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“Good Samaritan” Tort Reform: Three House Bills

Description: This report discusses three 108th Congress tort reform bills: the Volunteer Pilot Organization Protection Act (H.R. 1084), the Good Samaritan Firefighter Assistance Act of 2003 (H.R. 1787), and the Nonprofit Athletic Organization Protection Act of 2003 (H.R. 3369).
Date: September 15, 2004
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Supreme Court October Term 2017: A Review of Selected Major Rulings

Description: This report highlights seven notable cases from the October Term 2017 that could impact the work of Congress: (1) Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis; (2) Carpenter v. United States; (3) Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); (4) Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31 (AFSCME); (5) National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra; (6) Trump v. Hawaii; and (7) Lucia v. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For each cas… more
Date: September 19, 2018
Creator: Nolan, Andrew; Brannon, Valerie C.; Cole, Jared P.; Freeman, Wilson C. & Harrington, Ben
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Doctrine of Constitutional Avoidance: A Legal Overview

Description: This report discusses select issues regarding judicial review, and offers some contemporary views on the Ashwander Doctrine, under which the Supreme Court avoids ruling decisively in cases that it deems able to be resolved outside of the court, non-constitutionally (Constitutional Avoidance).
Date: September 2, 2014
Creator: Nolan, Andrew
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Supreme Court October Term 2017: A Preview of Select Cases

Description: This report highlights four of the notable cases of the new term that could impact the work of Congress: (1) Carpenter v. United States, which examines the limits the Fourth Amendment imposes on the warrantless collection of the historical cell phone location records of a criminal suspect; (2) Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), a case exploring whether Congress, by prohibiting a state from partially repealing a state law, impermissibly commandeers the powers of the st… more
Date: September 19, 2017
Creator: Nolan, Andrew; Brannon, Valerie C.; Garcia, Michael John; Harrington, Ben; Sykes, Jay B. & Whitaker, L. Paige
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Supreme Court October Term 2016: A Review of Select Major Rulings

Description: This report highlights four particularly notable cases the Court heard and ruled on during the October 2016 term: Matal v. Tam, which examines the interplay between the First Amendment and trademark law; Sessions v. Morales-Santana, a case exploring the relationship between immigration law and the Court's Equal Protection jurisprudence; Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, the latest chapter in the Court's Free Exercise jurisprudence; and Ziglar v. Abbasi, a case limiting the ty… more
Date: September 15, 2017
Creator: Nolan, Andrew; Brown, Cynthia; Garcia, Michael John; Lewis, Caitlin Devereaux & Peck, Sarah Herman
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Offices of Inspectors General and Law Enforcement Authority: In Brief

Description: This report identifies the laws and regulations that vest certain offices of inspector general (OIGs) with law enforcement authority, which permits the use of guns and ammunition. This report also describes some of the requirements and expectations of OIGs that have law enforcement authority, and includes some reasons that OIGs have expressed a need for law enforcement authority.
Date: September 8, 2014
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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A Primer on the Reviewability of Agency Delay and Enforcement Discretion

Description: This report discusses the general legal principles applied in determining whether administrative delays are reviewable in court in these two different contexts and then address whether the procedures outlined in the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) are applicable to these delays.
Date: September 4, 2014
Creator: Shedd, Daniel T. & Garvey, Todd
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Endangered Species Act and "Sound Science"

Description: This report provides a context for evaluating legislative proposals through examples of how science has been used in selected cases, a discussion of the nature and role of science in general, and its role in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) process in particular, together with general and agency information quality requirements and policies, and a review of how the courts have viewed agency use of science.
Date: September 27, 2007
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. L.; Baldwin, Pamela & Alexander, Kristina
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Authority of State and Local Police to Enforce Federal Immigration Law

Description: This report discusses the authority of state and local law enforcement to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law through the investigation and arrest of persons believed to have violated such laws. It describes current provisions in federal law that permit state and local police to enforce immigration law directly, analyzes major cases concerning the ability of states and localities to assist in immigration enforcement, and briefly examines opinions on the issue by the Office of L… more
Date: September 17, 2010
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Authority of State and Local Police to Enforce Federal Immigration Law

