The US Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced via Twitter Monday evening that hearings in non-detained immigration cases will be postponed until May 1. The EOIR said that immigration courts are open for detainee hearings, including bond hearings, where applicable. Operational status of courts nationwide are updated on the office’s website. [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania filed an emergency petition to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday seeking the release of some in the Commonwealth’s county jails—what the petition argues is a necessary measure to allow jails space to follow CDC-recommended safe social distancing practices to prepare for COVID-19. The petition asks the [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday affirmed a Third Circuit court opinion, holding that the plain language of the safe-berth clause in the parties’ sub-charter agreement establishes a warranty of safety. In the final stretch of a tanker’s journey from Venezuela to New Jersey, an abandoned ship anchor punctured the tanker’s hull, causing 264,000 gallons [...]

Singapore’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld Section 377A of Singapore’s Penal Code criminalizing homosexual activity between men. Three gay men challenged the law’s constitutionality following India’s victory in legalizing same–sex intercourse in September 2018. The High Court reasoned that it was bound by the Court of Appeal’s 2014 decision that Section 377A was constitutional and [...]

US Federal Communications Commission Chairman (FCC) Ajit Pai on Monday announced his plan for a $200 million COVID-19 Telehealth Program to support health care providers responding to the ongoing pandemic. As part of the CARES Act, Congress appropriated $200 million to the FCC to support health care providers’ use of telehealth services in combating the [...]

Lawmakers in Hungary’s Parliament voted 137-53 Monday to grant Prime Minister Viktor Orbán extensive powers to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite protests from the opposition parties, the bill did not limit the powers to a specific time frame. The bill allows Orbán’s government to suspend the enforcement of some laws and permits deviation from legal [...]

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s chairman said Friday that the US Secretary of the Interior has issued an order disestablishing the Mashpee Wampanoag reservation and taking its land out of federal trust. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s land was taken into trust by the US Department of the Interior in September 2015. However, relying on the US Supreme [...]

The California Judicial Council held a telephonic meeting on Saturday to instate new measures for handling the hearing deadlines for individuals currently being held in jails in California. The state has mandatory deadlines to ensure efficiency in their jail system but is struggling to meet the deadlines with the COVID-19 crisis. The Judicial Council cited [...]

The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a travel advisory Saturday for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut residents amid COVID-19 spread concerns. The CDC recommends that residents of these states refrain from domestic travel for the next 14 days. However, the agency advises critical infrastructure industry employees to continue travel. The CDC explained [...]

The Federal Reserve announced Friday that it would loosen bank regulations to support lending during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Reserve Board specifically modified two previous regulations: the standardized approach for measuring counterparty credit risk rule (SA-CRR) and the current expected credit loss rule (CECL). The SA-CRR modification will apply to the reporting period that [...]