The US Supreme Court held its second virtual oral argument Tuesday morning in a First Amendment dispute. In Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International, Inc., parties are arguing whether Congress can require foreign recipients of HIV and AIDS relief funds to have explicit policies opposing prostitution and sex trafficking. The case [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a statement of interest Sunday supporting a church in its lawsuit against Virginia Governor Ralph Northam asserting recent executive orders violate First Amendment rights. Lighthouse Fellowship Church filed the lawsuit after the pastor was issued a criminal citation for hosting a religious service with 16 people. Pursuant to [...]

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele defied the Supreme Court Wednesday after the nation’s highest judiciary issued an order for his administration to respect COVID-19 related rulings. In March the El Salvador government responded to the COVID-19 outbreak by ordering all citizens to undergo a mandatory month-long lockdown. Individuals found violating this order have been arrested [...]

A federal district judge issued an injunction Tuesday against Arkansas’ COVID-19 outbreak abortion restrictions. On April 3, the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) issued a directive that banned abortion as an elective procedure in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The governor then ordered that violation of the ADH directive would be a misdemeanor and providers [...]

The Kentucky legislature used their supermajority Tuesday to override the governor’s veto on a voter ID bill. The law will be effective for the 2020 general election, but not the primary elections to be held in June. Senate Bill 2 requires that Kentuckians show proof of identification to the poll clerk before casting a ballot. [...]

Canada gave royal assent to an emergency wage bill Saturday evening, giving relief to many Canadian workers and businesses adversely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. The $73 billion package enables private companies, non-profits, and charities to apply for government assistance to subsidize paychecks to employees. To qualify, entities must prove a reduction of revenue of [...]

The Bureau of Federal Prisons issued an order Wednesday directing prisons to keep inmates confined in cells for a 14-day period. The directive will impact operations in all 122 federal prison facilities around the country. Bureau Director Michael Carvajal made the decision in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The large number of inmates and guards [...]

A shareholder of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts filed a lawsuit against Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) Monday, alleging that he consulted private information before selling up to $1.7 million in stocks. On February 13 Burr sold between $628,000 and $1.72 million in stocks, as indicated by his Senate financial disclosure form. The transaction occurred just days [...]

The US Supreme Court on Thursday extended the deadline to file a petition for writ of certiorari in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The new rule allows petitioners to file within 150 days of the lower court’s decision, an increase from the 90-day requirement ordinarily used. The order submitted also clarifies that subsequent time extensions [...]

The US and Canada agreed Wednesday to restrict all non-essential travel at their international border in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. US President Donald Trump announced the news via Twitter, emphasizing that trade between the two nations will not be impacted. The announcement comes after a series of travel restrictions by the US government, most [...]