Category: Federal

On November 20, 2019, a three-judge panel of North Carolina’s state superior court issued an order delaying the congressional candidate filing period for the 2020 election cycle pending finalization of the state’s congressional district plan. The filing period had been set to open on December 2, 2019, and close on December 20, 2019.   On…

The U.S. Senate has confirmed two nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Overall, the Senate has confirmed 164 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 48 appellate court judges, 112 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017. At the end of…

On November 14, 2019, Judge William Nardini received commission for the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.   Nardini was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on September 19, 2019, to succeed Judge Christopher Droney, who assumed senior status on June 30, 2019. Nardini was confirmed by the U.S.…

The 17 candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for president have received a combined 171 noteworthy endorsements, according to review of a list of endorsements compiled by FiveThirtyEight through Nov. 20.   Noteworthy endorsers include current and former presidents and vice presidents, current and former party leaders, governors and other state executives, members of Congress, mayors…

On November 12, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California. In this case, the court will decide whether the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lawfully ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The DACA program protected certain individuals…

On December 9, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr, a case that could determine whether courts may review how immigration judges rule on requests to reopen deportation cases.   In 1998, Pedro Pablo Guerrero-Lasprilla, a Colombian national living in the United States, was deported after being convicted of aggravated…

The U.S. Senate confirmed nominee Steven Menashi to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Overall, the Senate has confirmed 162 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 46 appellate court judges, 112 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017. At the end…

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) announced he was entering the presidential race on Thursday. While he filed for the New Hampshire state primary ahead of its Friday deadline, Patrick missed earlier filing deadlines in Alabama and Arkansas.   Patrick joins 17 other notable candidates in the Democratic primary. That number could soon grow as…

Ten candidates have qualified for the fifth Democratic presidential primary debate: former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Cory Booker, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Bernie Sanders, investor Tom Steyer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.   Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, who…

The U.S. Supreme Court has released its January argument calendar for the 2019-2020 term. The court will hear eight hours of oral argument in eight cases between January 13 and January 22.   As of November 11, 2019, the court had agreed to hear 53 cases during its 2019-2020 term.   January 13 Lucky Brand…