Supreme Court limits scope of anti-bribery law

Supreme Court limits scope of anti-bribery law

Share

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a federal anti-bribery law does not make it a crime for state and local officials to accept a gratuity for acts that they have already taken. Writing for a six-justice majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh explained that state and local governments already regulate gifts to officials, and so the federal law “does not supplement those state and local rules by subjecting 19 million state and local officials to up to 10 years in … Read the rest

Justices send expert witness question back to state court

Justices send expert witness question back to state court

Share

The Supreme Court on Friday sent the case of an Arizona man convicted of drug possession back to the state courts. Jason Smith argued that when an expert witness testified for the prosecution about drug analysis performed by another forensic scientist, it violated his right under the Sixth Amendment “to be confronted with the witnesses against him.”

In an opinion by Justice Elena Kagan, the court agreed with Smith that the requirements of the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause normally … Read the rest

Supreme Court allows ex-council member’s retaliatory arrest lawsuit to move forward

Supreme Court allows ex-council member’s retaliatory arrest lawsuit to move forward

Share

The court handed a win to a former-city council member in Texas on Thursday, clearing the way for her federal civil rights claim to move forward. Sylvia Gonzalez contends that her 2019 arrest on charges that she had tampered with government records came in retaliation for her criticism of the city manager in Castle Hills, Tex. In a brief unsigned opinion, the justices reinstated Gonzalez’s claim after a federal appeals court had thrown it out, holding that the lower … Read the rest

(UK) The Court Considers the Question of Whether Secured Creditor Consent is Required to an Administration Extension Again. “Too Good” to be True?

No, it isn’t.  We now have two cases where the Court has confirmed that insolvency practitioners do not need the consent of paid secured creditors when extending an administration under para. 78 of Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (the “Act”).

In Boughey & Anor v Toogood International Transport and Agricultural Services Ltd [2024] EWHC 1425 (Ch) (“Toogood”)the judge agreed with the conclusions reached in the recent Pindar case – see our blog on this – concerning the interpretation … Read the rest

Supreme Court strikes down bump stock ban

Supreme Court strikes down bump stock ban

Share

The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a rule that banned bump stocks, issued by the Trump administration after a 2017 mass shooting at a concert in Las Vegas. By a vote of 6-3, the justices rejected the federal government’s argument that rifles equipped with bump stocks are machine guns, which are generally prohibited under federal law. In an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, the court’s conservative justices emphasized that Congress could have enacted a law that banned all … Read the rest

COURT OF APPEAL SUMMARIES (JUNE 3 – June 7)

Jump To: Table of Contents | Civil Decisions | Short Civil Decisions

Good afternoon.

Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of June 3, 2024.

Continue Reading

In RH20 North America Inc. v. Bergmann, the Court upheld the motion judge’s decision striking claims on the basis that they disclosed no reasonable cause of action, and refusing to stay the claim in favour of arbitration. The party moving to

Read the rest

New York’s updated concealed-carry law returns to the court

New York’s updated concealed-carry law returns to the court

Share

The Petitions of the Week column highlights some of the cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

Last January, the Supreme Court refused to disturb an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit that temporarily allowed New York to enforce a new concealed-carry law while multiple challenges to the law proceed. Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, wrote separately that the … Read the rest

Little guidance from court on New York interest requirement on national bank escrow accounts

Little guidance from court on New York interest requirement on national bank escrow accounts

Share

Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s opinion for a unanimous court Thursday in Cantero v. Bank of America will not be one for the casebooks or treatises, as it says almost nothing about how the lower court is supposed to reconcile provisions of the National Bank Act that protect national banks with a New York statute requiring all banks (including national banks) to pay interest on the escrow accounts they hold for their mortgage customers.

The difficulty arises because amendments to the … Read the rest