Two federal judges told Congress that the Judiciary has been negatively affected by two straight years of flat funding in most accounts, and they said a 9.3 percent increase in appropriations for the upcoming fiscal year is needed to ensure that the Judiciary can perform its essential constitutional functions.
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest
Lawsuits targeting businesses’ use of website tools under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) increasingly are filed by so-called “tester” plaintiffs. These plaintiffs seek out websites to “test” for potential CIPA violations and then file lawsuits seeking damages for those alleged violations. A California federal court recently confirmed that a CIPA plaintiff’s “status as a tester forecloses standing” for a simple reason: a tester “actively seeks out privacy violations” and therefore “cannot claim an injury when her expectations were … Read the rest
The Judicial Conference of the United States agreed to recommend to Congress the creation of new district and court of appeals judgeships as the Judiciary faces a worsening shortage of Article III judges and caseloads continue to mount.
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest
Share
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.
The vast majority of criminal cases – 98% of those in federal court, and 95% of those in state court – are resolved through plea bargains. As a condition for pursuing a lesser conviction or shorter sentence, prosecutors may also require someone who pleads guilty to a crime to sign … Read the rest
Share
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.
A petition for a writ of habeas corpus allows someone who is incarcerated to challenge the legality of their custody and seek release from prison. The Supreme Court has “left open” whether a habeas petition can be used to challenge prison conditions, and in answering that question for themselves, the … Read the rest
Share
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.
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents – “green-card holders” – can apply for a visa for their immediate relatives. If their petition is denied, they might seek to appeal that decision in federal court. But Congress, seeking to reduce the second-guessing of immigration officials, has foreclosed judicial review of purely … Read the rest
Share
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
Share
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