Civil Procedure Commons^™

Judging Fast And Slow, Bert I. Huang

Faculty Scholarship

The federal courts serve as our first responders in conflicts over constitutional rights and the separation of powers. They are called upon to react — fast — to legal challenges to governmental actions. To avert harm before it’s too late, they may rule within weeks, days, or even hours. They have done so in recent cases about free speech, freedom of the press, election law, independent agencies, federal workers, domestic troop deployments, spending and taxation, due process, search and seizure, and more.

The trial judges and appeals courts of the federal judiciary have long been tasked with this kind of …

Davis V. Dist. Ct., 123 Nev. Adv. Op. 58 (Aug. 27, 2026), Tristen Fleig

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

In Davis v. Dist. Ct., the Supreme Court upheld the court's authority to issue orders and impose sanctions during discovery, after Petitioner claimed NAC 641.234(3) limited the court's authority to order disclosure of psychologist data.

8933 Square Knot Trust, A Nevada Trust, Appellant V. The Bank Of New York Mellon, 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 56 (Aug. 20, 2026), William Fischer

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Under NRCP 12(g)(2), additional motions for dismissal may not be filed unless for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction or the arguments were preserved at initial filing. Subject-matter jurisdiction is determined at the onset of a proceeding.

Lytle Trust Et Al V. Gerry R. Zobrist & Jolin G. Zobrist Family Trust Et Al, 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 50 (July 2, 2026), William Mcadorey

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Under NRS 22.100(3), attorney fee awards under the lodestar method are generally calculated using the billed rate the prevailing party is actually charged, absent distinct circumstances.

Zhang V. Zhang, 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 45 (June 18, 2026), Nathan Mackay

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Even when a party has violated their disclosure requirements, a district court must analyze the Young factors before issuing a discovery sanction that effectively terminates the case with prejudice.

Intellectual Humility By Design: How Courts Earn Legitimacy And Improve Decisions, Steve Leben

Faculty Works

Courts decide disputes as one branch of our government. Their authority depends not only on getting the outcome right but also on public acceptance of their authority. In a time when confidence in institutions is under pressure, courts cannot assume that legitimacy will take care of itself. They must earn it—case by case—through both the substance of what they decide and the way they exercise authority in public view.

A large body of procedural-justice research explains one side of that equation. People are more willing to accept court decisions, even unfavorable ones, when the process communicates voice, neutrality, respect, and …

Aggregation And The “Universal” Injunction, Portia Pedro, Adam N. Steinman

Faculty Scholarship

In this Essay, we begin with a brief summary of the CASA decision’s holding regarding the availability of “universal” injunctions. Part II discusses the relationship between remedies and judicial review and the important role that such injunctions play in that regard. Part III explores how class actions could serve as an alternative path for federal courts, after engaging in judicial review, to make their decisions meaningful by requiring officials to comply with the law and to cease illegal actions or policies. We also respond to several objections to the use of class actions in this context. The final Part addresses …

Making The Party Presentation Principle Safe For Originalism, Randy E. Barnett, Lawrence B. Solum

Faculty Scholarship

The Supreme Court sometimes adheres to what it calls the “party presentation principle”—terminology that dates back to 2008. Although judicial articulations of the principle have been inconsistent and imprecise, the gist is the familiar notion that courts should resolve cases on the basis of the issues and reasons presented by the parties to the dispute. Conversely, questions not properly raised by the parties should be avoided by the Court. Thus, the Court has on several occasions declined to address arguments outside the scope of the questions raised by the parties in their petition for certiorari.

For originalists, the importance of …

Powers V. Dist. Ct., 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 35 (May 14, 2026), Luis Dorantes

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

NRS 629.620 is unconstitutional and of no effect to the extent that it conflicts with NRCP 35 in governing court-ordered mental and physical examinations during civil discovery.

Rosenbrook V. Lloyd, 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 36 (May 14, 2026), David Elder

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Motions to dismiss in defamation cases should not be granted in full when some communications are protected under the anti-SLAPP statute and others are not.

Lennar Communities Nevada, Llc, And Greystone Nevada, Llc V. Pamela Whalen, 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 29 (Apr. 16, 2026), Christianne White

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Courts should employ a totality of the circumstances test when determining if a party acted inconsistently with the right to arbitrate.

