Congressional Research Service Reports - 123 Matching Results

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District Court Temporarily Blocks Implementation of Asylum Restrictions on Unlawful Entrants at the Southern Border

Description: This report discusses the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) barring the Trump Administration from implementing new asylum restrictions. The asylum restrictions were prompted by reports of a "migrant caravan" traveling through Mexico to the southern border of the United States.
Date: November 27, 2018
Creator: Smith, Hillel R. & Harrington, Ben
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Who Can Serve as Acting Attorney General

Description: This report discusses the two primary arguments raised to challenge the President's decision to name Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General: first, that the Vacancies Act does not apply because another statute, 28 U.S.C. § 508, provides that the Deputy Attorney General (DAG) serves as Acting AG in the event of a vacancy; and second, that the Appointments Clause prohibits Whitaker, a non-Senate-confirmed official, from serving as the head of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Date: November 15, 2018
Creator: Brannon, Valerie C. & Cole, Jared P.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Asylum and Related Protections for Aliens Who Fear Gang and Domestic Violence

Description: This report examines asylum claims with specific focus on gang and domestic violence. It provides background on the topic and also outlines the U.S. Attorney General's decision in "Matter of A-B-," as well as recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in light of that ruling.
Date: October 25, 2018
Creator: Smith, Hillel R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The United States and the "World Court"

Description: This report reviews the most recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) proceedings against the United States by Iran and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the implications for Congress of the Trump Administration's withdrawal decision.
Date: October 17, 2018
Creator: Mulligan, Stephen P.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Deference and its Discontents: Will the Supreme Court Overrule Chevron?

Description: The Chevron deference is a seminal administrative law doctrine established by the Court's opinion in the 1984 case of Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. As several members of the Supreme Court are critical of the doctrine, this report discusses the possibility of the Court reconsidering Chevron in the near future.
Date: October 11, 2018
Creator: Brannon, Valerie C. & Cole, Jared P.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Do Courts Have Inherent Authority to Release Secret Grand Jury Materials?

Description: This report discusses the issue of releasing secret grand jury material. Although a long-established principle that has been deemed essential to the grand jury's functioning and independence is that matters occurring before it are to be kept secret, the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e) establishes exceptions.
Date: October 5, 2018
Creator: Foster, Michael A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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When Does Double Prosecution Count as Double Jeopardy?

Description: This report discusses the Fifth Amendment's Double Jeopardy Clause; although the Clause provides that no person shall "be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb," the Supreme Court has made clear that that protection has its limits.
Date: August 16, 2018
Creator: Hsin, JD S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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IRS Will No Longer Require Disclosure of Certain Nonprofit Donor Information

Description: This report will first provide background on the statute and regulations regarding tax-exempt organizations' (EOs') disclosure of contributor information. Next, the report will discuss the justifications of and reactions to the new policy, including the views of proponents and opponents of the new policy. The report will then discuss the litigation Montana has filed against the policy. Finally, the report will provide considerations for Congress.
Date: August 14, 2018
Creator: Carpenter, David H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Supreme Court Invalidates Public-Sector Union Agency Fees: Considerations for Congress in the Wake of Janus

Description: This report discusses the Supreme Court case Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31 (AFSCME). In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that "agency fee" arrangements between a union and a government employer necessarily violate the First Amendment, overruling its 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education.
Date: July 20, 2018
Creator: Killion, Victoria L.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Commission Judges Do Not Have Unilateral Power to Punish for Contempt

Description: This report discusses the case of Baker v. Spath, in which Brigadier General (Gen.) John G. Baker, Chief Defense Counsel of the Military Commission System, prevailed in his habeas case against a military commission judge who sentenced him to 21 days' confinement and fined him $1,000 for contempt.
Date: July 18, 2018
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Media Consolidation: United States v. AT&T and Implications for Future Transactions

Description: This report discusses the proposed merger of AT&T, Inc. (AT&T) with Time Warner Inc. (Time Warner), after one of the most closely watched antitrust trials in recent memory. This report first outlines current Section 7 doctrine and then discusses the particularities of the government's case against AT&T and Time Warner and the court's decision to allow the transaction to proceed. Finally, it analyzes the decision's implications for the media industry and future antitrust cases, and identify pote… more
Date: July 16, 2018
Creator: Ruane, Kathleen Ann
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Who Interprets Foreign Law in U.S. Federal Courts?

