#Judicial Department

[sw5w]

...Has Saved...

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 02:06:15

The "Fake Windu" in this scene might be Samuel L. Jackson's stunt double Oliver Wilson. Can anyone confirm?

[jangillman]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Lisa Needham at Public Notice:

It’s been barely a week since conservatives on the US Supreme Court radically upended the balance of power between the branches of government, giving the federal courts the exclusive power to interpret statutes rather than deferring to agency experts. And we’re already seeing impacts on the ground. Right-wingers have been in the habit of running to their preferred courts to get regulations overturned, but the decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which officially destroyed agency deference, will make it easier — even routine — to block every Biden administration rule they don’t like.  Lawsuits to invalidate specific rules had been proceeding through the federal courts before Loper Bright, generally arguing that agencies exceeded their authority in promulgating a rule. These lawsuits exist in no small part because the Supreme Court made it clear they would destroy Chevron deference for years now, with Justice Neil Gorsuch having led the way well before his appointment to the Court. 

Trump appointee Sean Jordan, who sits in the reliably hard-right Eastern District of Texas, was so eager to block a Biden administration’s overtime rule that he dropped his decision the same day Loper Bright came out. It runs 36 pages and mentions Loper Bright multiple times, which means either Jordan was so confident of the Supreme Court decision that he either wrote it in advance or he hurried to stuff Loper Bright into his already-written opinion. Jordan’s opinion also rests heavily on dictionary definitions rather than expertise from the Department of Labor, which issued the rule. So now, the rule that would have made 4 million more Texas workers eligible for overtime, and thus more pay, is blocked thanks to a hurried read of a SCOTUS opinion and Webster’s Dictionary. 

What this mean is that anytime a business doesn’t like a federal rule, it can just sue. It promises to be a free-for-all. Three hospitals in New Jersey sued HHS the day Loper Bright came down, saying the agency’s interpretation of a statute governing Medicare reimbursement is unlawful. In another case, filed before Loper Bright, a trucking company challenging the Biden administration’s rule that addressed misclassification of independent contractors filed a memorandum on July 2 arguing that Loper Bright means the court should not defer to the Department of Labor’s interpretation of the law. The next day, Trump appointee Ada Brown of the Northern District of Texas enjoined enforcement of the Biden administration’s rule prohibiting non-compete agreements but limited the injunction to the plaintiffs, which are various pro-business groups like the Chamber of Commerce. 

[...]

Bigotry from the bench

Unsurprisingly, much of the assault on administration rules relates to any regulation that would protect transgender people. Four days after Loper Bright was handed down, another Trump appointee, Judge John W. Broomes in Kansas, enjoined the Department of Education from enforcing its Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs rule in Kansas, Alaska, Utah, and Wyoming. The Department of Education spent two years finalizing the rule, which would have prohibited discrimination based on gender identity under Title IX.  The unofficial text of the rule, which runs 1,577 pages with supporting material, is jam-packed with legal analysis. Hundreds of pages are spent explaining how the DOE considered and addressed public comments and the document details the mental health impact of discrimination against LGBTQ students. 

Broomes’s expertise is in natural resource law, a background that does not lend itself to a detailed understanding of Title IX, sex discrimination, or gender identity. But none of that matters. His opinion sneers about “self-professed and potentially ever-changing gender identity” and insists that things like using correct pronouns for students and allowing them to use the bathroom that conforms with their gender identity is an issue of “vast economic” significance. Given that the only costs of the rule are things like updated administrative guidance and perhaps hiring additional Title IX staff, the idea it is a vast economic question is, to put it politely, a reach. Instead, Broomes sided with the conservative plaintiffs, including Moms for Liberty and an Oklahoma student who asserted that using the correct pronouns for other students violated her religious beliefs. Because of this mix of conservative state litigants, private anti-trans groups, and an Oklahoma student, the extent of Broomes’s injunction is even weirder than the patchwork blocking of the HHS rule.

