Admin | Judiciary.org

Supreme Court

Another federal agency challenges adverse ruling by 5th Circuit

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

Next term the justices will hear the government’s appeal of a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that found the funding mechanism for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unconstitutional. This week, we highlight cert petitions that ask the court to consider, among other things, whether … Read the rest

Civil Law

Are you surprised to learn that the DOD has had more than 12,000 cyber attacks since 2015

BankInfoSecurity.com reported that in a US Senate hearing that “The Government Accountability Office in November reported the DOD had experienced more than 12,000 cyber incidents since 2015, although the annual rate of detected attacks has been declining.” The March 29, 2023 report entitled “Pentagon Doubles Down on Zero Trust” (https://tinyurl.com/yhne56xc) also included these comments from Department of Defense CIO John B. Sherman in testimony before the Senate Armed Forces Committee’s Cybersecurity Subcommittee:

We’ve committed to implementing zero trust across the … Read the rest

Supreme Court

The IRS faces tough questioning from justices over privacy concerns in third-party summons dispute

Over several years, Remo Polselli racked up over $ 2 million in federal tax liabilities. After he made a partial payment from the account of one of his limited liability companies, the IRS suspected Remo might be hiding his assets by transferring them to other entities or individuals. The agency thus issued administrative summonses to several banks, including those at which Remo’s wife, Hanna, and his law firms held accounts. Although the IRS failed to notify Hanna or the … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices divided on the constitutionality of the federal law that bans “encouraging” immigrants to remain unlawfully in the United States

Both oral advocates faced fairly cold receptions on Monday morning in United States v. Hansen when the Supreme Court heard argument on whether 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(iv), the federal law that criminalizes “encouraging or inducing” an immigrant to come or remain in the United States unlawfully, violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech.

The argument also shed more light on the newer justices’ views on the freedom of speech. The newly reconfigured Court appears less strongly … Read the rest

Supreme Court

In New Mexico prison killing, a lingering question over jurisdiction

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

Five years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that pleading guilty to a crime does not prevent a defendant from arguing that the law criminalizing their conduct is unconstitutional. This week, we highlight cert petitions that ask the court to consider, among other things, an issue that decision left open: Under … Read the rest

Civil Law

One dead in UK Listeria outbreak

Health officials in the United Kingdom are investigating a potential outbreak of Listeria that has killed one person.

Whole genome sequencing of listeriosis samples by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has identified three cases with one death, possibly as part of an outbreak.

Patients are aged 59 or older and are from the south of England or London. One person fell sick in November 2022, while the other two became ill in February 2023.

A similar strain as the … Read the rest

Supreme Court

A tale of three districts

It might be fairly said that in recent decades venue in criminal cases has not been the hottest topic on the court’s docket. Nevertheless, as the briefs in Smith v. United States emphasize, the criminal venue right was so significant to the Framers that the Constitution addressed it twice. The original Constitution provides in Article III that jury trials in criminal cases “shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed.” The Sixth Amendment … Read the rest