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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

Justices turn away West Point admissions challenge

On Friday afternoon, the justices declined to temporarily block the U.S. Military Academy from considering race in its admissions process. In an unsigned order, the justices turned down a request from the same group that spearheaded challenges to the use of affirmative action in admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, and which now argues that West Point’s use of race violates the Constitution.

Friday’s order also included a relatively unusual statement that provided a possible glimpse … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Student group from Harvard and UNC cases seeks to block West Point from considering race in admissions

The same group that spearheaded lawsuits to effectively end the use of affirmative action in college admissions returned to the Supreme Court on Friday, asking the justices to temporarily bar the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, which trains officers for the U.S. Army, from considering race in its admissions process.

Students for Fair Admissions, a group founded by conservative activist Edward Blum, was at the center of the Supreme Court’s opinion last June, holding that the admissions programs … Read the rest

Civil Law

Observations from the COP27 Halfway Point

We are half way through COP27, so (disregarding the intersessionals that will take place during 2023), the negotiations will “soon” start to focus on Dubai, the venue for next year’s COP28 summit. Who knows how much progress will be made before then. One point to note is that COP27 is more of an “implementation” COP, rather than one with a more grandiose task, such as ramping up climate ambition.

To continue on that point, there do seem to be signs … Read the rest