected to announce opinions.
Data privacy: The 9th Circuit will hear arguments in Netchoice’s lawsuit challenging California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, which requires online services accessed by minors to have high default privacy settings.
Immigration: The Trump administration will urge a 9th Circuit panel to overturn a judge's ruling holding it violated federal law by moving to cancel temporary protections from deportation for more than 1 million Venezuelans and Haitians living in the United States.
Immigration: U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in D.C. will hold a motion hearing in a lawsuit from 13 members of Congress challenging a Trump administration policy that blocks unannounced congressional oversight of federal immigration detention facilities. Read the motion.
Government: The state of Minnesota will urge U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino in St. Paul to order the Trump administration to roll back changes it made to SNAP and recertify more than 100,000 households that previously received benefits. Read the complaint.
Civil rights: U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, will hold a bench trial in a lawsuit by an LGBTQ+ student group at West Texas A&M University challenging a decision to bar it from hosting charity drag shows on campus.
Environment: U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in D.C. will consider Equinor's motion for a preliminary injunction that would allow it to proceed with construction on its Empire Wind offshore wind farm and block President Trump's pause on offshore wind activity.
Criminal: Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington in November, is due to appear in court for a status conference.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

More top news

Industry insight

Four senior civil rights lawyers at the DOJ resigned recently, partly due to their unit being sidelined from investigating a Minnesota woman’s fatal shooting by an ICE officer, according to two sources. Read more about it here.
Moves: Former USPTO Solicitor Farheena Rasheed joined Orrick’s Supreme Court and appellate practice … Robbert Giacchetti moved to Seyfarth Shaw’s M&A practice from Holland & Knight … Fried Frank added real estate partners Adam Endick and Christy Mazzola from Vinson & Elkins … Leveraged finance partner Mae Rogers joined King & Spalding from Mayer Brown … Arnold & Porter added life sciences and healthcare regulatory partner Fabien Roy from Hogan Lovells … Greenspoon Marder brought on James Wolff from Warshaw Burstein for its innovation and technology practice … Dechert hired financial services partner David Marcinkus from the SEC where he was counsel to the chairman … Commercial and public finance partner Phillip Brown moved to Thompson Hine from Jones Day.

In the courts

Twelve Democratic state AGs filed a lawsuit in federal court in Rhode Island to block the Trump administration from withholding health grants from states, hospitals and universities over new conditions they say would compel discrimination against transgender Americans. Read the complaint.
A group of elite U.S. universities including Cornell, Georgetown and the University of Pennsylvania must face a lawsuit claiming they conspired to suppress competition on financial aid, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Chicago ruled. Read the decision.
Groups representing Jewish faculty and students at the University of Pennsylvania filed a motion in Philadelphia federal court seeking to block the EEOC from forcing the school to disclose their personal information. Read the filing.
Epic Systems sued several companies in California federal court, accusing them of improperly accessing patient medical records and selling their data, including to mass tort attorneys looking for clients.
U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger temporarily blocked Tennessee gaming regulators from