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Supreme Court

Justices divided on the constitutionality of the federal law that bans “encouraging” immigrants to remain unlawfully in the United States

Both oral advocates faced fairly cold receptions on Monday morning in United States v. Hansen when the Supreme Court heard argument on whether 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(iv), the federal law that criminalizes “encouraging or inducing” an immigrant to come or remain in the United States unlawfully, violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech.

The argument also shed more light on the newer justices’ views on the freedom of speech. The newly reconfigured Court appears less strongly … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices debate propriety of litigation in trial courts while defendants are on appeal seeking arbitration

If anything is clear after Tuesday’s argument in Coinbase v. Bielski, it is that the justices are not going to agree on the answer. The case asks what a trial court should do if it denies a defendant’s motion for arbitration. The Federal Arbitration Act gives the defendant the right to an immediate (“interlocutory”) appeal, but it says nothing about a stay of litigation in the district court. So in these cases (proposed class actions against Coinbase, a … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices take up case on federal admiralty law, seek government’s views on two pending petitions

The Supreme Court on Monday morning added a maritime law case to its docket for the 2023-24 term and invited the federal government to submit briefs expressing its views in two more cases. Both announcements came on an otherwise quiet order list released from the justices’ conference on Friday, March 3.

The justices granted review in Great Lakes Insurance SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co., a dispute that began after a yacht owned by Raiders Retreat Realty Co. … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices order new briefing in Moore v. Harper as N.C. court prepares to rehear underlying dispute

The Supreme Court on Thursday raised questions about whether it would reach a decision in a major election law case. In a brief order, the justices asked for additional briefing in Moore v. Harper, a case argued in December, to address whether the court still has the power to hear the case when the North Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to reconsider the underlying redistricting dispute that sparked the case.

The case began in state court as a … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices lean toward narrow reading of aggravated identity theft

In many ways, Monday’s oral argument in Dubin v. United States felt like a legislation class in law school, with various canons of statutory construction being bandied about. Dubin concerns the reach of the federal aggravated identity theft statute and whether a person must steal another’s identity to commit the crime. At argument, the justices wrestled with whether David Dubin, when he overbilled Medicaid, “used” the “identification of another” “without lawful authority” “during and in relation” to an enumerated … Read the rest

Supreme Court

In lawsuit against tech companies, justices debate what it means to “aid and abet” terrorism

The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared wary of a lawsuit seeking to hold Twitter, Facebook, and Google liable for aiding and abetting international terrorism based on ISIS’s use of the companies’ platforms. But during nearly three hours of oral argument, the justices struggled to draw a line between holding organizations responsible for supporting terrorism and allowing organizations to go about legitimate business, even if they may come in contact with terrorists as part of that business.

The dispute, Twitter … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices will consider whether tech giants can be sued for allegedly aiding ISIS terrorism

In 2015, ISIS conducted a series of coordinated attacks around Paris that killed 130 people and wounded nearly 500 more. Two years later, 39 people were killed in an ISIS attack on an Istanbul nightclub during the early hours of New Year’s Day. This week, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a pair of cases arising from the attacks. The justices’ decisions in Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh could reshape legal liability for some of … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices asked to weigh in again on “mixed” questions in immigration appeals

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.

When a noncitizen receives a final deportation order from immigration officials, they can appeal their case to federal court – but only under narrow circumstances. This week, we highlight cert petitions that ask the court to consider, among other things, whether courts can review a claim that a person’s deportation … Read the rest