Federal appeals court declines requests to intervene on behalf of consumer protection agency News
Federal appeals court declines requests to intervene on behalf of consumer protection agency

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] rejected [order, PDF] on Thursday requests to intervene and defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [official website]. Sixteen states, two lawmakers and several nonprofit consumer groups filed motions out of concern that the Trump administration would fire Richard Cordray [official profile], the agency’s director who was appointed by former president Barack Obama. Last October the same court ruled that the structure of the agency was unconstitutional [JURIST report]. Lawsuits against the agency are ongoing, and these parties wished to be allowed to join in the case to defend the agency in case the Trump administration fails to defend it in court. The court did not give a reason for their denial.

Many different groups and individuals have filed lawsuits in the wake of newly-elected president Trump’s swift and numerous executive actions. Earlier this week the City of San Francisco filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] in the US District Court for the Northern District of California against the Trump administration over the executive order to withhold federal funding from designated sanctuary cities. In January the Council on American-Islamic Relations [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [JURIST] in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia challenging the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s executive order restricting immigration from several Muslim-majority nations. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson also sued [JURIST report] President Donald Trump over the temporary immigration ban. A journalist and a graduate student at MIT filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] last month against eight federal agencies for records on attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions [official profile]. Also in January the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York claiming President Donald Trump’s continued business dealings violate the Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.