Posted 28 Feb 2024 in Commentary Written by: Deanna Shahnami

IMLA celebrates Black History Month! For every month of the year, IMLA continues to advocate and support racial equity programs and inclusive legislation that protect and support BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities across the United States and Canada.  Through our Diversity Group, IMLA has provided Zoom meetings and resources to better support our members to advance diversity initiatives and inclusive policies on a local level that remain under attack, especially through state preemption. This February is a month of celebration and recognition...

Posted 01 Oct 2023 in Business Written by: Caroline Storer

IMLA confirms Rosemary Humway-Warmuth as IMLA President from October 1, 2023 to September 29, 2024. IMLA’s members recently confirmed the nomination of Rosemary Humway-Warmuth of Wheeling, West Virginia to be President of IMLA. Rosemary Humway-Warmuth serves as the City Solicitor for the City of Wheeling, West Virginia and is in her 26th year of municipal public service.  She has served as the International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) State Chair for West Virginia and has repeatedly received certification as a IMLA Fellow signifying...

Posted 14 Sep 2023 in Business

On September 28th and 29th during our 88th Annual Conference in La Quinta, California, IMLA was able to announce and recognize our 2023 award winners. These award winners are IMLA members who have gone above and beyond the field of municipal law and were nominated by their colleagues to receive these awards.   The Charles S. Rhyne Lifetime Achievement In Municipal Law Award The Lifetime Achievement in Municipal Law Award is the highest award given by IMLA. The award honors the recipient’s lifetime...

Posted 01 Aug 2023 in Business Written by: Erich Eiselt

As part of its commitment to building generational involvement in local government law, IMLA created the McCarley Scholarships, named in honor of Dewitt F. “Mac” McCarley.  Mac has practiced municipal law for more than 45 years, having served as the Charlotte, North Carolina City Attorney from 1994 to 2011 and continuing as a partner at Parker Poe where he focuses on local government matters, including service as the town attorney for Southern Pines. Mac was an IMLA President, a recipient...

Posted 18 Jul 2023 in Commentary Written by: Best Friends Animal Society

The views and opinions expressed in the guest blog post are solely those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of IMLA. We do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any information presented in these guest posts, and readers are reminded that this post is not intended to provide legal advice. Pets are an important part of American life, with more than two-thirds of U.S. households counting cats and/or dogs among their members....

Posted 03 Jul 2023 in Case Notes Written by: Amanda Karras

On June 30th, in 303 Creative v. Elenis, in a significant decision that will impact antidiscrimination laws around the country, the Supreme Court held that Colorado’s public accommodation law violates the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause by compelling the speech of a business owner engaged in expressive activity.  This case was a fight between whether the creation and sale of a wedding website to the public is considered speech, which would be protected under the First Amendment, or commercial activity...

Posted 29 Jun 2023 in Case Notes Written by: Amanda Karras

Today, in an important employment law case, a unanimous Supreme Court “clarified” Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison’s “more than . . . de minimis” language, concluding that it does not suffice to establish an “undue hardship” under Title VII.  Instead, the Court held that to demonstrate an “undue hardship,” an employer must show “a burden is substantial in the overall context of an employer’s business.”  While the Court did not overrule Hardison, this clarification of its meaning will likely...

Posted 27 Jun 2023 in Case Notes Written by: Amanda Karras

Today, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Moore v. Harper, the long-anticipated case involving the so-called Independent State Legislature Theory (ISLT) advanced by the North Carolina legislature.  The Court rejected the ISLT and held that the Federal Elections Clause “does not insulate state legislatures from the ordinary exercise of state judicial review.”  Though the foregoing statement sounds ordinary, the ramifications for local governments had the ISLT been adopted would have been anything but. Following the 2020 census the North Carolina...

Posted 26 Jun 2023 in Case Notes Written by: Amanda Karras

On June 23rd, in United States v. Hansen, the Supreme Court interpreted the terms “encourages” and “induces” in 8 U.S.C. §1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) narrowly and upheld the statute’s constitutionality.  While the decision was technically a loss for the position advocated by IMLA, by narrowly interpreting the scope of the statute, many (though not all) of the concerns that local governments had regarding the case are likely mitigated. At issue in this case was an overbreadth challenge to 8 U.S.C. §1324(a)(1)(A)(iv), which prohibits “encourage[ing]...

Posted 15 Jun 2023 in Business Written by: Amanda Karras

The International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) is pleased to announce the inaugural IMLA DeWitt F. “Mac” McCarley Scholarship (McCarley Scholarship).  The Scholarship is named in honor of Mac McCarley who was the City Attorney for Charlotte, NC from 1994 to 2011 and then went into private practice as a partner at Parker Poe where he continued to focus on municipal law.  Mac has been practicing municipal law since 1977 and he continues to this day as the town attorney for...