Supreme Court

Supreme Court limits “safety valve” in federal sentencing law

Supreme Court limits “safety valve” in federal sentencing law

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Justice Elena Kagan’s opinion for a sharply divided court in Pulsifer v. United States resolves an ambiguity in the provisions added to federal sentencing law in the First Step Act of 2018, coming down firmly on the side of the government. The problem involves how to read a “safety valve” in federal criminal sentencing laws, which allows defendants to avoid the often lengthy mandatory minimum sentences scattered throughout the federal criminal code. The safety valve requires the defendant to … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Bump-stock ban comes before Supreme Court

Bump-stock ban comes before Supreme Court

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The Supreme Court has already heard oral argument in one major gun-rights case this term, and on Wednesday the court will hear another. In November, the justices heard United States v. Rahimi, a challenge to the constitutionality of a federal law that makes it a crime for someone who is the subject of a domestic-violence restraining order to have a gun. Wednesday’s case involves the interpretation of federal law rather than the Second Amendment. The question before the court … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Social media content moderation laws come before Supreme Court

Social media content moderation laws come before Supreme Court

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Once again, the relationship between the government and social media will headline arguments at the Supreme Court on Monday. NetChoice v. Paxton and Moody v. NetChoice are just the second of three social media disputes the court will hear this term. The justices on Monday will consider the constitutionality of controversial laws in Texas and Florida that would regulate how large social media companies like Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter) control content posted on their sites.

Defending … Read the rest

Civil Law

Del. Supreme Court: Fraudulent Transfer Claim Not a “Securities Claim”

Public company D&O insurance policies provide entity coverage (that is, insurance for the benefit of the insured organization) only for “Securities Claims.” But what is a “Securities Claim”? That is the question that Delaware’s courts have grappled with in a long-running dispute between the telecommunications company Verizon and its insurers.

The Delaware Superior Court had held in the ongoing dispute that a litigation trustee’s state law fraudulent transfer claims against Verizon were derivative claims and therefore qualified as a Securities … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court refuses to reinstate Missouri Second Amendment law

Supreme Court refuses to reinstate Missouri Second Amendment law

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The Supreme Court on Friday refused a request by Missouri to reinstate a state law that bars police officers from enforcing federal restrictions on the sale and ownership of firearms that the state believes violate the Second Amendment. A federal judge ruled earlier this year that the state law is itself unconstitutional and blocked the state from enforcing the law. In an unsigned order on Friday, the justices left that decision in place while the state’s appeal continues in … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court sets seven cases for November argument session

Supreme Court sets seven cases for November argument session

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A major Second Amendment dispute and a challenge to the constitutionality of efforts by public officials to block constituents on social media headline the Supreme Court’s November argument calendar, which was released on Wednesday. The session, which begins on Oct. 30, is a relatively light one, with the justices scheduled to hear oral arguments in just seven cases over six days.

The justices will hear oral argument in O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier and Lindke v. Freed, the social media … Read the rest