7th November, 2026 – 13th November 2026: What Happened In The US Legal World

Welcome to Law this week!

During the week of 7th to 13th November 2026, there were several significant decisions made at the U.S. Supreme Court, Federal Appellate Courts, District Courts, and Regulatory Bodies.

Below are the highlights of what happened in the world of law this week.

1. Supreme Court Clears Path For Texas Border Wall Construction (9th November)

On 9th Nov 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a per curiam decision in Mullin v. Friends of the Ruidosa Church (26A560) to grant an emergency application for a stay from the federal government.

In an 8–1 decision (with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting), the Supreme Court lifted a lower court block on border wall construction in Texas’s Big Bend area.

Under Section 102(c) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, only district courts can review DHS environmental waivers. However, they can only consider constitutional claims.

In this instance, the plaintiffs raised a claim under the ‘major questions doctrine.’ The lower court ruled that this claim was a constitutional separation of powers issue.

However, the Supreme Court disagreed and ruled that these claims are not a constitutional issue. Instead, the Court found that the major questions doctrine was simply used to claim statutory overreach.

This means the administration can now resume building the border wall in Big Bend whilst the certiorari petition is considered.

2. Supreme Court Vacates and Remands Transgender Jail Policy Case (9th November)

On 9th Nov 2026, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Roybal v. Griffith (25-442) and issued a GVR.

The Tenth Circuit previously revived an Equal Protection claim from a transgender inmate. Her lawsuit challenged her housing placement and strip searches at a Colorado county jail. It concluded that policies classifying inmates by biological sex triggered heightened constitutional scrutiny.

The Supreme Court has issued a GVR. This means the appeals court must reconsider its decision concerning constitutional concerns given new precedent on sex classification. This was specifically for United States v. Skrmetti and West Virginia v. B.P.J.

This means that the lower court must review the new Equal Protection ruling. It will then decide how to apply that standard to inmate classification in correctional facilities.

3. Ninth Circuit Rules On California Corporate Climate Disclosure Laws (9th November)

On 9th Nov 2026, the Ninth Circuit issued a landmark decision in Chamber of Commerce v. Sanchez (25-5327). The panel ruled that Senate Bill 253’s Scope 1 & 2 Greenhouse Gas Reporting Requirements can stand.

They concluded that the requirement for large corporations to report factual, uncontroversial quantitative information does not breach the First Amendment.

However, the panel ruled that SB 261’s Scope 3 emissions and climate risk rules likely violate the First Amendment. The rules force companies to report on speculative and controversial topics.

The Ninth Circuit refused to pause the enforcement of Scope 1 and 2 rules. Companies making over $1 billion in revenue must comply with them.

4. Fifth Circuit Rules To Renew Meta Pixel Health Privacy Claims (9th November)

The next thing that happened in the world of law this week on 9th Nov 2026 was that the Fifth Circuit issued a published decision in Rand v. Eyemart Express, LLC (25-10784). It reversed the decision of the lower court and ruled to revive a consumer privacy class action.

The claimant alleged that Eyemart Express installed Meta Pixel tracking code on its website. The code secretly shared customers’ eye care browsing history, prescriptions, and purchases with Meta.

The lower court dismissed the claim because the claimant lacked Article III standing. It found that the claimant suffered no actual harm.

However, the Fifth Circuit ruled that sharing private medical browsing data without permission causes real harm. The court compared this violation to historic privacy torts.

This makes it easier for claimants in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi to bring claims concerning health privacy.

5. Federal Judge Rules to Allow President Trump’s Defamation Case Against BBC to Continue (10th November)

On 10th Nov 2026, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Kuntz (Southern District of Florida) issued a landmark ruling in President Donald Trump’s $10bn defamation case against the BBC concerning a Panorama Documentary.

The Judge ruled that the BBC could not dismiss the central claim as Trump had plausibly alleged actual malice. He concluded that Trump had alleged that the editors had cut together two different parts of his speech on January 6th 2021 (nearly an hour apart) to make it appear that he encouraged his followers to walk to the Capitol and “fight like hell”.

