Supreme Court

Justices consider liability for officials who block critics on social media

Justices consider liability for officials who block critics on social media

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On Tuesday the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a pair of cases involving liability for public officials who block critics on their personal social-media accounts. The two cases, O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier and Lindke v. Freed, are the first in a series of disputes this term arising out of the relationship between government and social media.

O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier

In the first case on Tuesday, the justices are reviewing a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for … Read the rest

Civil Law

U.S.- Immigration agency updates guidelines for officials’ treatment of Red Notices (part 2 of 3)

On September 29, 2023, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued new agency-wide guidelines regarding how its employees will address cases in which Red Notices and Diffusions.

The complete guidelines are found here, and the most relevant provisions (in my estimation) are listed in our last blog post.

In part one of this series, we referenced the fact that some of the new provisions would likely be more impactful in a practical sense than others. The provisions that are … Read the rest

Civil Law

Austrian officials find Listeria at company linked to outbreak

Officials investigating a deadly outbreak in Austria have found Listeria at the company thought to be responsible.

Listeria isolates with the same genetic fingerprint as the outbreak strain were detected in three environmental samples from the firm in Lower Austria.

Käserei Gloggnitz previously recalled all kajmak, drinking yogurt and cream cheese products because of potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Kajmak is a type of cheese.

The Listeria strain behind the incident does not match any of those in the AGES Listeria … Read the rest

Civil Law

Officials criticized for gap in controls at firm behind Listeria cases

A political party in Germany has criticized the time it took for a long-running Listeria outbreak to be solved.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Bayern said it was shocked by the lack of checks at the implicated company. The opposition group had previously called on the governing Christian Social Union and Free Voters of Bavaria parties to provide clarity on the incident.

In July, the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) said it helped identify a … Read the rest

Civil Law

One death confirmed, another under investigation in Pennsylvania hepatitis A outbreak; officials name restaurant

The Montgomery County Office of Public Health in Pennsylvania announced today the temporary closure of Gino’s Ristorante & Pizzeria in West Norriton in relation to a deadly hepatitis A virus outbreak.

County officials say the restaurant will be closed until further notice while the investigation continues.

Authorities believe the outbreak began in late November, and current data suggests that the outbreak “no longer presents a risk.” However, officials are continuing to look into the situation.

Per standard public health protocols, the county … Read the rest