Description: This report discusses the authority of state and local law enforcement to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law through the investigation and arrest of persons believed to have violated such laws. It describes current provisions in federal law that permit state and local police to enforce immigration law directly, analyzes major cases concerning the ability of states and localities to assist in immigration enforcement, and briefly examines opinions on the issue by the Office of L… more
Date: September 17, 2010
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Interrogation of Detainees: Overview of the McCain Amendment

Description: Controversy has arisen regarding U.S. treatment of enemy combatants and terrorist suspects detained in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations, and whether such treatment complies with U.S. statutes and treaties such as the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Congress approved additional guidelines concerning the treatment of detainees via the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA), which was enact… more
Date: September 20, 2006
Creator: Garcia, Michael J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Interrogation of Detainees: Overview of the McCain Amendment

Description: Controversy has arisen regarding U.S. treatment of enemy combatants and terrorist suspects detained in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations, and whether such treatment complies with U.S. statutes and treaties such as the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Congress approved additional guidelines concerning the treatment of detainees via the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA), which was enact… more
Date: September 25, 2006
Creator: Garcia, Michael John
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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An Overview of Recent U.S. Supreme Court Jurisprudence in Patent Law

Description: This report provides a brief summary of the Supreme Court's patent law jurisprudence in the following nine cases that have been decided since 2005: Merck KGaA v. Integra Lifesciences I, Unitherm Food Systems v. Swift-Eckrich, Illinois Tool Works v. Independent Ink, eBay v. MercExchange, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Metabolite Labs., MedImmune v. Genentech, KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., Microsoft v. AT&T, Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc., and Bilski v. Kap… more
Date: September 17, 2010
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Indian Law: Background and Current Issues

Description: This report briefly describes some of the fundamentals of federal Indian law, including the concept of tribal sovereignty and the allocation of authority among state, federal, and tribal governments with reference to criminal and civil laws and taxation.
Date: September 15, 1997
Creator: Murphy, M. Maureen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Spectrum Policy: Public Safety and Wireless Communications Interference

Description: This report discusses the rebanding plan announced by the Federal Communications Commission in 2004 to consolidate public safety frequencies and those used by some other operators, such as utilities. The plan was announced in an attempt to eliminate interference caused by the close proximity and interleaving of commercial and public safety channels.
Date: September 22, 2009
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biological and Chemical Weapons: Criminal Sanctions and Federal Regulations

Description: Various federal regulations and criminal sanctions apply to biological and chemical weapons. Some of the provisions are broadly drafted, covering biological and chemical weapons as well as other controlled material and technology. Some focus on biological and chemical weapons as such. Recent anti-terrorism legislation, Public Law 107-56, amended many of these provisions, broadening the scope criminal sanctions relating to the use of biological and chemical weapons and materials. This report out… more
Date: September 13, 2001
Creator: Jennings, Christopher Alan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Incentives for Charity: An Overview of Legislative Proposals

Description: This report briefly discusses the development of proposals for tax incentives for charity embodies in H.R. 7 and S. 476 in the 108th Congress and S. 6 in the 109th; the revisions in the Pension Protection Act (P.L. 109-280), and prospects for future legislation.
Date: September 13, 2007
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Corporate Inversions: Frequently Asked Legal Questions

Description: This report answers frequently-asked legal questions about corporate inversions. It answers questions relating to the scope and operation of Section 7874, including how key statutory terms have been interpreted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It discusses important Department of Treasury regulations that were finalized in 2015 and 2016, and answers questions about the IRS's authority to issue these regulations. Other questions that are answered relate to legislation introduced in the 114… more
Date: September 7, 2016
Creator: Lunder, Erika K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Insurance Regulation: Issues, Background, and Legislation in the 113th Congress

Description: This report discusses the legislation in the 113th Congress regarding insurance regulation. Among the insurance regulatory issues addressed by legislation in the 113th Congress are the application of federal orderly liquidation authority to insurers (addressed in H.R. 605); the supervision of some insurers by the Federal Reserve (addressed in H.R. 2140, H.R. 4510, H.R. 5461, S. 2102, and S. 2270); and the licensing of insurance agents and brokers (addressed in S. 534, S. 1926, S. 2244, H.R. 115… more
Date: September 17, 2014
Creator: Webel, Baird
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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