Who Can Serve as Acting Attorney General (open access)

Who Can Serve as Acting Attorney General

This report discusses the two primary arguments raised to challenge the President's decision to name Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General: first, that the Vacancies Act does not apply because another statute, 28 U.S.C. ยง 508, provides that the Deputy Attorney General (DAG) serves as Acting AG in the event of a vacancy; and second, that the Appointments Clause prohibits Whitaker, a non-Senate-confirmed official, from serving as the head of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Date: November 15, 2018
Creator: Brannon, Valerie C. & Cole, Jared P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Justice Antonin Scalia's Last Opinion (open access)

Justice Antonin Scalia's Last Opinion

This report discusses Justice Antonin Scalia's last opinion for the court (Kansas v. Carr). There, the Court reversed two decisions of the Kansas Supreme Court and held that "the Eighth Amendment [does not] require... capital-sentencing courts to instruct the jury that mitigating circumstances need not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt." It also held that the Eighth Amendment did not require separate trials for two of the defendants in one of the Kansas cases.
Date: March 15, 2016
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Jrisdiction Stripping: When May Congress Prohibit the Courts from Hearing a Case? (open access)

Jrisdiction Stripping: When May Congress Prohibit the Courts from Hearing a Case?

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.
Date: March 15, 2018
Creator: Lewis, Kevin M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
DOJ Brings Forfeiture Action to Seize and Return $1 Billion Embezzled Malaysian Government Assets (open access)

DOJ Brings Forfeiture Action to Seize and Return $1 Billion Embezzled Malaysian Government Assets

This report discuses the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) civil forfeiture action against $1 billion worth of assets bought with money embezzled from the government of Malaysia by high-level officials in Malaysia from 2009 to 2015.
Date: August 15, 2016
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Charlottesville Car Crash Attack: Possibility of Federal Criminal Prosecution (open access)

Charlottesville Car Crash Attack: Possibility of Federal Criminal Prosecution

This report discusses the announcement that the Charlottesville, Virginia car crash attack is being investigated as a federal civil rights case. It also outlines the sections of the federal law under which the attack could be classified.
Date: August 15, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Joint Employment and the Save Local Business Act (open access)

Joint Employment and the Save Local Business Act

This report discusses the proposed "Save Local Business Act" in the House and its provisions and implications for employers and employees in businesses where unions exist. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) broadening of the definition of what constituted a joint employer in the case of Browning-Ferris Industries of California led to resist by some in the business community and the "Save Local Business Act" seeks to restore the former more narrow definition of joint employers.
Date: November 15, 2017
Creator: Shimabukuro, Jon O.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Eleventh Circuit Provides Guidance for the Definition of "Foreign Official" under the FCPA (open access)

Eleventh Circuit Provides Guidance for the Definition of "Foreign Official" under the FCPA

This legal sidebar discusses the opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in United States v. Esquenazi, which is the first federal appellate court decision to provide guidance for and to flesh out the definition of the term "foreign official" under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA or Act).
Date: October 15, 2014
Creator: Seitzinger, Michael V.
System: The UNT Digital Library