Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: February 21, 2017

Suits Challenging Confinement of Noncitizens Jump

“Habeas corpus filings in federal courts challenging the confinement of noncitizens have risen sharply. The latest available data from the federal courts show that during January 2017 the government reported 168 new habeas corpus civil filings by noncitizens. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 24.4 percent over the previous month when the number of civil filings of this type totaled 135. When monthly 2017 civil filings of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, their number was up (57.7%). Civil filings for January 2017 are also higher than they were for the same period five years ago. Overall, the data show that civil filings of this type are up 76.0 percent from levels reported in January 2012. Where these types of suits are filed in large part reflects where particular detention facilities are located. These facilities are used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house noncitizens who the agency seeks to deport. For the FY 2015 – FY 2017 period (October 2014 – January 2017), New Jersey had the largest number of these civil suits, followed by Middle District of Pennsylvania (Scranton) with 239 separate suits, and the Middle District of Georgia (Macon) with 201 suits. For the full report, including other districts in the top ten, go to: http://trac.syr.edu/tracreports/civil/460/.”

Cities With the Highest (and Lowest) Unemployment Rates

24/7 Wall St –  “The U.S. labor market has improved remarkably in recent years, as the unemployment rate has fully returned to pre-recession levels. The national unemployment rate reached 4.7% in December, the same as it was in November 2007, the month before the recession officially began. That recovery, of course, has been far from… Continue Reading

Report – The invisible hazard afflicting thousands of schools

“…Nearly 8,000 U.S. public schools lie within 500 feet of highways, truck routes and other roads with significant traffic, according to a joint investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting. That’s about one in every 11 public schools, serving roughly 4.4 million students and spread across every… Continue Reading

Bank Accounts for the Unbanked: Evidence from a Big Bang Experiment

Chopra, Yakshup and Prabhala, Nagpurnanand and Tantri, Prasanna L., Bank Accounts for the Unbanked: Evidence from a Big Bang Experiment (February 12, 2017).  Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2919091 “Over 2.5 billion individuals around the world are unbanked. How they can be brought into the formal financial system is a question of policy and academic interest. We… Continue Reading

The Misjudgment of Criminal Responsibility

Beattey, Robert A. and Fondacaro, J.D., Ph.D., Mark R., The Misjudgment of Criminal Responsibility (February 18, 2017). Beattey, R., & Fondacaro, M.R. The misjudgment of criminal responsibility, Behavioral Sciences & the Law, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2919855 “Generally, a criminal statute must consist of two essential elements: a description of the forbidden act (actus reus)… Continue Reading

Ambrogi – Many U.S. Legal Newspapers Among Group Acquired By Japanese Company SoftBank

Robert Ambrogi – LawSites: “Thirteen regional U.S. legal newspapers are among a group of newspapers that have been acquired by SoftBank Group Corp., the Japanese multi-national that also owns Sprint and that is known for its investments in the technology industry. SoftBank has purchased GateHouse Media, a company that owns over 500 weekly and daily… Continue Reading

Appeals court rules banned assault weapons are designed to kill or disable enemy on battlefield

Slate – Appeals Court Rules that Second Amendment Doesn’t Protect Right to Assault Weapons: “On Tuesday [February 21, 2017] , the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled that the Second Amendment doesn’t protect assault weapons—an extraordinary decision keenly attuned to the brutal havoc these firearms can wreak. Issued by the court sitting… Continue Reading