Tag: Federal Courts
-
SCOTUS issues opinions in five cases
On June 1, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) issued rulings in five cases argued during its October 2019-2020 term: Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment LLC (Consolidated with Aurelius Investment v. Puerto Rico, Official Committee of Debtors v. Aurelius Investment, United States v. Aurelius Investment, and…
-
Unanimous U.S. Supreme Court rejects appointments clause challenge to Puerto Rican debt board
On June 1, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution does not require members of the Puerto Rican Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) to face confirmation by the U.S. Senate. The Appointments Clause gives the president authority to appoint officers of the United States, subject to confirmation…
-
Federal judge requires Ohio to accept electronic signatures from initiative campaigns seeking to place minimum wage and voting changes on the ballot
On May 19, U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus ordered Ohio to accept electronic signatures from the campaigns sponsoring the Minimum Wage Increase Initiative and the Voting Requirements Initiative. The judge also extended the signature deadline from July 1 to July 31. The judge’s order only applies to the ballot measure campaigns that sued the…
-
U.S. Senate confirms federal judges for first time since February
The U.S. Senate confirmed three nominees to U.S. District Court judgeships. The Senate has confirmed 196 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 51 appellate court judges, 141 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017. The confirmed nominees are: Scott Rash, confirmed to the United States…
-
Federal judge denies request for more time in Nevada governor recall
Federal court judge Richard Boulware on May 15, 2020, denied a request to extend the signature-gathering period for the recall effort against Gov. Steve Sisolak (D). Fight For Nevada, the group behind the recall effort, requested an extension of the 90-day period to collect signatures equal to the length of the state’s coronavirus stay-at-home order.…
-
Federal Judge issues order regarding inmate releases at federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut
On May 12, 2020, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shea for the District of Connecticut issued an order directing officials at the federal prison in Danbury to identify inmates with health conditions that make them vulnerable to the coronavirus and to provide a list to the court in about 13 days. The order follows a…
-
10th Circuit upholds ATF redefinition of “machinegun” that banned bump stocks, citing Chevron deference
On May 7, a panel of judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that an ATF redefinition of machinegun that banned bump stocks did not violate Article I of the U.S. Constitution. Plaintiffs argued that since Congress had not banned bump stocks by law, the ATF and DOJ lacked…
-
In Michigan, federal appeals court partially overturns lower court order modifying candidate filing procedures
On May 5, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that a district court judge who ordered modifications to Michigan’s candidate filing procedures had erred in doing so. Although the appeals court agreed that the original requirements were unconstitutional, it found that the lower court had exceeded its authority in mandating…
-
Ballotpedia releases federal judicial vacancy count for April
In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from April 3, 2020, to May 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 March 2020 report. There are 77 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial…