The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday that Volkswagen AG may be liable to two US counties for tampering with diesel emission controls. In 2015 the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uncovered that Volkswagen was tampering with emission control systems to evade emission standards and filed criminal and civil actions against the [...]

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced Tuesday that the Minnesota Department of Human Rights has filed a civil rights charge against the Minneapolis Police Department. The investigation will explore the “department’s policies, procedures, and practices over the past 10 years to determine if they engaged in systemic discriminatory practices.” The investigation comes eight days after the [...]

FBI General Counsel Dana Boente is resigning amidst a recent resurgence in pressure from the Trump administration to remove him for his role in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Boente has served for 38 years in many different roles throughout the Department of Justice (DOJ). After serving as the US Attorney [...]

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear ordered an investigation Monday into the fatal police shooting of David McAtee. Beshear called for the release of body camera footage. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced that officers on the scene did not activate their body cameras. Fischer subsequently fired Louisville Police Chief Steve Conrad. The investigation will be a joint [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled Monday that the New York convention does not conflict with state law doctrines of equitable estoppel which allow non-signatories to an arbitration agreement to compel arbitration. The case involves an American company (ThyssenKrupp Stainless USA) and a French company (F.L. Industries Inc.), which entered into three contacts, all of which [...]

US President Donald Trump said in a tweet on Sunday that the US government will designate Antifa as a terrorist organization. “It’s ANTIFA and the Radical Left,” Trump tweeted. “Don’t lay the blame on others.” According to Merriam-Webster, “ANTIFA” or “Antifa” is short for the German “antifaschistisch” (“anti-facist” in English), and is often used to [...]

The US Supreme Court held Monday in Banister v. Davis that Rule 59(e) of federal civil procedure does not change a habeas court’s judgment, and it thus is not considered a “second or successive habeas petition,” expanding the scope of federal post-conviction review. The petitioner in this case is Gregory Banister, who was convicted for [...]

The US Supreme Court held Monday in Thole v. US Bank that plaintiffs who have not experienced an actual financial injury cannot sue pension fund managers. In this case, plaintiffs James Thole and Sherry Smith sued US Bank under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to allege that the defendants violated the [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday in Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment, LLC that the president did not require the Senate’s advice and consent before making appointments to the Financial Oversight and Management Board in Puerto Rico based on the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. The Oversight Board [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Maryland ordered Friday that non-citizens held in immigrant detention centers must be provided fair hearings and the government must prove if an immigrant is a flight risk. Consistent with the Trump administration’s orders, immigrants, even asylum seekers, were being held without bond, despite never having [...]