Sripetch v. SEC · 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(7) · disgorgement · 9-0 · Jun 4 FCC v. AT&T · forfeiture · Seventh Amendment · 8-1 · Jun 4 Hikma v. Amarin · skinny label · induced infringement · 9-0 Whitton v. Dixon · post-trial DNA · harmless error · 7-2 · Jun 1 Maxwell v. Thomas · cert granted · First Step Act credits Dorcas v. USCIS · 39-country hold vacated · Jun 5 H. Con. Res. 86 · Iran war powers · House 215-208 · Jun 3 FTC · Ascension/AmSurg · 7 surgery centers divested · Jun 2 Sripetch v. SEC · 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(7) · disgorgement · 9-0 · Jun 4 FCC v. AT&T · forfeiture · Seventh Amendment · 8-1 · Jun 4 Hikma v. Amarin · skinny label · induced infringement · 9-0 Whitton v. Dixon · post-trial DNA · harmless error · 7-2 · Jun 1 Maxwell v. Thomas · cert granted · First Step Act credits Dorcas v. USCIS · 39-country hold vacated · Jun 5 H. Con. Res. 86 · Iran war powers · House 215-208 · Jun 3 FTC · Ascension/AmSurg · 7 surgery centers divested · Jun 2

June 1–7, 2026 · October Term 2025 · decision season · early summer

JUN 4

Victims Need Not Prove Loss

Sripetch v. Securities and Exchange Commission · No. 25-466

On the term’s busiest merits morning, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for a unanimous Court that the SEC need not prove investors suffered pecuniary harm before obtaining disgorgement under 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) or § 78u(d)(7). The Ninth Circuit had required a loss showing; the Court reversed, holding that an investor can qualify as a “victim” entitled to compensation without demonstrating out-of-pocket damage.

Sources: SCOTUSblog — Sripetch v. SEC · LII — slip opinion, No. 25-466

Nine justices, one holding

The Court assumed without deciding that post-Liu disgorgement remains equitable — and still rejected a pecuniary-loss prerequisite.

9–0 · Gorsuch, J., opinion · Thomas, J., concurring

Source: Supreme Court — No. 25-466, June 4, 2026

“In a future case, we should recognize that disgorgement is now a legal remedy for which the Seventh Amendment requires a jury trial.”

— Justice Clarence Thomas, concurring in Sripetch v. SEC

Thomas’s concurrence previews a second front in securities enforcement: whether Congress’s post-Liu amendments converted disgorgement from equity to law — a question the majority expressly left open.

Source: LII — Thomas concurrence, No. 25-466

June 4, 2026 · merits morning

Three opinions, one calendar

01

Sripetch v. SEC

9–0

Disgorgement available without proving investor pecuniary loss. Gorsuch, J.

02

FCC v. AT&T

8–1

FCC forfeiture orders do not violate the Seventh Amendment; jury trial attaches at enforcement, not agency adjudication. Roberts, C.J.

03

Hikma v. Amarin

9–0

Skinny-label marketing insufficient for induced infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(b). Jackson, J.

Sources: SCOTUSblog — FCC v. AT&T, June 4 · AIPLA — Hikma v. Amarin

Agency enforcement · 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)

FCC v. AT&T

Chief Justice John Roberts held 8–1 that FCC forfeiture orders — including roughly $200M in location-data fines against major carriers — do not violate the Seventh Amendment because the orders are not self-executing. The government must still prove its case in federal court before collecting penalties.

Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, arguing the forfeiture process conclusively determines legal obligations before any jury hears the case.

Sources: Supreme Court — No. 25-406, slip op. · Wireless Estimator — June 4, 2026

Skinny labels do not induce infringement

Amarin’s theory

Generic manufacturer’s FDA-approved skinny label, website, and press releases encouraged doctors to prescribe off-label for a patented cardiovascular use — active inducement under § 271(b).

Court’s holding · Jun 4

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson: Hikma’s materials did not constitute affirmative steps to encourage infringement. Mere possibility that physicians might interpret statements as instructions is insufficient at the pleading stage.

Source: LII — Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. v. Amarin Pharma, Inc., No. 24-889

1992

Gary Whitton convicted in Florida; jailhouse informant Jake Ozio testifies Ozio had no prior criminal history — testimony later proved false.

Post-trial

DNA testing developed after trial; Florida Supreme Court deems evidence against Whitton “overwhelming” without considering the new DNA.

Jun 1

Per curiam 7–2: Eleventh Circuit erred in weighing post-trial DNA when assessing harmless error under Brecht — evidence the jury never saw cannot show what influenced the verdict. Vacated and remanded.

