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The House May Vote to File an Amicus Brief: Is this Unprecedented?

Description: This report discusses the historical precedence of the House authorizing the filing of an amicus brief. The case involves state challenges to the Obama Administration's expansion of its deferred action program for certain aliens brought to the U.S. as children and unauthorized aliens who are the parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent resident aliens.
Date: March 16, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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What's RICO?

Description: This legal sidebar briefly discusses the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) portion of Title 18 of the United States Code. In spite of its name and origin, RICO is not limited to "mobsters" or members of "organized crime" as those terms are popularly understood. Rather, it covers those activities which Congress felt characterized the conduct of organized crime, no matter who actually engages in them.
Date: June 20, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Delivery Drones: Coming to the Sky Near You?

Description: This legal sidebar briefly examines the prospect of highly-automated fleets of drones being used routinely to deliver packages, which raises a number of legal questions.
Date: May 6, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Supreme Court's 4-4 Split on Immigration

Description: This report addresses commonly asked questions regarding the Supreme Court's evenly-divided June 23, 2016 decision about immigration. Consistent with recent practice, the decision affirms without any opinion or indication of the Justices' voting alignment an earlier decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit barring the Obama Administration from implementing two initiatives that would potentially have granted relief from removal to millions of aliens who entered or remained in… more
Date: June 24, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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FinCEN Seeks Shell-Company Transparency

Description: This legal sidebar discusses the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's (FinCEN) rules outlining anti-money laundering due diligence requirements. These rules require certain financial institutions to identify and verify beneficial owners of legal entity customers.
Date: June 6, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Constitutional Limits to Agency Independence

Description: This legal sidebar examines issues regarding the "separation of powers" among the three branches of U.S. government, specifically in regards to federal agencies.
Date: June 1, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Justice Antonin Scalia's Last Opinion

Description: This report discusses Justice Antonin Scalia's last opinion for the court (Kansas v. Carr). There, the Court reversed two decisions of the Kansas Supreme Court and held that "the Eighth Amendment [does not] require... capital-sentencing courts to instruct the jury that mitigating circumstances need not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt." It also held that the Eighth Amendment did not require separate trials for two of the defendants in one of the Kansas cases.
Date: March 15, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Federal Circuit Rules on Trademarks Considered Offensive: May Affect Redskins Trademark Dispute

Description: This legal sidebar examines cases involving the revocation of the Washington Redskins' federally-registered trademarks (Pro-Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse) and the refusal to grant registration for a rock band's name (In re Tam). These cases raise questions about the constitutionality of Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (conventionally known as the Lanham Act), which denies trademark registration to certain offensive content.
Date: August 8, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

No "Bivens" for You?

Description: This report discusses the Supreme Court's ruling in "Ziglar v. Abbassi" and the "Bivens" remedy that the plaintiffs were attempting to use to win their case. The "Bivens" remedy is a legal precedent that came from a 1971 case where the plaintiff Bivens sued federal agents with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics for violations of the fourth amendment due to them handcuffing him inside his own home without a warrant. It has been used two other times for suits against federal officials related to bre… more
Date: July 5, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Legal and Practical Effects of Private Immigration Legislation and Recent Policy Changes

Description: This report discusses the use of private immigration bills in Congress which allow Congress to grant permanent residency status to an immigrant who is not eligible under normal immigration procedures but that they deem to have extraordinary equities in the United States. It also addresses the announcement of new rules by the Immigration and Citizenship Enforcement Department (ICE) that limit stays of removal granted to immigrants who are proposed beneficiaries of a private immigration bill in C… more
Date: June 30, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Constitutional Limits on States's Efforts to "Uphold" the Paris Agreement

Description: This report discusses state government efforts to uphold the requirements of the Paris Agreement on climate change after the announcement of the U.S.'s planned withdrawal from the agreement and constitutional limits on their efforts.
Date: June 27, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Legislative Proposals Seek Statutory Protections Related to Removing a Special Counsel

Description: This report discusses the current rules for special counsels investigating executive branch officials and new proposed laws regarding special counsels and the process required to remove one from their position.
Date: August 22, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Presidential Pardons: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Description: This report provides a general overview of the pardon power and briefly addresses a few frequently-asked legal questions concerning its scope and application, such as: whether the President can issue a "prospective pardon, pardon himself or issue "secret" pardons, whether the acceptance of a pardon is an admission of guilt, and whether Congress can regulate the President's pardon power.
Date: August 28, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Update: The Microsoft Ireland Decision: U.S. Appeals Court Rules that ECPA does not Require Internet Service Providers to Produce Electronic Communications Stored Overseas

Description: This report discusses the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the case of "Microsoft Corporation v. United States" where the court ruled that the U.S. could not enforce a subpoena asking Microsoft to retrieve emails stored on a server in Ireland. On June 28, 2017 the United States filed for reversal of the decision through a writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court.
Date: June 28, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The End of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program: Some Immediate Takeaways

Description: This report outlines some of the major implications of ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program, including common questions about what happens to current DACA recipients, and possibilities for Congress to consider.
Date: September 8, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

ATF's Ability to Regulate "Bump Stocks"

Description: This report discusses whether ATF has the right to regulate "bump stocks" for rifles which allow rifles to mimic the actions of an automatic weapon and recent proposed regulatory action by ATF.
Date: March 22, 2018
Creator: Peck, Sarah Herman
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

When the City Goes Broke: Pensions, Retirees, and Municipal Bankruptcies

Description: This report first explains how, under current bankruptcy law, Chapter 9 (municipalities) debtors have significant freedom to modify their outstanding pension obligations through the bankruptcy process. The report then explores proposals to alter the legal principles governing the adjustment of municipal pensions in bankruptcy.
Date: April 10, 2018
Creator: Lewis, Kevin M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Shining a Light on the Solar Trade: Investigation Leads to Tariffs on Solar-Related Imports (Part 1)

Description: This report is part one of a report discussing the implementation of a tariff-rate quota on solar-energy related imports for four years beginning February 7, 2018. The announcement was triggered by the results of a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation into potential harm to U.S. industries from the importation of solar-panel related parts. The process of an ITC investigation is described in this part of the the report.
Date: January 26, 2018
Creator: Lewis, Caitlain Devereaux
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Threats to National Security Foiled? A Wrap Up of New Tariffs on Steel and Aluminium.

Description: This report discusses the new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports which go into effect on March 23, 2018. Possible effects of the tariff on the American market and reactions to the tariffs by other countries are also discussed.
Date: March 12, 2018
Creator: Lewis, Caitlin Devereaux
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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