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Tort and Litigation Reform in the 115th Congress

Description: This report discusses "tort reform" which refers to whether (and to what extent) legislatures should limit lawsuits concerning negligence, personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, and other similar causes of action. The report surveys several major tort and litigation reform bills pending in the 115th Congress and discusses some of the legal issues raised by each bill.
Date: April 10, 2018
Creator: Lewis, Kevin M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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How Broad a Shield? A Brief Overview of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

Description: This report discusses Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 which was added too the law in 1996 to provide liability protection to online service providers regarding what users posted on their sites. Concerns about criminal activity being allowed to continue by companies due to the law and internet freedom advocates support for the law are discussed.
Date: February 21, 2018
Creator: Ruane, Kathleen Ann
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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A Second Amendment Right to Sell Firearms? The Ninth Circuit, Sitting En Banc, Weighs In

Description: This report discusses the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) decision in "Teixeira v. County of Alameda" which reversed the original court decision which held that Second Amendment rights applied to commercial firearm sellers. The course of the case and decision and implications of the ruling are also discussed.
Date: November 2, 2017
Creator: Peck, Sarah Herman
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Prosecutorial Discretion in Immigration Enforcement: Legal Issues

Description: This report begins by discussing the sources of federal power to regulate immigration and, particularly, the allocation of power between Congress and the President in this area. It next addresses the constitutional and other foundations for the doctrine of prosecutorial discretion, as well as the potential ways in which prosecutorial discretion may be exercised in the immigration context. It concludes by addressing potential constitutional, statutory, and administrative constraints upon the exe… more
Date: January 17, 2013
Creator: Manuel, Kate M. & Garvey, Todd
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Statutory Canon Aimed at International Organization Immunity

Description: This report discusses the upcoming Supreme Court case Jam v. International Finance Corp. The petitioners--a group of Indian nationals from Gujarat--seek to hold International Finance Corp. (IFC) liable for extensive environmental damage throughout their community caused by the construction of a power plant financed and overseen by IFC. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit) dismissed their lawsuit, holding, in accordance with the circuit's precedent, that the Internationa… more
Date: October 5, 2018
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State and Local "Sanctuary" Policies Limiting Participation in Immigration Enforcement

Description: This report discusses legal issues related to state and local measures that limit law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The report begins by providing a brief overview of the constitutional principles informing the relationship between federal immigration authorities and state and local jurisdictions, including the federal government's power to preempt state and local activities under the Supremacy Clause, and the Tenth Amendment's proscription against Congress direc… more
Date: July 10, 2015
Creator: Garcia, Michael J. & Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy and Water Development: FY2014 Appropriations

Description: This report discusses the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill that provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), for the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the Department of Energy (DOE), and several independent agencies.
Date: November 1, 2013
Creator: Behrens, Carl E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Responsibility Determinations Under the Federal Acquisition Regulation: Legal Standards and Procedures

Description: This report discusses the standards and procedures that federal agencies use in making responsibility determinations under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). It discusses (1) how responsibility determinations relate to other mechanisms that the government relies upon to ensure that contractors are responsible and otherwise eligible for federal contracts; (2) the performance-related and collateral standards used in making responsibility determinations; (3) the procedures for making respon… more
Date: October 1, 2010
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy and Water Development: FY2015 Appropriations

Description: This report discusses the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill that provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), for the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the Department of Energy (DOE), and several independent agencies.
Date: May 23, 2014
Creator: Behrens, Carl E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy and Water Development: FY2015 Appropriations

Description: This report discusses the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill that provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), for the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the Department of Energy (DOE), and several independent agencies.
Date: June 1, 2014
Creator: Holt, Mark
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy and Water Development: FY2014 Appropriations

Description: This report discusses the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill that provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), for the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the Department of Energy (DOE), and several independent agencies.
Date: February 25, 2014
Creator: Behrens, Carl E.
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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Energy and Water Development: FY2010 Appropriations

Description: This report discusses the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill that provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), for the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the Department of Energy (DOE), and several independent agencies.
Date: January 5, 2010
Creator: Behrens, Carl E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Responsibility Determinations Under the Federal Acquisition Regulation: Legal Standards and Procedures

Description: This report discusses the standards and procedures that federal agencies use in making responsibility determinations under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). As a general rule, government agencies contract with the lowest qualified responsible bidder or offeror. Responsibility is an attribute of the contractor, while price and qualifications are attributes of the bid or offer. Under the FAR, "[n]o purchase or award shall be made unless the contracting officer makes an affirmative determi… more
Date: August 18, 2010
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trends in Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Enforcement

Description: This report provides an overview of recent trends in the enforcement of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the principal U.S. anti-money laundering law regulating financial institutions. The report begins by providing general background information on BSA penalties and enforcement. The report concludes by discussing three recent trends that commentators have observed in BSA enforcement: (1) an increase in the frequency with which BSA enforcement actions involve an assessment of money penalties, and an… more
Date: January 12, 2018
Creator: Sykes, Jay B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Bayh-Dole Act: Selected Issues in Patent Policy and the Commercialization of Technology

Description: Congressional interest in facilitating U.S. technological innovation led to the passage of P.L. 96-517, Amendments to the Patent and Trademark Act, commonly referred to as the "Bayh-Dole Act" after its two main sponsors former Senators Robert Dole and Birch Bayh. Under this 1980 law, as amended, title to inventions made with government support is provided to the contractor if that contractor is a small business, a university, or other non-profit institution. This report discusses the rationale … more
Date: November 16, 2010
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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