Besides blocking the rule entirely in four states, the rule is also blocked for the schools attended by the members of two private plaintiffs, Young America’s Foundation and Female Athletes United, and all schools attended by the children of members of Moms for Liberty. So now, if you are a transgender student unlucky enough to attend school anywhere in the country where a child of a Moms for Liberty student also attends, you’re out of luck. If your school is free of children of book-banners, you get the protection of the federal rule — unless you live in Kansas, Alaska, Utah, and Wyoming, in which case it doesn’t matter what school you go to.  Over at Law Dork, Chris Geidner has a good rundown of not just how the courts are sledgehammering LGBTQ rights, but also how having courts, rather than regulators, make these decisions results in an uneven patchwork of rulings over a Health and Human Services rule that prohibited health care providers from discriminating based on gender identity. Only five days after Loper Bright was issued, three separate federal courts issued rulings blocking parts of the HHS rule. There’s no chance that William Jung, a Trump appointee to the federal district court for the Middle District of Florida, hadn’t already written most of his decision before Loper Bright was issued, but the case gave him far more ammunition. Fung’s ruling in Florida v. Department of Health and Human Services blocked part of the Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities rule from going into effect — but only in Florida. 

The Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo ruling by the judicial activist MAGA Majority on the Supreme Court is having devastating consequences.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Former President Donald Trump, who is charged with stashing national security secrets at Mar-a-Lago and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them, relied on advice from the leader of the conservative organization Judicial Watch, who convinced Trump that he had the legal right to retain the documents and encouraged him to fight against the Justice Department, The Washington Post reported.

Trump's lawyers repeatedly urged him to return the document remaining at his residence but the former president instead turned to Tom Fitton, who doesn't have a law degree but has remained vocal about Trump having the right to keep the documents he took with him at the end of his presidency.

"If Trump had simply given these documents back, when he was first asked, there would have been no jury subpoena, there would have been no search warrant, and there would have been no criminal charges," former U.S. Attorney Barb McQuade, a University of Michigan law professor, told Salon. "In fact, in each of those steps of the investigation, if Trump had returned the documents, there likely would not have been a criminal prosecution."

Fitton reportedly argued that the records belonged to Trump, pointing to a 2012 court case involving his organization which he claimed granted the former President the authority to exercise control over the records from his own term in office.

Trump has echoed his claims referring to a ruling in which the judge said it was okay for President Bill Clinton to keep audiotapes of his conversations with historian Taylor Branch during Clinton's White House tenure.

"Under the Presidential Records Act — which is civil, not criminal — I had every right to have these documents," Trump said in a speech Tuesday night. "The crucial legal precedent is laid out in the most important case ever on this subject, known as the Clinton socks case."

But the key difference between the two comparisons is that Clinton's recordings were from his own interviews with a journalist and not presidential records like Trump's, legal experts say.

"The Presidential Records Act distinguishes between 'presidential records' and 'personal records' and required President Trump to preserve White House documents because those are the property of the U.S government," Temidayo Aganga-Williams, partner at Selendy Gay Elsberg and former senior investigative counsel for the House Jan. 6 committee, told Salon.

Even as Trump's advisers urged him to cooperate with investigators in their efforts to retrieve the classified documents he had taken when he departed from the White House, Trump brought up Fitton's name whenever he refused to comply with their advice, sources told The Post.

"Trump all but dared DOJ to indict him," McQuade said. "In order to be even-handed in applying the law to offenders who willfully abuse their power to handle classified information, DOJ really had no choice but to indict Trump."

Despite multiple opportunities to avoid criminal charges, Trump consistently refused to return the presidential documents requested by the National Archives since February 2021, sources familiar with the case told The Post. Trump was not charged for the documents he did return voluntarily.

"The national security documents that President Trump is criminally charged with keeping at Mar-a-Lago and refusing to return were always government records and could not be considered personal records in any reasonable reading of federal law," Aganga-Williams said.

Even as Trump publicly maintained that he was fully cooperating with government officials, his behind-the-scenes communication with Fitton reveals a different story.

In February, after the National Archives acknowledged retrieving 15 boxes of presidential records from Trump, he began receiving calls from Fitton telling him it was a mistake to give the records to the Archives, CNN reported.

One source told CNN that Trump requested Fitton brief his attorneys on the legal argument.

Fitton reportedly told Trump's team that they should never have let the Archives "strong-arm" him into returning them. He then suggested to Trump that if the Archives came back, he should not give up any additional records.