Order And Orthodox: The Influence Of Ecclesiastical Courts On The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure And A Biblical Worldview, Rachel Auld

Senior Honors Theses

When analyzing the English history of American civil procedure, one could stop at the common law; however, England had two distinct courts at the time of the American Revolution: King’s courts and Ecclesiastical courts. At this time, the Ecclesiastical courts governed religious and moral issues including divorce, defamation, and probate. As a result, the Ecclesiastical courts had separate procedures from the common law King’s courts. America adopted the Ecclesiastical courts’ legal fields, and in turn, aspects of the Ecclesiastical court procedure. This thesis addresses the influence of the Ecclesiastical courts on the modern American Federal Rules of Civil Procedure by …

Vegas Aqua, Llc Vs. Jupitor Corp., 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 21 (Mar. 05, 2026), Miranda Romero

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The plain language of Nevada Short Trial Rules (NSTR) Rule 3(d) requires a district court judge to adjudicate objections to proposed judgments rather than a short trial judge, and public policy requires adjudication of any proposed NRCP 59 motions.

Our Nev. Judges, Inc. V. Dist. Ct., 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 16 (Feb. 26, 2026), Michael Martinelli

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

A Writ of Mandamus cannot join claims from separate and distinct cases except in rare circumstances.

City Of Reno V. Dist. Ct. (Conrad) (Civil) [State Of Nevada], 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 13 (Feb. 26, 2026), Nathan Mackay

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Before issuing an ex parte writ of mandamus, a district court must address why regular inter partes procedure is inadequate. A district court that does not consider whether ex parte practice is appropriate abuses its discretion in issuing the writ.

Burns (Gregory) V. Eighth Judicial Dist. Ct. (Doe) (Civil), 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 8 (Jan. 29, 2026), Charnel Gibson

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Nevada Supreme Court adopted a balancing test for pseudonymous civil cases. Because the sexual-assault plaintiff’s privacy outweighed any prejudice and the public interest, the Court denied mandamus relief.

Hallucinated Legal Presentations In Civil Trial Courts, Jeffrey Parness

Cardozo Law Review de•novo

Increasingly, hallucinated legal presentations are being discovered and sanctioned in U.S. federal and state civil trial courts. Such presentations encompass papers that are signed, filed, submitted, or advocated, which contain nonexistent legal sources, whether case precedents, statutes, court rules, administrative regulations, or otherwise. These presentations may be discovered by judges, presenting lawyers, opposing lawyers, unrepresented parties, or witnesses.

Peeking Inside The Black Box: Discovery In Fair Housing Act Cases Arising From Ai Decision Making, Jessica Mahon Scoles

Faculty Scholarship

In today’s real estate market, more housing decisions are being automated. If artificial intelligence renders a biased decision, will the person impacted have any legal recourse? Commentators have expressed concern that the proprietary nature of AI will allow defendants in discrimination lawsuits to avoid discovery, effectively shielding their decision making from judicial scrutiny. This article examines whether AI and algorithm-related information is the discovery black box that some fear it to be.

Addressing the issue in the context of Fair Housing Act (FHA) litigation, the article argues that concerns about access to AI and algorithm-related discovery are overstated. In real …

Reconstituting A Constitution, And A Republic: The Architecture Of Authoritarian Rule, J. Maria Glover

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

A constitution can be remade without tearing it down, or even changing a single word. It is done by law.

“The judicial power is vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as Congress may establish,” whose “province and duty” it is to “say what the law is.” U.S. Const. Art. III §1; Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 1 (Cranch) 137 (1803). It is not the power to remake the Constitution that grants it.

The Supreme Court is turning the inherited powers that hold power to law into instruments of its own aggrandizement. It is taking authority from …

The Civil Justice Business, J. Maria Glover

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Our civil justice system rests on certain foundational commitments: to make rights real for those the law protects, regardless of their station; to hold wrongdoers accountable, no matter their power; and to deter misconduct in a landscape that depends, above all, on private enforcement for the regulation of wrongdoing. We put great faith in these values.

Civil justice, for all its lofty goals, is also a business. Attorneys and liability insurers have long had their own economic stakes in litigation, under their own professional and regulatory norms. But now, a new litigation finance industry has arisen: outside investors provide equity …

Rethinking Courtroom Presence In The Virtual Era, Jenia Iontcheva Turner

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Technological innovation has made virtual appearances by criminal defendants increasingly common. These appearances have advanced efficiency but also raised questions about the scope of both the right and the duty of defendants to be physically present in court. Should judges, for example, be allowed to hold virtual arraignments, even if a defendant wishes to appear in person? Can defendants opt for virtual appearances at will? While courts are beginning to address these questions, they have yet to develop a coherent framework to evaluate when virtual appearances are constitutional and appropriate. This Article seeks to contribute to this project by examining …

Hryniak’S Erosion: Summary Judgment In Ontario, Suzanne Chiodo, Gerard J. Kennedy, Alyssa S. King

All Papers

No abstract provided.