However, the Judge ruled that the claim under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act should be dismissed, as news broadcasting is not business. This reduces the potential damages to $5bn but allows discovery to begin.

6. Federal Court Dismisses DOJ Lawsuit Seeking Delaware Voter Rolls (10th November)

On 10th Nov 2026, in United States v. Albence, U.S. District Judge Richard G. Andrews of the District of Delaware dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice seeking unredacted copies of Delaware’s electronic voter registration database.

This includes the following:

• Full name.
• Date of birth.
• Address.
• Driver’s license number.
• Partial Social Security number of every voter in the state.

The DOJ sued State Election Commissioner Anthony Albence under Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960. The lawsuit sought to obtain all federal election records.

However, the Judge ruled that this was not the intention of the law.

He concluded that the act only applies to physical applications and third-party documents that “come into” the possession of an election officer. This is not applicable to internal, constantly updated electronic voter rolls. This is a major win for election officers.

7. Rapper Yella Beezy Found Guilty Of Capital Murder (11th November)

On 11th Nov 2026, a jury found Dallas rapper Yella Beezy (Markies Conway) guilty of capital murder after a multi-week trial in Dallas County Criminal District Court.

The jury unanimously found him guilty of arranging the murder for hire of fellow Dallas Hip Hop artist MO3 (Melvin Noble) in November 2020.

Prosecutors provided evidence such as cell site location data, money transfers and witness testimony showing Conway had employed Kewon White to shoot Noble during a drive by on Interstate 35E.

Texas law sets strict punishments for capital murder for pay. Anyone convicted of this crime faces only the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office chose not to seek the death penalty. Consequently, the court sentenced Conway to life in prison without parole.

8. Non-Profit Group Files Lawsuit Against Five Top AI Developers (12th November)

On 12th Nov 2026, a group of public interest advocates filed a wide ranging civil lawsuit against five top AI developers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta & SpaceXSI (xAI)) in San Francisco County Superior Court.

They claimed that companies are racing to release powerful frontier models without proven safeguards. They warned that this race poses an existential threat to public safety, infrastructure, and national security.

The lawsuit asks the court to halt next-generation AI training until companies prove to an independent body that their models cannot escape human control or aid in biological and cyber attacks. This unprecedented demand directly tests California tort law.

9. FTC and 17 States Win $63 Million Settlement with Family Dollar (12th November)

On 12th Nov 2026, the Federal Trade Commission and 17 states announced a $63 million proposed settlement with Family Dollar Stores. The case relates to widespread allegations of deceptive pricing.

“The proposed order prohibits Family Dollar from misrepresenting the price of its goods or services and requires the retailer to establish and implement a pricing accuracy program that is independently assessed and annually certified,” FTC reported.

Regulators claimed that Family Dollar was charging customers more at the till than what was advertised on their shelves in thousands of stores across the country. This disproportionately affects low-income customers.

The company must pay $40 million into a compensation fund, $20 million in targeted discounts, and $3 million in penalties and investigation costs to the states. They must also implement automatic price checking procedures and strictly adhere to shelf labeling rules.

10. DHS Closes Public Comment Period on H-1B Extension Deference Rule (13th November)

On 13th Nov 2026, the 30-day public comment period closed on the Department of Homeland Security’s proposed rule titled Removing Deference to Prior USCIS Determinations of Eligibility. [Source: Federal Register]

The proposal was published in the Federal Register on 14th Oct 2026 and aims to remove the requirement for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services adjudicators to defer to previous approval decisions when considering ordinary visa extension cases where the employer, role, and facts are unchanged.

DHS estimates that over 208,000 Form I-129 extension cases will no longer be eligible for deference. These include:

• H-1B Specialty Occupation Workers.
• L-1 Intracompany Transferees.
• O-1 Visa Holders. 

Thousands of comments were received from business groups, Universities and Immigration Solicitors expressing concerns about the high volume of Requests for Evidence.

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