Category «Courts»

Jurist Commentary – Overcriminalization & Mass Incarceration

Donnie Bethel, Stephen Cooper, Overcriminalization & mass incarceration: SCOTUS’ Decision n the Hobbs Act Will Increase Both, JURIST – Professional Commentary, June 26, 2016, http://jurist.org/hotline/2016/06/Bethel-Cooper-mass-incarceration.php. “People of all persuasions, political parties and philosophies have awakened to the terrible toll the crises of overcriminalization and mass incarceration have wrought on America. Perhaps, as reported by The …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

Paper – Faith, Social Action & Passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Augustine, Jonathan C., The Substance of Things Hoped for: Faith, Social Action & Passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (June 30, 2015). The Substance of Things Hoped For: Faith, Social Action & Passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 46 Cum. L. Rev. 423 (2016). Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2802981 “In …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

2015 Wiretap Report: Intercept Orders Rise 17 Percent

United States Courts, June 30, 2016: “The number of federal and state wiretaps terminated in 2015 increased nearly 17 percent over 2014, according to an annual report submitted to Congress by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. As in previous years, drug investigations and telephone wiretaps accounted for the large majority of cases. The …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, E-Mail, E-Records, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

Ruth Bader Ginsberg – “It is beyond rational belief that H.B. 2 could genuinely protect the health of women”

Laura Bassett: “In a 5-3 ruling on Monday, the United States Supreme Court struck down a pair of Texas abortion restrictions that would have shut down dozens of clinics across the state. While Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined Justice Stephen Breyer in his majority opinion, she penned her own scathing concurring opinion that, in one …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Privacy

Supreme Court Justice uses link shortener in decision

Via Fortune after Josh Blackman’s blog posting on this subject: “A Supreme Court decision got huge attention this week for a stinging dissent by Justice Sotomayor that some have called the court’s “Black Lives Matter” moment. But the decision is also significant because it contains a strange short phrase — http://goo.gl/3Yq3Nd No, that’s not a …

Subjects: Courts, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research

Federal Court: The Fourth Amendment Does Not Protect Your Home Computer

Via EFF, Mark Rumold: “In a dangerously flawed decision unsealed today, a federal district court in Virginia ruled that a criminal defendant has no “reasonable expectation of privacy” in his personal computer, located inside his home. According to the court, the federal government does not need a warrant to hack into an individual’s computer. This …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Legal Research, Privacy

Continued Decline in Patent Lawsuits

“The latest available data from the federal courts show that during the first eight months of fiscal year 2016 the government reported the filing of 3,478 patent-related lawsuits. If this pace continues through the remaining four months, there will be a total of 5,217 new filings of this type. This represents a decrease of 6.2 …

Subjects: Copyright, Courts, Legal Research

The Appointment Process for U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations: An Overview

CRS report via FAS – The Appointment Process for U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations: An Overview, Denis Steven Rutkus, Visiting Scholar. June 17, 2016. “In recent decades, the process for appointing judges to the U.S. circuit courts of appeals and the U.S. district courts has been of continuing Senate interest. The responsibility for making …

Subjects: Congress, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

New Indian Child Welfare Act Guidelines for State Courts

Via Carol Ebbinghouse – Federal Register, Vol 81, No. 114, p. 38778 Tuesday June 14, 2016. Part 2, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 25 CFR Part 23 [K00103 12/13 A3A10; 134D0102DR DS5A300000-DR.5A311.1A000113] RIN 1076-AF25 Indian Child Welfare Act Proceedings. This final rule adds a new subpart to the Department of the Interior’s …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

CRS INSIGHT U.S. Circuit Court Vacancies: Overview and Comparative Analysis

Barry J. McMillion, Analyst in American National Government. “This Insight provides comparative historical data related to U.S. circuit court vacancies that existed at the beginning of the three most recent presidencies (Obama, George W. Bush, Clinton), as well as the number of vacancies that existed on June 1 of each President’s eighth year in office. …

Subjects: Congress, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

UN Report – ISIS Crimes Against the Yazidis in Syria

United Nations Human Rights Council – “ISIS has committed the crime of genocide as well as multiple crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Yazidis, thousands of whom are held captive in the Syrian Arab Republic where they are subjected to al most unimaginable horrors. The present report, which focuses on violations committed in …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

Court decision upholds net neutrality rules

“For the third time in seven years, we confront an effort by the Federal Communications Commission to compel internet openness—commonly known as net neutrality—the principle that broadband providers must treat all internet traffic the same regardless of source. In our first decision, Comcast Corp. v. FCC, 600 F.3d 642 (D.C. Cir. 2010), we held that …

Subjects: Courts, E-Commerce, Economy, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

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