Whitton v. Dixon — DNA that did not exist at trial stays out of harmless-error review

Sources: SCOTUSblog — Whitton v. Dixon · LII — No. 25-580

Cert granted · June 1, 2026 · follow-up to last week’s sentencing pair

Maxwell v. Thomas

One week after Fernandez and Rutherford narrowed compassionate-release paths, the Court granted review in William Maxwell’s challenge to Bureau of Prisons calculations of First Step Act earned-time credits. The justices will decide whether disputes over 18 U.S.C. § 3632 credits — which can accelerate transfer to halfway houses — are cognizable under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 habeas.

Question presented: Are BOP time-credit disputes actionable under § 2241?

Sources: SCOTUSblog — June 1 orders · SCOTUSblog — Maxwell v. Thomas, No. 25-5930

0 countries

Chief Judge McConnell vacates four USCIS processing freezes

In a 135-page June 5 ruling, Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. set aside four policy memoranda that had indefinitely halted affirmative asylum adjudications and frozen green-card, work-permit, and naturalization processing for nationals of 39 countries tied to the administration’s travel ban. Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS, No. 1:26-cv-00132, applies nationwide.

Global Asylum Hold Benefits Hold (I-485 / I-765 / N-400) 39-country expansion (PM-602-0194) Re-review of approved cases

Sources: Boston Globe — June 5, 2026 · Democracy Forward — Dorcas v. USCIS

$0.0B

Anti-Weaponization Fund paused as DOJ complies with Brinkema order

Follow-up to litigation tracked across prior editions: on June 1, the Justice Department said it would abide by Judge Leonie Brinkema’s May 29 injunction blocking transfers, claim reviews, and disbursements from the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund created from the Trump–IRS settlement. A June 12 hearing in Floyd v. DOJ will consider whether to extend the freeze; government opposition was due June 5.

Sources: CBS News — June 1, 2026 · Biazzo Law — Floyd v. DOJ briefing schedule

FTC orders divestiture in $3.9B Ascension–AmSurg merger

A June 2 consent order requires Ascension Health to divest seven ambulatory surgery centers across Nashville, Panama City, Tulsa, Waco, and Wichita before completing its acquisition of AmSurg — protecting outpatient surgical competition in gastroenterology, ophthalmology, and orthopedics markets.

Source: FTC — press release, June 2, 2026

H. Con. Res. 86 — war powers and Iran hostilities

H. Con. Res. 86 · 50 U.S.C. § 1544(c)

House floor · Jun 3, 2026

215–208

Senate · pending

Presentment · n/a (concurrent resolution)

The resolution directs the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran under the War Powers Resolution. Only four Republicans joined 211 Democrats in support; the measure faces uncertain Senate prospects.

Source: House Clerk — Roll Call 199, June 3, 2026

House passes Agriculture appropriations for FY2027

On June 4, the House approved the Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act on a near-party-line 213–210 vote — the first of the twelve annual spending bills to clear the chamber this cycle, setting up a summer conference fight over SNAP, rural development, and FDA user fees.

213 YEA 210 NAY

Source: House Clerk — Roll Call 205, June 4, 2026

State highlight · 21 AGs + D.C. June 5, 2026 · D. Mass.

Judge Joun blocks USDA funding conditions on SNAP and school meals

Judge Myong Joun preliminarily enjoined the Agriculture Department from enforcing new “2026 Conditions” requiring states to certify compliance with broad federal policy priorities — including immigration and gender-related directives — as a prerequisite for more than $74B in annual nutrition and agricultural funding. California AG Rob Bonta and New York AG Letitia James co-led the coalition.

Sources: California DOJ — June 5, 2026 · New York AG — coalition complaint

The week ahead in federal law

Late-term opinion drops continue; briefing deadlines from this week’s injunctions and cert grants will shape the summer docket.

Supreme Court orders list from the June 4 conference — watch for late grants as the October Term 2025 calendar thins.

Merits opinions typically issue on these mornings; pair alerts on securities disgorgement, FCC enforcement, and patent inducement with client guidance from this week’s trio.

Floyd v. DOJ — hearing in the Eastern District of Virginia on whether to extend the Anti-Weaponization Fund injunction; Trump IRS settlement collateral litigation also due for responses in Florida.

USCIS must resume adjudications under Dorcas vacatur — monitor DHS compliance and competing district-court orders in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

Maxwell v. Thomas — oral argument on First Step Act earned-time credits and § 2241 habeas jurisdiction.

Calendar: SCOTUSblog — live calendar

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