Justices decline to halt two executions in Oklahoma amid questions about state’s lethal-injection method

Justices decline to halt two executions in Oklahoma amid questions about state’s lethal-injection method

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On Wednesday afternoon, in the shadow of reports of Justice Stephen Breyer’s forthcoming retirement announcement, the Supreme Court denied an application to postpone the executions of two Oklahoma men. The brief order, with no recorded dissents, cleared the way for Oklahoma to execute one of the men, Donald Grant, at 11 a.m. EST on Thursday morning. The other, Gilbert Postelle, is scheduled to be executed on Feb. 17.

Oklahoma’s lethal-injection protocol has received increased scrutiny in recent years. Grant … Read the rest

Fintech and Financial Privacy: Regulatory Developments on the Use of Financial Data

So you’re a fintech startup, buying a fintech company, or expanding the technical capabilities of your financial business. Or you’re a tech company that is getting into the payments space. Where do you start when it comes to figuring out what consumer protection laws apply to you? You should be aware that, for the past several years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have been actively enforcing consumer protection laws in the fintech space. … Read the rest

Justices affirm Crawford’s application of Sixth Amendment confrontation clause to testimonial evidence

Justices affirm <em>Crawford</em>’s application of Sixth Amendment confrontation clause to testimonial evidence

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Thursday’s decision in Hemphill v. New York affirmed the requirement for cross-examination of testimonial statements offered at trial and rejected a state law exception  to the rule. A jury convicted Darrell Hemphill of second-degree murder after a trial court admitted un-cross-examined testimonial statements from a third-party’s plea allocution. New York courts agreed the admission did not violate Crawford v. Washington, which interpreted the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause to require cross-examination of testimonial statements offered at trial. But in … Read the rest

Suing the International Finance Corporation, and Chicago police’s destroy-or-sell policy

Suing the International Finance Corporation, and Chicago police’s destroy-or-sell policy

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This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether the International Finance Corporation is immune from suit over its actions concerning the Tata Mundra Power Plant in Gujarat, India, and whether Chicago police’s policy of destroying or selling arrestees’ property left unretrieved after 30 days violates the Fourth or Fifth Amendments.

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act’s commercial-activity exception

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court in Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation heard oral … Read the rest

COURT OF APPEAL SUMMARIES (JANUARY 17-21, 2022)

Jump To: Table of Contents | Civil Decisions | Short Civil Decisions

Good evening.

Following are this week’s summaries of the civil decisions of the Ontario Court of Appeal for the week of January 17, 2022.

In Walters v. Walters, a wills and estates case, the Court provided a helpful summary of the jurisprudence regarding the requirement of trustees to give effect to a testator’s intentions as ascertained from the language of the will and the surrounding circumstances, including … Read the rest