Supreme Court

The independent-state-legislature theory for congressional maps and liability for cities under the ADA

The independent-state-legislature theory for congressional maps and liability for cities under the ADA

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This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether the Constitution permits state courts to play a role in congressional redistricting and whether plaintiffs can hold cities liable when city employees violate federal protections for people with disabilities.

North Carolina legislators asks justices to hear independent-state-legislature theory on the merits

In Moore v. Harper, North Carolina Representative Timothy Moore asks the Supreme Court to consider the independent-state-legislature theory that the … Read the rest

Civil Law

NLRB GC Seeks to Curtail Employers’ Defenses to Union Organizing Amidst Huge Increase in Union Election Petitions

On April 6, the National Labor Relations Board announced that union representation petitions filed with the agency during the first six (6) months of the fiscal year had increased 57% from the previous year.[1]  The very next day, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo announced yet another policy initiative to hamper employer efforts to resist union organizing.  See GC 22-04, “The Right to Refrain from Captive Audience and other Mandatory Meetings.”

Specifically, the GC announced that she would seek to overturn … Read the rest

Supreme Court

“We’ve made it. All of us”: Jackson is honored at White House ceremony

“We’ve made it. All of us”: Jackson is honored at White House ceremony

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One day after the Senate confirmed her nomination to the Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson delivered a powerful message of gratitude and acknowledgement extending generations during an event on the White House South Lawn on Friday.

“It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States,” Jackson said before President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Cabinet members, lawmakers, civil rights advocates, … Read the rest

Circuit Courts

Clerk’s Office Earns Award for Cutting Case Processing Time in Half

Case filings are being processed more efficiently than ever in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, thanks to several procedural improvements made by the Clerk’s Office. The court’s administrative arm effectively cut the case processing time for submitted documents and filings in half, while also increasing the accuracy of how documents are submitted to the court to as high as 95 percent, up 13 percent since the improvements were made.
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest

Civil Law

ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting: John Villafranco On Monetary Redress and FTC Enforcement Post-AMG

Q: It has been nearly a year since the Supreme Court’s decision in AMG Capital Management, LLC v. FTC foreclosed the FTC’s ability to pursue monetary remedies under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act.  How has AMG affected the FTC’s enforcement program, particularly in consumer protection cases. 

A: As an initial matter, it’s Important to emphasize that the Supreme Court did not take any authority away from the FTC; it concluded 9-0 that the FTC did not have the authority … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Five-justice majority restores Trump-era policy on water pollution, provoking more criticism of emergency docket

Five-justice majority restores Trump-era policy on water pollution, provoking more criticism of emergency docket

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A divided Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated a Trump-era environmental policy that makes it harder for states to block projects that may cause water pollution. The unsigned and unexplained decision prompted Chief Justice John Roberts to join the court’s three liberal justices in criticizing the majority’s use of the emergency docket.

The court’s decision “renders the Court’s emergency docket not for emergencies at all,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in dissent. “The docket becomes only another place for merits determinations … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Jackson’s confirmation expected by end of week after committee deadlocks along partisan lines

Jackson’s confirmation expected by end of week after committee deadlocks along partisan lines

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The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked 11-11 along party lines on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, who plans to retire from the Supreme Court this summer. Despite the tie vote on Monday, Jackson’s nomination can still go to the Senate floor using a procedure known as a discharge petition and a simple majority vote to place Jackson’s nomination on the calendar. Once there, Democrats expect to confirm Jackson before the Senate adjourns for … Read the rest