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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
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.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The "National Security Exception" and the World Trade Organization

Description: This report examines the meaning of the national security exception in Article XXI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)--a provision also implicated in a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute between Russia and Ukraine; a blockade of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates; and a few other disputes.
Date: November 28, 2018
Creator: Murrill, Brandon J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

EPA Proposes New Permitting Test for Power Plant Modifications

Description: This report discusses the EPA's proposed Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing coal-fired power plants. As part of the ACE Rule, EPA proposed a new test for determining whether New Source Review (NSR) would apply to a modification of an existing power plant.
Date: September 25, 2018
Creator: Tsang, Linda
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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
open access

EPA Proposes the Affordable Clean Energy Rule to Replace the Clean Power Plan

Description: This report explores the legal basis for the proposed Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule and discusses the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) authority to consider various emission reduction options for existing power plants under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
Date: September 26, 2018
Creator: Tsang, Linda
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Judicial Fact-Finding and Criminal Sentencing: Current Practice and Potential Change

Description: This report provides an overview of criminal sentencing law by briefly describing the use of relevant conduct under the Guidelines and tracing the Supreme Court case law that has informed the practice, before addressing judicial commentary and recently proposed legislation regarding the use of acquitted or uncharged conduct at sentencing.
Date: August 24, 2018
Creator: Foster, Michael A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Oops: When Does a Plain Error in Calculating a Defendant's Sentencing Guidelines Range Warrant Resentencing?

Description: This report discusses the Supreme Court opinion that an appellate court should exercise its discretion to correct an unpreserved error "if the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings."
Date: August 8, 2018
Creator: Peck, Sarah Herman
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Calling Balls and Strikes: Ethics and Supreme Court Justices

Description: This report examines questions related to the integrity and independence of the Supreme Court, and Congress's potential role in regulating the ethics of the Supreme Court Justices. For example: What mechanisms ensure the integrity of Justices as federal officials? Are Justices subject to any rules of ethical conduct? How might such ethics rules be enforced?
Date: August 20, 2018
Creator: Brown, Cynthia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Only Minimal Impact on Commerce Needed for Attempted Bombing

Description: This report discusses the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in the United States v. Suarez case, that a minimal impact on commerce is sufficient to satisfy the jurisdictional requirement of the federal weapons of mass destruction statute. This decision seems to reflect a growing willingness of federal appellate courts to read broadly Congress's Commerce Clause powers.
Date: July 26, 2018
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Supreme Court Nomination: CRS Products

Description: This document provides a list of all the Congressional Research Service reports describing the judicial decisions of Justice Kennedy and Judge Kavanaugh, as well as Supreme Court vacancies and nominations.
Date: August 24, 2018
Creator: Nolan, Andrew
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Can the President Pardon Contempt of Court? Probably Yes.

Description: This report provides a brief background of contempt of court, explores the various arguments regarding whether a pardon can relieve an individual of criminal liability for contempt, and discusses potential congressional responses to the perceived abuse of the pardon power.
Date: August 10, 2018
Creator: Thompson, Richard M., II
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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