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The Islamic State’s Acolytes and the Challenges They Pose to U.S. Law Enforcement: In Brief

Description: This report outlines the broad challenges for federal law enforcement agencies in identifying and confronting the challenges posed by the Islamic State in the United States. This report also highlights the interagency efforts taken in preempting terrorists in the screening processes, visa fraud, and stopping the radicalization of individuals.
Date: July 16, 2015
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congress's Contempt Power and the Enforcement of Congressional Subpoenas: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure

Description: This report examines the source of the contempt power, reviews the historical development of the early case law, outlines the statutory and common law basis for Congress's contempt power, and analyzes the procedures associated with inherent contempt, criminal contempt, and the civil enforcement of subpoenas. It also includes a detailed discussion of two recent information access disputes that led to the approval of contempt citations in the House against then-White House Chief of Staff Joshua B… more
Date: May 8, 2014
Creator: Garvey, Todd & Dolan, Alissa M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Congress's Contempt Power and the Enforcement of Congressional Subpoenas: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure

Description: This report examines the source of the contempt power, reviews the historical development of the early case law, outlines the statutory and common law basis for Congress's contempt power, and analyzes the procedures associated with inherent contempt, criminal contempt, and the civil enforcement of subpoenas. It also includes a detailed discussion of two recent information access disputes that led to the approval of contempt citations in the House against then-White House Chief of Staff Joshua B… more
Date: April 10, 2014
Creator: Garvey, Todd & Dolan, Alissa M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Congress's Contempt Power and the Enforcement of Congressional Subpoenas: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure

Description: This report examines the source of the contempt power, reviews the historical development of the early case law, outlines the statutory and common law basis for Congress's contempt power, and analyzes the procedures associated with inherent contempt, criminal contempt, and the civil enforcement of subpoenas. In addition, the report discusses both non-constitutional and constitutionally based limitations on the power. Finally, the report includes a discussion of the significance of the House Jud… more
Date: May 8, 2012
Creator: Garvey, Todd & Dolan, Alissa M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Congress's Contempt Power and the Enforcement of Congressional Subpoenas: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure

Description: This report examines the source of the contempt power, reviews the historical development of the early case law, outlines the statutory and common law basis for Congress's contempt power, and analyzes the procedures associated with inherent contempt, criminal contempt, and the civil enforcement of subpoenas. The report also includes a detailed discussion of two recent information-access disputes that led to the approval of contempt citations in the House against then-White House Chief of Staff… more
Date: August 17, 2012
Creator: Garvey, Todd
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Independent Counsels, Special Prosecutors, Special Counsels, and the Role of Congress

Description: Report that provides information on the procedure for the appointment of an "independent counsel," a "special prosecutor," or a "special counsel" to investigate and prosecute potential or possible violations of federal criminal law by officials in the executive branch of the federal government and in federal agencies.
Date: June 20, 2013
Creator: Maskell, Jack
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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International Law and Agreements: Their Effect Upon U.S. Law

Description: This report provides an introduction to the roles that international law and agreements play in the United States. International law is derived from two primary sources--international agreements and customary practice. Under the U.S. legal system, international agreements can be entered into by means of a treaty or an executive agreement. The Constitution allocates primary responsibility for entering into such agreements to the executive branch, but Congress also plays an essential role.
Date: January 26, 2010
Creator: Garcia, Michael J.
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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Obstruction of Justice: An Abridged Overview of Related Federal Criminal Laws

Description: This report briefly discusses obstruction of justice, which is defined as the frustration of governmental purposes by violence, corruption, destruction of evidence, or deceit. This is an abridged version of CRS Report RL34304, Obstruction of Justice: An Overview of Some of the Federal Statutes That Prohibit Interference with Judicial, Executive, or Legislative Activities, by Charles Doyle, without the footnotes, quotations, or citations to authority found in the longer report.
Date: April 17, 2014
Creator: Doyle, Charles
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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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. It includes legal background and select limitations on immigration enforcement including traditional "sanctuary" policies, declining to honor immigration detainers, shielding juveniles from federal detection, and modifying criminal sentences to avoid immigration consequences.
Date: March 28, 2014
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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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
open access

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
open access

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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