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Supreme Court

Supreme Court cabins reach of aggravated identity theft statute

The defendant in the case, David Dubin, was convicted of health care fraud for overbilling Medicaid while working as the managing partner of a psychological services company. The government also charged Dubin with aggravated identity theft, which carries a separate two-year sentence. Choosing between the two competing readings, “one limited and one near limitless,” the Supreme Court on Thursday handily rejected the government’s “boundless” interpretation of the aggravated identity theft statute. In an opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Court endorses private Section 1983 enforcement of spending clause enactments

Civil rights plaintiffs scored a significant victory in Health & Hospital Corp. of Marion County v. Talevski on Thursday, with a seven-justice majority reaffirming that private plaintiffs can enforce spending clause enactments through 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and allowing private damages actions to enforce the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987.

FNHRA, a law enacted under Congress’s spending clause powers, requires nursing facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid to “protect and promote the rights of each resident” as … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court rules against union over strike liability

In an 8-1 opinion on Thursday, the justices provided a new definition to the limits on the right to strike under federal labor law. At issue in Glacier Northwest v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local Union 174was whether an employer could sue its employees’ union under state law for damage the employer incurred as a result of the union’s strike. The case produced a surprisingly broad majority agreeing that the strike at issue was not even arguably protected … Read the rest

Civil Law

Madras High Court takes taxpayer to task for mischief with costs

In the case of Manas Vs. Income Tax Officer[1], the Hon’ble Madras High Court (“HC”) took serious objection to the taxpayer’s attempt at misleading the Court. The taxpayer had filed a writ petition seeking quashing of the reassessment proceedings and satisfaction order passed under Section 148A of Income Tax Act, 1961 (“IT Act”).

Oddly enough, the taxpayer’s argument was centered on the claim that the notice of the satisfaction order did not reach the … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Court narrows scope of federal wire fraud statutes

For decades, the Supreme Court has steadily narrowed the scope of the federal criminal wire fraud statutes, and Thursday’s decision in Ciminelli v. United States is no exception. The court held that the federal criminal wire fraud statutes do not incorporate a “right to control” theory of fraud. The court referenced both federalism and overcriminalization concerns in narrowing the scope of the wire fraud statutes, pushing federal prosecutors to be more precise in articulating fraud cases against suspicious state … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court will consider major case on power of federal regulatory agencies

Nearly 40 years ago, in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, the Supreme Court ruled that courts should defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute as long as that interpretation is reasonable. On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider its ruling in Chevron.

The question comes to the court in a case brought by a group of commercial fishing companies. They challenged a rule issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service that requires the fishing industry to pay … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Court allows abortion pill to remain widely available while appeals proceed

The Supreme Court on Friday night granted a request from the Biden administration and a drug manufacturer to put on hold a ruling by a federal judge in Texas that suspended the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, part of a two-drug protocol used to end pregnancies in their early stages. The battle over medication abortions, which account for over half of all abortions performed in the United States each year, now returns to the U.S. Court of … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court further delays ruling on access to abortion pill

In a brief order, the Supreme Court continued to place on hold a trial judge’s ruling blocking the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions. Wednesday’s order extends the court’s “administrative stay” – i.e., a stay designed to give the justices time to consider the request – of the trial judge’s ruling until Friday at midnight. The justices are extremely likely to issue a further ruling before the administrative stay expires.

A court of … Read the rest