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Supreme Court

Oil companies, government point fingers over cleanup of World War II-era pollution

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.

During World War II, Congress authorized President Franklin Roosevelt to enlist oil refineries for the war effort. Centralization helped meet the war’s rapidly increasing demand for fuel. But it also led to a glut of hazardous waste, some of which leaked into the ecosystems surrounding the refineries. This week, we … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Government counters call to halt consideration of race in U.S. Military Academy admissions

The U.S. Military Academy on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to stay out of a dispute over the use of race in the school’s admissions policy. Telling the justices that a group of students opposed to the consideration of race in college admissions was seeking to block “policies that military leaders have long deemed essential to ensuring the effectiveness of the Nation’s military,” the academy asked the court to turn down the group’s request for an order that would … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Government power, from federal agencies to counties, highlights January session

The justices returned to the bench on Jan. 8 for a packed session of oral arguments – starting with immigration policy and the post-9/11 “No Fly List” and ending on Jan. 17 with two cases that could upend the functional power of the federal administrative state.

Monday’s arguments began with two consolidated cases, Campos-Chaves v. Garland and Garland v. Singh, in which the court will consider what kind of notice the government must provide before a noncitizen can … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices allow federal government continued communication over social media content moderation

The Supreme Court on Friday granted a request from the Biden administration to temporarily block a lower court’s order that would limit the ability of government officials to communicate with social media companies about their content moderation policies. The Biden administration contends that it has sought only to “mitigate the hazards of online misinformation” by flagging content that violated the social media platforms’ own policies. But two states and several individuals whose social media posts were removed or downgraded … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Federal government and drug manufacturer ask court to review ruling restricting access to abortion medication

The Biden administration and a drug manufacturer on Friday night asked the Supreme Court to review a decision by a federal appeals court that would significantly restrict access to a drug used in medication abortions, which account for over half of all abortions performed in the United States. The filings created the prospect that the justices will weigh in on the issue of abortion for the first time since their decision last year in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Government seeks clarity on remedy after recent bankruptcy decision

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.

Last summer, the Supreme Court ruled in Siegel v. Fitzgerald that a 2017 law permitting debtors in bankruptcy proceedings in North Carolina and Alabama to pay lower administrative fees than those paid by debtors in other states violated the Constitution’s requirement that Congress provide uniform bankruptcy laws nationwide. That decision … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court gives government broad authority to dismiss whistleblower lawsuits

The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Department of Justice has broad, but not unfettered, authority to dismiss whistleblower lawsuits filed under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provision even when the government initially elected to allow the whistleblower to proceed with the action.

The FCA’s qui tam (an abbreviation for a Latin phrase meaning “who sues on behalf of the King as well as for himself”) provision encourages whistleblowers to file suit on behalf of the government. … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Government appeals decision against Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

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.

For the second time in just over three years, the Supreme Court may determine the future of the federal watchdog agency that seeks to protect consumers in the financial sector.

Three terms ago in Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the justices ruled by a vote of 5-4 … Read the rest