Description: This report discusses the interpretation of foreign law, from routine breach of contract and tort claims to complex cases implicating the judicial branch's role in international affairs. In Animal Science Products, Inc. v. Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., the Supreme Court announced the standard of deference for U.S. federal courts to apply when considering a foreign government's interpretation of its own law.
Date: July 9, 2018
Creator: Mulligan, Stephen P.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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UPDATE: Public Sector Union Dues: Grappling with Fixed Stars and Stare Decisis (Part I)

Description: This report discusses the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of "Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council." In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that public-sector agency fee arrangements violate the First Amendment, overruling its 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education.
Date: June 27, 2018
Creator: Killion, Victoria L.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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UPDATE: Supreme Court Takes Fourth Amendment Case about Cell Phone Location Data

Description: This report provides an update to a June 2017 report on the Carpenter v. United States case on government collection of cell phone location information. On June 22, 2018, the Supreme Court held in a 5-to-4 decision in Carpenter v. United States that government acquisition of historical cell site location information (CSLI) constitutes a Fourth Amendment search. The Court further held that the government needs a warrant supported by probable cause.
Date: June 26, 2018
Creator: Harrington, Ben
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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An Overview of U.S. Immigration Laws Regulating the Admission and Exclusion of Aliens at the Border

Description: This report discusses U.S. immigration law as it relates to the Trump Administration's zero tolerance policy to criminally prosecute migrants who unlawfully enter the United States at the southern border; a policy which has led to the separation of children from parents awaiting prosecution for unlawful entry.
Date: June 25, 2018
Creator: Smith, Hillel R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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UPDATE: Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador: Key Takeaways and Analysis

Description: This report is an update to a February 2, 2018 report discussing Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations and answering questions regarding the recent termination of TPS for El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Sudan. The update discusses the termination of TPS for Nepal and Honduras.
Date: June 8, 2018
Creator: Smith, Hillel R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Rise and Decline of the Alien Tort Statute

Description: This report explains the original purpose of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), restrictions placed on the ATS by the Supreme Court, the effect of the recent case Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC, and the response from Congress.
Date: June 6, 2018
Creator: Mulligan, Stephen P.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Travel Ban Case and Nationwide Injunctions

Description: This report addresses when, if ever, a regional federal trial judge adjudicating a case involving the federal government can award nationwide injunctive relief--a court order that commands a party to take or refrain from taking some action throughout the country. In the context of a suit against the federal government, an injunction with this type of "universal" effect acts to effectively void the law or policy in question. This report briefly explores the nationwide injunction at issue in the… more
Date: May 2, 2018
Creator: Freeman, Wilson C.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Third Circuit Invalidates "De Facto" Life Sentences for "Non-Incorrigible" Juvenile Offenders

Description: This report discusses a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in the case of "United States v. Grant" that prohibits the use of "de facto" life sentences without possibility of parole (created by sentencing juveniles to prison terms longer than the average lifespan or that would end after they reached the typical retirement age) for juvenile offenders who have a reasonable potential for rehabilitation. The report also discusses previous decisions related to this issue… more
Date: April 30, 2018
Creator: Smith, Alison M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Can Corporations be Held Liable Under the Alien Tort Statute?

Description: This report is an update of an earlier report discussing the Supreme Court case of "Jesner v. Arab Bank" which reports the final decision that foreign corporations such as Arab Bank may not be brought as defendants in lawsuits under the Alien Tort Statute.
Date: April 24, 2018
Creator: Mulligan, Stephen P.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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