Tag: Federal Courts
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California sues Trump administration for changing census procedures
California is challenging a Trump administration effort to exclude people who reside in the United States without legal permission from the census numbers used to allocate congressional districts. On July 28, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit arguing that the July 21 presidential memorandum entitled “Excluding Illegal Aliens From the Apportionment Base Following…
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Judicial nominee confirmed to federal district court
On July 28, 2020, the U.S. Senate confirmed David Joseph to a federal judgeship on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana by a 55-42 vote. Joseph will join the court upon receiving his judicial commission and taking his judicial oath. Joseph was nominated to the seat by President Donald Trump (R)…
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U.S. Senate confirms Hardy to U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
The U.S. Senate confirmed Scott Hardy to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania by a vote of 65-30 on July 27. The Western District of Pennsylvania is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. After Hardy receives his judicial commission…
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U.S. Supreme Court wraps up 2019 term
The U.S. Supreme Court has unofficially ended its 2019-2020 term and is now in recess until the start of the 2020-2021 term on October 5. Delays from the coronavirus pandemic caused the court to release opinions until July 9, the first time the court had issued opinions into July since 1996. The July 9 date…
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Supreme Court issues final orders of October Term 2019-2020
On July 9, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued its final orders from its October 2019-2020 Term, granting review in six cases for a total of four hours of oral argument during its upcoming October Term for 2020-2021. The cases have not yet been scheduled for argument. Collins v. Mnuchin (Consolidated with…
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U.S. Supreme Court: Agencies had authority to create religious and moral exemptions from Obamacare contraception mandate
With a 7-2 decision in Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld religious and moral exemptions to Obamacare’s contraception mandate. The majority opinion held that federal agencies followed proper procedures under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to create the exemptions, and that the Little Sisters…
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SCOTUS issues opinion in consolidated cases regarding employment discrimination claims filed against religious institutions
On July 8, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued an opinion in the case Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, which was consolidated with the case St. James v. Biel. Both cases originated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and concerned employment discrimination claims filed against religious…
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Ballotpedia releases federal judicial vacancy count for June
In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from June 2, 2020, to July 1, 2020. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month. HIGHLIGHTS • Vacancies: There have been two new judicial vacancies since the May 2020 report. There are 73 vacancies out of 870 active Article…
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Trump has appointed second-most federal judges through July 1 of a president’s fourth year
Donald Trump has appointed and the Senate has confirmed 200 Article III federal judges through July 1, 2020, his fourth year in office. This is the second-most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies since Jimmy Carter (D). The Senate had confirmed 247 of Carter’s appointees at this point in his term.…
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U.S. Supreme Court rules on Title VII and sexual orientation, and the U.S. Forest Service’s authority to grant rights-of-way
The U.S. Supreme Court issued two opinions in five cases. In Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia (consolidated with Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC), SCOTUS ruled “an employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates” Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of…