Contrary to Fitton's advice to "completely stonewall the government," Trump did hand over some material in June after a meeting between his lawyers and federal investigators at Mar-a-Lago, according to CNN.

However, investigators later found evidence suggesting that not all classified material had been returned, despite the former president being issued a subpoena. The FBI eventually carried out a search of Mar-a-Lago last August and found over 100 documents with classified markings at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.

Trump intentionally deceived his own advisers regarding the contents of the boxes, telling them they only contained newspaper clippings and clothes, seven Trump advisers told The Post. He consistently refused to return the documents even after receiving warnings from some of his most loyal advisers about the potential risks involved.

His actions have mirrored the advice of Fitton – a staunch election denier who promoted conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic after the 2020 election, according to Media Matters.

Fitton entered Trump's inner circle after he caught the former president's attention, who viewed him as one of the most effective critics of the Mueller probe from his frequent appearances on Fox News, Politico reported.

His media appearances are also similar to Trump's.

In one interview with Politico, Fitton discussed what he perceived as "abuses" of power by the Justice Department and the FBI, labeled the Mueller investigation as "unconstitutional" and asserted that there was sufficient evidence to arrest and prosecute Hillary Clinton. He has built a following by appearing on right-wing networks and filing lawsuits against the federal government alleging bureaucratic corruption.

During one Fox interview, Fitton himself corrected host Jeanine Pirro after she referred to him as a lawyer, and then responded: "You should be, you get more out of courts than anyone I know." But Fitton's limited legal expertise hasn't stopped the former president from seeking advice from him. It's only complicated the role Trump's attorneys play in representing him. It's also left Trump scrambling to find legal representation a day before his court appearance after two of his top lawyers stepped down just hours after a Florida grand jury voted to charge him.

Most recently though, Fitton's advice appears to have led Trump to being charged with 37 counts including alleged violations of the Espionage Act, obstruction and false statements.

[jangillman]

Go you good thang! Bring it on. 👏👏👏👏

[aanews69]

Biden's student loan cancellation Moving Forward. Wait Not so fast! #StudentLoanForgiveness #LoanForgiveness #EducationDebate #DebtReliefBlocked #biden #MOHELA Subscribe👇: https://vist.ly/3mhygpx Get Gear 👉: https://vist.ly/3mhygpw

[svalleynow]

Escapee Captured in Grundy County and Missing Fugitive from Mississippi Found Deceased on the Mountain

On Friday, September 20, 2024, the Grundy County Sheriff’s Department was notified by the Lauderdale, Mississippi Sheriff’s Department requesting assistance in locating a missing individual, a fugitive wanted for sexual battery. Mississippi authorities advised the individual had been reported missing since September 11, 2024, and the individual’s vehicle had been towed by a Tennessee Highway…

[townpostin]

Kolhan Courts to Appoint 16 New Notaries

Jamshedpur Court receives approval for 9 positions, applications open July 1 Legal practitioners with 10 years of experience eligible to apply JAMSHEDPUR – The Kolhan region’s district and sub-divisional courts are set to appoint 16 new notaries, with the Jamshedpur Court receiving the lion’s share of 9 positions. Nlin Kumar, Principal Secretary of the Jharkhand Legal Department, outlined the…

[thetaxguyin]

Upholding Legal Rights: Gujarat High Court's Stance on Income Tax Department's Seizure

In a recent development at the Gujarat High Court, a division bench comprising Justices Bhargav Karia and Niral Mehta has taken a firm stance regarding the seizure of “non-incriminating” data from a lawyer’s office by the Income Tax department. Refusing to accept the department’s undertaking on sealing the data, the bench has decided to delve into the matter on its merits. The petition before…

[sw5w]

We're Keepers of the Peace, Not Soldiers

STAR WARS EPISODE II: Attack of the Clones 00:04:49

[jangillman]

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[panamagreg]

Is there violent crime in Panama?

Jen and I went to dinner with our good friends, Mike and Diane, to celebrate one last meal with them at one of our favorite places in the community. They were returning to the States after concluding the sale of their condo. They decided to downsize to only one home and simplify their life. After settling into our seats, we enjoyed our meals and relaxed in great conversation about some of the…

[batboyblog]

Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #30

August 2-9 2024

The Department of Interior announced the largest investment since 1979 in outdoor recreation and conservation projects. The $325 million will go to support State, territorial, DC, and tribal governments in buying new land for parks and outdoor recreation sites. It also supports expansion and refurbishment of existing sites.

