This report addresses when, if ever, a regional federal trial judge adjudicating a case involving the federal government can award nationwide injunctive relief--a court order that commands a party to take or refrain from taking some action throughout the country. In the context of a suit against the federal government, an injunction with this type of "universal" effect acts to effectively void the law or policy in question. This report briefly explores the nationwide injunction at issue in the travel ban case (Trump v. Hawaii) and surveys a handful of the scholarly and judicial arguments surrounding the nationwide injunction in general

This report discusses a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in the case of "United States v. Grant" that prohibits the use of "de facto" life sentences without possibility of parole (created by sentencing juveniles to prison terms longer than the average lifespan or that would end after they reached the typical retirement age) for juvenile offenders who have a reasonable potential for rehabilitation. The report also discusses previous decisions related to this issue and the split among appeals court over the proper application of the Eighth Amendment to juvenile sentencing restrictions.

This report is an update of an earlier report discussing the Supreme Court case of "Jesner v. Arab Bank" which reports the final decision that foreign corporations such as Arab Bank may not be brought as defendants in lawsuits under the Alien Tort Statute.

This report is an update of an earlier report regarding the "travel ban" litigation going through the courts and includes President Trump's April 10th,2018, executive order lifting travel restrictions on nationals of Chad.

This report discusses the President's legal authority to send the National Guard or regular military forces to secure the U.S. border with Mexico and examines the statutes and precedent related to such uses of Presidential authority.

This report discusses the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit's decision in the case of "U.S. v. McCollum" which stated that conspiracy to murder was not a violent crime for federal sentencing purposes and discusses the background of the case and the prior case law which led to the decision.

This report discusses a federal district court's decision to halt a new Mississippi law that banned abortions after 15 weeks unless the the life of the mother was in danger.

This report discusses "tort reform" which refers to whether (and to what extent) legislatures should limit lawsuits concerning negligence, personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, and other similar causes of action. The report surveys several major tort and litigation reform bills pending in the 115th Congress and discusses some of the legal issues raised by each bill.

This report first explains how, under current bankruptcy law, Chapter 9 (municipalities) debtors have significant freedom to modify their outstanding pension obligations through the bankruptcy process. The report then explores proposals to alter the legal principles governing the adjustment of municipal pensions in bankruptcy.

This report discusses the Commerce Department's announcement that the 2020 U.S. census will include a citizenship question and various lawsuits filed in an effort to stop the question being included.

This report discusses the Supreme Court case of "Hughes v. United States" where all five justices agreed on the party that should win but they could not agree on why that party should win. The report discusses what justice's opinion, if any should enter future law through case law precedent, similar past cases, and the background of the "Hughes" case.

This report discusses the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of "Jennings vs. Rodriguez" which dealt with whether immigrant aliens could be detained indefinitely. The court ruled that the aliens could be held indefinitely without a bond hearing under statutory law but left the constitutionality of the action open for future interpretation.

This report discusses the U.S. District for the Southern District of California's recent decision in a case brought by the State of California against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding DHS's right to waive environmental and other administrative laws for border fence building projects. The court agreed with other court rulings on the issue and affirmed DHS's right to waive the laws.

This report discusses the Supreme Court case of "Benisek v. Lamone" which involves a challenge to a Maryland congressional district map on the basis that it was drawn as a part of partisan gerrymandering. Previous Supreme Court cases involving gerrymandering and background on this case is included.

This report discusses the background of the case of "Cyan Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund", the Supreme Court's decision, and the decision's implications for securities litigation.

This report discusses the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) recent investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to determine whether acts, policies, and practices of the Government of China related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation were unreasonable or discriminatory and burdening or restricting U.S. commerce and President Trumps's memorandum in response.

This report is the part two of two of a report on the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) recently concluded its investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (the "Section 301 Investigation") "to determine whether acts, policies, and practices of the Government of China related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce." This part of the report applies the general legal framework to this specific Section 301 Investigation, providing background on the investigation, describing the USTR's findings and the President's directives, and concluding by addressing what legal issues lie ahead.

This report discusses whether Congress could grant the President a line-item veto. The report provides an overview of the Supreme Court's decision in "Clinton v. City of New York" in 1998 and examines what (if any) possibility exists for a constitutional, line-item veto authority for the President.

This report discusses whether ATF has the right to regulate "bump stocks" for rifles which allow rifles to mimic the actions of an automatic weapon and recent proposed regulatory action by ATF.

This report discusses the Supreme Court's decision in the case of "Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran" where the court ruled that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) did not permit U.S. victims of Iran-sponsored terrorist attacks to seize a collection of Persian antiquities on loan from Iran to a museum at the University of Chicago. The background of the case and case law about the FSIA is also discussed.

This report discusses the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision in "FTC v. AT&T Mobility". The implications of this decision on net neutrality are also discussed.

This report discusses the Supreme Court's decision to decline to review the case of "Perry Capital LLC. v. Murchin" which denied the claims of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders against the federal government. It also discusses some of the plaintiffs desire to seek legislative reform from Congress to change the law governing profit transfers from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

This report is an update of a previous report discussing the case of "Allergan Inc. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc." which deals with patent law and the rights of brand-name pharmaceutical companies and generic pharmaceutical companies as well as Native American tribes sovereign rights because the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe is a co-plaintiff in the case. The case is currently in the appeals process.

This report discusses the Supreme Court case of "Patchak v. Zinke" and its relevance to Congress. It begins by briefly describing the Court's prior attempts to demarcate the boundaries of Congress's power to take cases away from the federal judiciary. It then discusses the facts and opinions in Patchak and analyzes the effect Patchak may have on Congress's legislative objectives.