Qui Tam Legislation And Article Ii: State Constitutional Precursors To The “Take Care” Clause, Randy Beck

Scholarly Works

Anglo-American legislation since the fourteenth century has often authorized “popular” or “qui tam” enforcement, in which an uninjured “common informer” litigates to collect a forfeiture for violation of a statute. Popular enforcement has become considerably less common than in earlier centuries, but remains important because of the qui tam provisions of the federal False Claims Act (FCA). In Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States ex rel. Stevens, the Supreme Court rejected an Article III standing challenge to qui tam litigation, concluding that the long history of popular enforcement means qui tam suits present cognizable “cases and controversies of …

Michael Scott Is Not A Juror: The Limits Of Ai In Simulating Human Judgment, Sean Harrington, Hayley Stillwell

Faculty Articles

Can AI replace human jurors? More specifically, can large language models predict how jurors interpret evidence and reach decisions based on legally salient facts and demographic characteristics? As legal scholars and practitioners increasingly explore AI-generated jury simulations, this Article offers the first empirical test of whether models like GPT-4, Claude, and Gemini can faithfully replicate juror reasoning. The answer, for now, is no. Across a series of mock trial scenarios involving redacted confessions, GPT- 4, Claude, and Gemini repeatedly failed to replicate how real jurors interpret evidence or exercise judgment. Their errors were not random, but systematic. Hidden prompts, built-in …

Welfare Litigation, State Courts, And Social Citizenship, Andrew Hammond

Articles by Maurer Faculty

For half a century, federal courts have stood at the center of welfare rights enforcement. That era is ending. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s historic cuts to Medicaid and SNAP will generate an avalanche of benefit terminations, work requirement sanctions, and overpayment actions from state agencies. And with a federal judiciary increasingly hostile to the private enforcement of public law, state courts will become not just a concurrent forum for welfare litigation, but an increasingly important one. Understanding how state courts have handled welfare litigation over the past three decades, then, is essential to anticipating what comes next. This …

El Cortez Reno Holdings, Llc V. Pfpco.’S Noble Pie Parlor, 141 Nev. Adv. Op. 68 (Dec. 23, 2025), Anastasia Vinson

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

"Professional courtesy" cannot be relied on to excuse procedural failures, as unopposed motions may be treated as concessions under DCR 13(3).

State Of Nevada Comm’R Of Insurance V. Chur; Chur V. State Of Nevada Comm’R Of Insurance, 141 Nev. Adv. Op. 69 (Dec. 23, 2025), Christianne White

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined a plaintiff may amend a complaint in response to a clarification of the pleading standard.

Franceschi V. Lg Chem, Ltd., 141 Nev. Adv. Op. 65 (Dec. 18, 2025), Eden Tesfay

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

When there is a disconnect between a defendant’s contacts with the forum state and the harm alleged by the plaintiff, specific jurisdiction may not lie with the forum court.

A Comparative Analysis Of Domestic Violence Legislation In India And The United States: Understanding Protection Of Women Against Violence Act 2005 And Violence Against Women Act 1994, Deon Rodrigues

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

Domestic violence continues to affect millions of individuals worldwide, yet legal systems respond to it in very different ways. This research compares how India’s Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005) and the United States’ Violence Against Women Act (1994; 2021) protect victims and hold offenders accountable. Using a comparative legal analysis, the study examines both laws’ language, enforcement mechanisms, and effectiveness through court cases, government reports, and statistical data. By identifying the strengths of the United States model such as mandatory arrest provisions and victim support systems, the study aims to propose practical reforms for India’s legal framework. …

Bagelmania Holdings, Llc V. Rdh Interests, Inc. C/W 87901, 141 Nev. Adv. Op. 62 (Dec. 04, 2025), Miranda Romero

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Affidavit-of-merit and expert report requirements under NRS § 11.258 are satisfied under a single set of submissions where the complainants (1) file a joint complaint, (2) assert identical claims, and (3) represented by the same attorney.