Latest News
Disputed Arrests of “Vandals” Follow Damage to Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
About a half dozen people are awaiting criminal court hearings on disputed allegations they vandalized the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
President Donald Trump accused vandals of dislodging the “American flag blue” coating along the basin of the Reflecting Pool.
Among the people arrested was a former Olympian who says he merely stopped briefly while riding his bike near the Reflecting Pool when he was wrongfully handcuffed and led away by police.
Critics of the arrests blame shoddy work by contractors or chemicals dumped into the pool to kill algae by National Park Service workers for making the blue coating break free and float in the water.
“We met with contractors today, will probably be forced to release and drain much of the water in order to do the necessary repairs, but will have them done as quickly as possible,” Trump wrote on social media Saturday.
Trump’s Orders Intended to Advance U.S. Quantum Computing Industry
President Donald Trump’s executive orders last week aimed at accelerating U.S. quantum computing development are expected to trigger a wave of federal regulations that will keep the Washington, D.C., area’s technology lawyers busy for years.
The two orders assign the Energy Department to establish performance specifications and standards that would be enforced against participating organizations.
Trump and his supporters describe quantum computers as essential to future scientific discovery, economic growth and national defense.
"We're going to be leading the world in quantum computing," Trump said at the White House signing ceremony.
Quantum computers carry the potential for creating new drugs, artificial intelligence innovations, industrial materials and telecommunications network improvements.
Supreme Court Agrees with Monsanto on Cancer Label for Weedkiller Roundup
The Supreme Court released a major products liability decision last week that said the manufacturer of Roundup was not liable for failing to warn consumers about health hazards of the popular weedkiller.
The decision could protect many manufacturers accused of making hazardous products by allowing them to invoke federal regulatory approval as a defense against state law warning claims.
More than 100,000 people have sued while claiming a key ingredient in Roundup gave them cancer.
The case arose from a lawsuit filed by Missouri resident and gardener John Durnell, who alleged that years of exposure to Roundup caused him to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
He invoked a Missouri law that could be interpreted to mean Monsanto was required to put a notice on Roundup containers warning consumers about the cancer dangers. There was no warning on the containers.
Legal Briefs
Senate Set to Confirm D.C. Judges Amid Complaints Over Delays
The Senate is set to vote within days on nominees to fill judicial vacancies in Washington, D.C., at a time local officials are asking whether it’s too little and too late.
The impending vote follows a Senate confirmation hearing last week intended to partially alleviate a chronic judicial vacancy crisis that is pushing some violent felony trials into next year.
Thirteen of 62 of the District's local judicial seats are empty, straining the city’s capacity to handle thousands of unresolved civil and criminal cases. D.C. Superior Court records show a backlog of about 4,000 cases.
The backlog appears to result from the D.C. Home Rule Act. It requires shared authority over Washington’s government between local and federal officials.
Unlike the states, which manage their own local judicial appointments, Washington relies entirely on federal approvals. Local judges must be recommended by the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission, formally nominated by the White House, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for 15-year terms.
Gridlock for federal legislation can leave the municipal court system vulnerable.
Underlying the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing was a tug-of-war between Republicans and Democrats seeking a permanent solution to delays in appointing local judges.
Republican lawmakers recently advanced legislation to abolish the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission, arguing that a centralized federal appointment process would expedite judicial appointments.
Some Democrats are pushing for an opposite approach.
Days before the hearing, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., introduced the District of Columbia Courts Vacancy Reduction Act. Their proposed legislation would allow D.C. judges to assume their seats automatically after a 30-day congressional review period if the Senate fails to act.
D.C. in Brief
D.C. Settles Lawsuit by Detained Protester of National Guard Presence
The District of Columbia recently reached a $50,000 settlement in a civil rights lawsuit by a protester who alleged he was unlawfully detained by police during a demonstration against National Guard troops in the city.
The plaintiff, Sam O’Hara, said he was detained for 15 to 20 minutes in September 2025 without charges while engaging in a peaceful protest near a National Guard patrol.
He played a “Star Wars” soundtrack on a phone as a form of political expression directed at the federal troop deployment in Washington. Prosecutors called the music and the volume of it “distracting music” and claimed it represented “conduct creating a reasonable fear of imminent harm.”
O’Hara’s attorneys say Metropolitan Police Department officers handcuffed and briefly detained him despite the absence of any criminal conduct, violating his First Amendment right to free speech and Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable seizure.
“In the Star Wars franchise, The Imperial March is the music that plays when Darth Vader or other dark forces enter a scene or succeed in their dastardly plans. It is also the soundtrack of Sam O’Hara’s protest against the National Guard deployment in D.C.,” his lawsuit said.
“Mr. O’Hara was deeply concerned about the normalization of troops patrolling D.C. neighborhoods. And so, he began protesting the Guard members’ presence by walking several feet behind them when he saw them in the community. Using his phone and sometimes a small speaker, he played The Imperial March as he walked, keeping the music at a volume that was audible but not blaring,” his suit said.
O’Hara recorded the confrontations and posted them on TikTok.
Letters to the Editor
The Legal Forum welcomes letters to the editor at tramstack@gmail.com, which will be published here.
We Could Use Your Help
Thousands of DC residents need a lawyer, but can’t afford one. They could be illegally evicted from their homes, lose custody of their children, experience domestic violence, and more, all because they lack legal representation.
You could make a difference. By making a donation to the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, you will provide free, high-quality, zealous legal representation to low-income DC residents.
Your support could prevent homelessness, domestic violence, hunger, or family separation. In fact, if just 10 people who see this ad give $28 to Legal Aid, it will be enough to staff an experienced attorney at the courthouse for a day.
That way, DC residents like Keith King (pictured above) can get the legal representation they need to win their cases. As Mr. King put it, if it wasn’t for his Legal Aid lawyer, “I would have been homeless again.”
Here is the link to the Legal Aid website for donations: https://www.legalaiddc.org/donate-to-legal-aid/
For more information, contact Rob Pergament at Legal Aid at rpergament@legalaiddc.org
Power the Civil Rights Work of Our Time
Each day members of our community are experiencing wage theft, the effects of gentrification, discriminatory policing, collateral consequences, marginalization in schools, and barriers to public accommodations.
We fight alongside people facing the effects of gentrification like Amira Moore. Our work empowers the people and communities who need it most, “We can do more than we think. There’s a path to equity, we just have to step to it.” –Ms. Moore
For more than 50 years, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee has been on the frontlines of the fight for civil rights in our community. We deploy the best legal talent, we tackle the tough cases, we fight, and we win.
Our work is as important today as it has ever been. Through your support, you can play a role in creating justice for thousands of marginalized members of our community. Together, we will dismantle injustice and pursue lasting change.
Join us! Donate & subscribe: https://www.washlaw.org/support-us
Volunteer with us: https://www.washlaw.org/get-involved/
For more information, contact Gregg Kelley at gregg_kelley@washlaw.org
About Us
The Legal Forum is a nonprofit news service for the Washington area's legal community that also offers attorney job listings as well as amicus briefs and grant information for charitable organizations. If you have questions, please Contact Us