Category: Federal
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Ballotpedia releases federal judicial vacancy count for November
In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies to all United States Article III federal courts from November 2, 2020, to December 1, 2020. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month. HIGHLIGHTS • Vacancies: There has been one new judicial vacancy since the October…
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Federal Register weekly update: More than 3,000 final rules published so far in 2020
The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity. From November 23 to November 27, the Federal Register grew by 1,824 pages for a year-to-date total of 76,418 pages. Over the same…
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Winners certified in Arizona Senate and Iowa’s 2nd, legal challenges developing in New York’s 22nd
A total of 470 seats in the U.S. Congress (35 Senate seats and all 435 House seats) were up for election on November 3, 2020, including two special elections for U.S. Senate. Below are recent developments in four battleground races—one for U.S. Senate and three for the U.S. House. U.S. Senate special election in Arizona: The state of Arizona certified Mark Kelly’s (D)…
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Ballotpedia has tracked 132 lawsuits regarding public-sector union policy since Janus decision
On June 27, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (Janus v. AFSCME), ruling that public-sector unions cannot compel non-member employees to pay fees covering the costs of non-political union activities. This decision overturned precedent established in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education in 1977. In…
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SCOTUS postpones case hearing
Department of Justice v. House Committee on the Judiciary, which was previously scheduled for argument before the Supreme Court of the United States on December 2, 2020, has been removed from the court’s December argument calendar after the court granted the House Judiciary Committee’s motion for the move. The case came on a writ of…
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U.S. Supreme Court announces circuit assignments
The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) announced circuit assignments for the chief justice and the associate justices on November 20. Under Title 28, United States Code, Section 42, each SCOTUS justice is assigned to one of the 13 U.S. courts of appeal. The U.S. courts of appeal are the intermediate appellate courts of the U.S. federal…
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SCOTUS grants review in two cases concerning law enforcement officers’ search-and-seizure authority
On November 20, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) granted review in two cases for a total of two hours of oral argument during its October Term for 2020-2021. The cases have not yet been scheduled for argument. Caniglia v. Strom • The case: In 2015, Edward Caniglia and his wife had…
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A closer look at historical margins of victory in Boomerang and Retained Pivot Counties
Following the 2016 presidential election, there were 206 Pivot Counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 before voting for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Based on unofficial 2020 results, there were 22 Boomerang Pivot Counties, which flipped to Joe Biden (D), and 174 Retained Pivot Counties, which voted for Trump again.…
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Expected census delays may postpone state redistricting efforts in 2021
On Nov. 19, U.S. Census Bureau Director Steve Dillingham announced that, “during post-collection processing, certain processing anomalies have been discovered” in the 2020 United States Census. Dillingham said he had directed the bureau “to utilize all resources available to resolve this as expeditiously as possible.” Also on Nov. 19, The New York Times reported that “a growing…
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U.S. Senate confirms five nominees to federal judgeships
The U.S. Senate confirmed five nominees to federal judgeships—four to federal district court seats and one to the U.S. Court of International Trade. The 94 U.S. District Courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. The U.S. Court of International Trade is an Article III federal court that only hears cases…