Special Counsel Robert Mueller recommended in a memorandum filed Tuesday with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia that Michael Flynn receive no jail time for lying to the FBI. In December 2017 Flynn agreed to a plea deal stemming from allegations that he violated 18 USC § 1001 (making false statements). Flynn reportedly [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday struck down a federal law that prohibits “encouraging” or “inducing” unlawful immigration on First Amendment grounds. The court examined whether the law “permits a felony prosecution of any person who ‘encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United [...]
A federal judge on Monday ruled that the Attorneys General of both Maryland and Washington, DC, can begin discovery as part of their suit against President Donald Trump regarding alleged unlawful profits from his DC hotel. The original complaint points to instances of foreign dignitaries staying at the Trump International Hotel while visiting the president in [...]
The US Supreme Court heard two oral arguments on Tuesday: Biestek v. Berryhill and Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. At issue in Biestek, a disability benefits case, was “Whether a vocational expert’s testimony can constitute substantial evidence of ‘other work,'” if the expert did not provide the data supporting this position, although requested to do [...]
Several fraternities and sororities at Harvard University sued the school on Monday for discrimination against their organizations. “The University … conducted a multi-year campaign to eliminate single-sex groups from campus life,” alleges the complaint. “Dean Khurana … excoriated as sexists, compared them to terrorists, and labeled them as traitors.” In a letter published during the [...]
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Monday that the identities of 11 clergy implicated in the grand jury investigation of child sexual abuse in Catholic Dioceses in Pennsylvania would not be revealed. The court, citing Article 1, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, ordered that the names of the individuals be permanently redacted on “Report 1” [...]
The Wisconsin state legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance (JCF) proposed a package of controversial legislation early Tuesday morning in an extraordinary session. The legislature approved the extraordinary session—an extension of their normal season—on Friday. In a joint statement, Robin Vos, the speaker of the State Assembly, and Scott Fitzgerald, the Republican Majority Leader in the Senate, defended [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in Lorenzo v. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which will decide whether false statements alone can violate SEC regulations. Francis Lorenzo brought this case against the SEC after the SEC charged him with violating 17 CFR § 240.10b-5 and subsequently fined him $15,000 and banned him from [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in Dawson v. Steager, which questions how the West Virginia tax code will affect federal employees. James Dawson retired from the US Marshal Service in 2008 and filed under West Virginia code 11-21-12(c)(6) to have his retirement income exempted from taxes as a former law enforcement officer [...]
Judge Edgardo Ramos, of the US District Court in Manhattan, issued a permanent injunction on Friday, blocking the Department of Justice (DOJ) from enforcing three immigration-related conditions on grants distributed in eight jurisdictions. This order stops short of a nationwide ban from the grants conditions, and only impacts New York City, the state of New York, New Jersey, [...]
