This report discusses the historical precedence of the House authorizing the filing of an amicus brief. The case involves state challenges to the Obama Administration's expansion of its deferred action program for certain aliens brought to the U.S. as children and unauthorized aliens who are the parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent resident aliens.

This legal sidebar on statutory interpretation addresses the question of whether executive branch agencies are barred from taking actions that Congress has not specifically authorized them to take.

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.

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 new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports which go into effect on March 23, 2018. Possible effects of the tariff on the American market and reactions to the tariffs by other countries are also discussed.

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 the the Supreme Court case of "China Agritech v. Rush" which concerns whether a plaintiff in a failed class action suit can sue again individually even if they would have normally been barred from doing so by the statute of limitations. The report explores the history behind the existing rules that apply with respect to statutes of limitations and class actions (the American Pipe rule), before discussing the specifics of China Agritech and the importance of the case for Congress.

This report discusses the Supreme Court decision in the case of "Digital Realty Trust Inc. v. Somers" which addressed when retaliation protections for whistle-blowers apply under the Dodd-Frank Act. The court ruled that the protections only apply if the whistle-blower reports securities violations to the SEC and not if they only report the violations internally.

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 Congressional censure of the President is constitutional and provides examples of past Congressional censures of presidents.

This report discusses the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the case of "Linde v. Arab Bank, PLC".

This report discusses the process of bringing a class action suit and the requirements plaintiffs are required to prove before one may be brought.

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 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 is an update of an earlier report regarding the SEC's consideration of a rule change regarding the proposed acquisition of the Chicago Stock Exchange by a group of Chinese investors with ties to the Chinese government. The SEC disapproved the rule change due to a lack of documentation on the funding sources of some investors and the deal was called off on March 5, 2018.

This report discusses the opioid epidemic in the U.S. and the role of the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in helping end the epidemic. The report provides an overview of FDA's existing authorities, the historical context for the opioid epidemic, and the agency's current plan for combatting the opioid epidemic, concluding with an examination of the broader legal questions concerning the crisis.

This report discusses whether the federal government can prevent 18 year old individuals from buying firearms. The report examines case law regarding the issue.

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 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.

This report is an update of a previous report regarding DACA's phase-out and discusses court injunctions preventing the the phase-out of DACA benefits for those already enrolled and a decision by a Maryland federal court which prevents the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using personal information found in DACA applications for law enforcement purposes except by permission of the court in uses needed for national security, public safety, or the public interest.

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 concept of executive privilege and whether the communications of a president-elect are protected by executive privilege.

This report discusses a recent Supreme Court ruling regarding the federal supervised release program for sex offenders.

This report discusses possible effects of President Trump's announcement of moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem for U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem whose passport listed place of birth is simply Jerusalem not Israel.