The EPA announced that Birmingham Alabama will get $171 million to update and replace its water system. The city of Birmingham is 70% black and like many black majority cities as struggled with aging water systems and lead pipes causing dangerous drinking water conditions. This investment is part of the Biden-Harris administrations plan to replace all of the nation's lead pipes.

The Department of Energy announced $2.2 billion in investments in the national power grid to help boost resiliency in the face of extreme weather. The projects will add 13 gigawatts of capacity, support 5,000 new jobs and upgrade 1,000 miles of transmission. Major projects will cut power outages in the west, drive down energy prices in New England, add off shore wind, and enable the development of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s wind resources.

The Justice Department won its massive anti-trust case against Google. A federal judge ruled that Google was an illegal monopoly. The DOJ has an ongoing antitrust suit against Apple, while the Federal Trade Commission is suing Facebook and Amazon for their monopolist practices

The US Government announced $3.9 billion in direct aid to Ukraine. The money will help the Government of Ukraine make up for massive budget short falls caused by the war with Russia. It'll help pay the salaries of teachers, emergency workers, and other public employees, as well helping displaced persons, low-income families and people with disabilities.

The Department of Energy announced $190 million to improve air quality and energy upgrades in K-12 schools. The grants to 320 schools across 25 states will impact 123,000 students, 94% of these schools service student bodies where over half the students qualify for free and reduced lunch. In the face of climate change more schools have been forced to close for extreme heat. These grants will help schools with everything from air filtration, to AC, to more robust energy systems, to replacing lighting.

USAID announced $424 million in additional humanitarian aid to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Due to ongoing conflict and food insecurity, 25 million Congolese are in need of humanitarian aid. This year alone the US has sent close to a billion dollars in aid to the DRC, making it the single largest donor to the crisis.

The Senate approved President Biden's appointment of Stacey Neumann of Maine, Meredith Vacca of New York, and Joseph Saporito Jr. of Pennsylvania to life time federal Judgeships. This brings the total of judges appointed by President Biden to 205. President Biden is the first President who's judicial nominations have not been majority white men, Judge Vacca is the first Asian American to serve in her district court. President Biden has also focused on former public defenders, like Judge Saporito, and former labor lawyers like Judge Neumann, as well as civil rights lawyers.

[jangillman]

He should be jailed and sacked. Traiterous piece of garbage 👹👹🤬🤬

[wilwheaton]

The Court’s decision to hear the Trump immunity case was outrageous, legally indefensible, and handled procedurally in a way that made it clear they were no longer acting as a court, but rather as the judicial arm of the Republican Party. They took a case they should not have accepted, agreeing to hear arguments that were already rejected in an expertly argued appeals court decision. Just as damagingly, they did so in a way that—regardless of their final ruling—would mean American voters would likely not hear a verdict before November’s election. It is a dark irony. They have chosen to hear the Department of Justice’s case against Donald Trump for election interference in a way that is itself election interference.

Supreme Court Picks Up Where Jan. 6 Mob Left Off

It’s so important to understand that, at a minimum, Thomas and Kavanaugh are not jurists who fairly interpret law according to Constitutional principles.

They are political activists and operatives who are abusing the power granted to them by the Constitution they will not uphold to force upon a nation that did not elect them a set of rules and conditions that are overwhelmingly -- overwhelmingly -- opposed by Americans.

I do not respect them. They have no credibility. They are Fascists who are taking apart the entire 20th century of American Democracy as quickly as they can.

If America survives this election, SCOTUS must be reformed immediately. The Trump justices must be removed, and Thomas must be impeached, then face a trial for his bottomless corruption.

[svalleynow]

Whitwell Man Arrested on Drugs and Weapon Charges

On August 16, agents with the 12th Judicial Drug Task Force assisted Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies and detectives after Dwight Daniel Stockwell had fled from deputies on August 15 at 496 Mountain Cove Rd. in Whitwell. A search of a wooded area where Stockwell had fled revealed a backpack and a large metal pipe that was found to contain components of a red phosphorus methamphetamine…