Civil Law

Center for Produce Safety funds 14 new research projects

In an effort to help answer the fresh produce industry’s most urgent food safety questions, the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) is funding 14 new research projects, valued at more than $ 3.9 million.

These 14 new projects are aimed at answering industry questions about leafy greens production in controlled environments, evaluating and mitigating risk from Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella, and Cyclospora detection. 

Researchers’ proposals were vetted by industry experts on the CPS Technical Committee and other expert volunteers.

One … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Graham asks justices to block subpoena in election-interference probe

Graham asks justices to block subpoena in election-interference probe

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Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, asked the Supreme Court on Friday to block a Georgia grand jury from questioning him about phone calls after the 2020 election to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wants to ask Graham about the calls, in which he allegedly discussed the state’s absentee-ballot process and allegations of voter fraud, as part of her investigation into possible election interference by former President … Read the rest

Circuit Courts

AO Director Updates Congress on Progress in Case Management Technology Modernization

In a letter to key members of Congress on Wednesday, the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) detailed efforts underway to modernize the Judiciary’s electronic case management system, including replacing Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER), the public interface for accessing court records.
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest

Supreme Court

Court denies mental incompetency plea in Oklahoma execution case

Court denies mental incompetency plea in Oklahoma execution case

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to block the execution of an Oklahoma man with schizophrenia, rejecting a claim from his legal team that he does not understand the reason for his execution. Benjamin Cole is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Thursday.

The court turned down Cole’s last-minute appeal in a brief order with no recorded dissents. Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate in the decision. Gorsuch likely recused himself because he was a judge on … Read the rest

Civil Law

When good intentions fail: Is your D&I policy inadvertently unlawful?

We have seen a market driven push for companies to embrace diversity and inclusion (D&I) policies over the last few years, which reflects a key shift in social and cultural norms for many organisations. Increasingly, consumers, staff and senior business leaders expect proactive steps to be taken for D&I objectives. Research demonstrates a strong business case for promoting diversity, although some suggest that viewing it through a lens of fairness is more effective. Regardless of the rationale, there are very … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Court declines to take up petition seeking to overturn Insular Cases

Court declines to take up petition seeking to overturn Insular Cases

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The Supreme Court will not reconsider the Insular Cases, a widely criticized and racist group of early 20th-century decisions holding that the residents of U.S. territories do not automatically enjoy all of the rights protected by the Constitution. The announcement came on a list of orders released on Monday morning from the justices’ private conference last week. The justices did not add any new cases to their merits docket for the 2022-23 term.

The request to overrule the Insular … Read the rest