What Does the Supreme Court's 4-4 Split in Texas Mean for Future Executive Action as to Immigration? (open access)

What Does the Supreme Court's 4-4 Split in Texas Mean for Future Executive Action as to Immigration?

This legal sidebar discusses the Supreme Court's recent 4-4 split in Texas v. United States and how it might affect the Executive's ability to "go it alone" on immigration in the future. The nominee or presumptive nominee for President of both major political parties has expressed a willingness to take certain actions as to immigration on his or her own, without waiting for Congress to enact further legislation (although the specific actions they would take vary, depending upon their policies on immigration and other issues).
Date: July 25, 2016
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pending ACA Legal Challenges Remain as Congress Pursues Health Care Reform (open access)

Pending ACA Legal Challenges Remain as Congress Pursues Health Care Reform

This report discusses developments since January 2017 related to legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and health care reform.
Date: July 13, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
System: The UNT Digital Library
No "Bivens" for You? (open access)

No "Bivens" for You?

This report discusses the Supreme Court's ruling in "Ziglar v. Abbassi" and the "Bivens" remedy that the plaintiffs were attempting to use to win their case. The "Bivens" remedy is a legal precedent that came from a 1971 case where the plaintiff Bivens sued federal agents with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics for violations of the fourth amendment due to them handcuffing him inside his own home without a warrant. It has been used two other times for suits against federal officials related to breaches of constitutional rights, one related to gender bias and equality and the other for lack of medical care in prison.
Date: July 5, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Who Interprets Foreign Law in U.S. Federal Courts? (open access)

Who Interprets Foreign Law in U.S. Federal Courts?

This report discusses the interpretation of foreign law, from routine breach of contract and tort claims to complex cases implicating the judicial branch's role in international affairs. In Animal Science Products, Inc. v. Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., the Supreme Court announced the standard of deference for U.S. federal courts to apply when considering a foreign government's interpretation of its own law.
Date: July 9, 2018
Creator: Mulligan, Stephen P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
President Trump Nominates Judge Brett Kavanaugh: Initial Observations (open access)

President Trump Nominates Judge Brett Kavanaugh: Initial Observations

This report discusses the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and what his confirmation to the Court would mean. The report includes seven noteworthy opinions written by Judge Kavanaugh while serving on the D.C. Circuit Court.
Date: July 10, 2018
Creator: Nolan, Andrew
System: The UNT Digital Library
Supreme Court Nomination: CRS Products (open access)

Supreme Court Nomination: CRS Products

This report lists key Congressional Research Service (CRS) products on the judicial decisions of Justice Kennedy and Judge Kavanaugh, as well as information on Supreme Court vacancies and nominations.
Date: July 12, 2018
Creator: Nolan, Andrew
System: The UNT Digital Library
Questions Remain, Litigation Continues, over Military Service by Transgender Individuals (open access)

Questions Remain, Litigation Continues, over Military Service by Transgender Individuals

This report discusses the controversy regarding transgender individuals serving in the military, President Trump's memorandums on the subject, and the four lawsuits challenging the President's memorandums.
Date: July 5, 2018
Creator: Back, Christine J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Equal Rights Amendment: Close to Adoption? (open access)

The Equal Rights Amendment: Close to Adoption?

This report discusses the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was first presented to the states in 1972 and has been ratified by 37 states, most recently by Illinois in May 2018.
Date: July 2, 2018
Creator: Shimabukuro, Jon O.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the Russian Federation: A Sketch (open access)

Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the Russian Federation: A Sketch

This report provides an overview of mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs) in general and a sketch of the terms of the U.S.-Russia MLAT in particular.
Date: July 24, 2018
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Media Consolidation: United States v. AT&T and Implications for Future Transactions (open access)

Media Consolidation: United States v. AT&T and Implications for Future Transactions

This report discusses the proposed merger of AT&T, Inc. (AT&T) with Time Warner Inc. (Time Warner), after one of the most closely watched antitrust trials in recent memory. This report first outlines current Section 7 doctrine and then discusses the particularities of the government's case against AT&T and Time Warner and the court's decision to allow the transaction to proceed. Finally, it analyzes the decision's implications for the media industry and future antitrust cases, and identify potential considerations for Congress.
Date: July 16, 2018
Creator: Ruane, Kathleen Ann
System: The UNT Digital Library
Partisan Gerrymandering: Supreme Court Provides Guidance on Standing and Maintains Legal Status Quo (open access)

Partisan Gerrymandering: Supreme Court Provides Guidance on Standing and Maintains Legal Status Quo

This report discusses the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of Gill v. Whitford. On June 18, 2018 the Supreme Court ruled that in order to establish standing to sue upon a claim of unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering on the basis of vote dilution, challengers must allege injuries to their interests as voters in individual districts. Topics discussed include Supreme Court precedent, case background, and implications for the future.
Date: July 2, 2018
Creator: Whitaker, L. Paige
System: The UNT Digital Library
Supreme Court Invalidates Public-Sector Union Agency Fees: Considerations for Congress in the Wake of Janus (open access)

Supreme Court Invalidates Public-Sector Union Agency Fees: Considerations for Congress in the Wake of Janus

This report discusses the Supreme Court case Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31 (AFSCME). In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that "agency fee" arrangements between a union and a government employer necessarily violate the First Amendment, overruling its 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education.
Date: July 20, 2018
Creator: Killion, Victoria L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Essential Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh Reader: What Cases Should You Read? (open access)

The Essential Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh Reader: What Cases Should You Read?

This report highlights many of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh's judicial opinions that have received the greatest degree of attention from legal observers. Judge Kavanaugh, whom President Trump has nominated to fill the impending Supreme Court vacancy caused by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's retirement from the Court, has amassed a voluminous record of judicial writings during his legal career. These writings are certain to be a key topic of interest as the Senate prepares to hold hearings and a possible vote on Judge Kavanaugh's nomination to the High Court.
Date: July 25, 2018
Creator: Garcia, Michael John
System: The UNT Digital Library
Family Separation at the Border and the Ms. L. Litigation (open access)

Family Separation at the Border and the Ms. L. Litigation

This report explores the underlying policies resulting in family separation, the due process issues arguably implicated by these policies, and the political and judicial processes invoked to tackle the issue of family separation.
Date: July 31, 2018
Creator: Peck, Sarah Herman
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Commission Judges Do Not Have Unilateral Power to Punish for Contempt (open access)

Military Commission Judges Do Not Have Unilateral Power to Punish for Contempt

This report discusses the case of Baker v. Spath, in which Brigadier General (Gen.) John G. Baker, Chief Defense Counsel of the Military Commission System, prevailed in his habeas case against a military commission judge who sentenced him to 21 days' confinement and fined him $1,000 for contempt.
Date: July 18, 2018
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Only Minimal Impact on Commerce Needed for Attempted Bombing (open access)

Only Minimal Impact on Commerce Needed for Attempted Bombing

This report discusses the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in the United States v. Suarez case, that a minimal impact on commerce is sufficient to satisfy the jurisdictional requirement of the federal weapons of mass destruction statute. This decision seems to reflect a growing willingness of federal appellate courts to read broadly Congress's Commerce Clause powers.
Date: July 26, 2018
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hostage-Taking Statute Covers Kidnapping for Ransom Abroad (open access)

Hostage-Taking Statute Covers Kidnapping for Ransom Abroad

This report discusses the U.S. Court of Appeals case United States v. Noel, in which Noel challenged his conviction for seizing an American citizen in Haiti to hold for ransom.
Date: July 30, 2018
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library