Did the EPA exceed its authority by exempting refineries from statutory obligations? The Renewable Fuel Standard requires “refiners, blenders, and importers of transportation fuel to blend increasing amounts of renewable fuels into their products each year.” The requirement is for refiners to blend billions of gallons of corn-based ethanol and... Read More »
The Corporate Transparency Act now requires shell companies to disclose ownership within a Federal database. Going forward, federal agencies will store proprietary information and share it with investors and banks. Democratic Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York first introduced the bill in 2010 as a means to combat money laundering.... Read More »
Minerva Surgical, Inc., filed a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the court to clarify questions around the doctrine of assignor estoppel. Their petition asks “Whether a defendant in a patent infringement action who assigned the patent, or is in privity with an assignor of the patent,... Read More »
Several legal non-profit organizations have come together to establish an International Commission of Inquiry on Systemic Racist Police Violence against People of African Descent in the United States. The Commission will take a closer look at police violence against African Americans after a growing number of cases made national headlines... Read More »
New York’s scaffold law is under attack. A coalition of business and industry groups have banded together and are urging Governor Cuomo to ask for a repeal of the law in his budget proposal to the legislature. Meanwhile, bills to overturn the law have already been introduced in the New... Read More »
The possibility of President Trump issuing a self-pardon has been under discussion since the beginning of his presidency. In the wake of the riots at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, that possibility once again flirts with becoming a reality. Any discussion of the president’s power to pardon has to... Read More »
In a 124-page complaint filled with photos of Tweets and transcripts of broadcast interviews, Dominion Voting Systems has sued former Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell for defamation due to her frequent and lengthy diatribes against the company for allegedly rigging the November election in favor of President-Elect Joe Biden. Dominion... Read More »
With just days left in the White House, the Trump administration continues to push through changes that many fear will have lasting implications for the nation. The latest change is the rollback in protections that were meant to support the LGTBQ community. The new ruling that was finalized by the... Read More »
California has a requirement that tax-exempt charities disclose the identity of their top financial donors to the state. On Friday, January 8, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to that requirement. (The Attorney General of California, Xavier Becerra, has been nominated to run the Department of... Read More »
Lisa Montgomery was the only woman on federal death row. She was originally supposed to be put to death on December 8, but the execution was delayed since two of her lawyers tested positive for the novel coronavirus after visiting her in a federal prison in Texas back in November.... Read More »
Donald Trump’s attorney Thomas McCarthy has requested a federal appeals court to halt a civil lawsuit accusing the president of targeting poor and working-class Americans in promoting a multi-tiered marketing scam. The charges against the Trumps say they exploited their famous name to secretly benefit from unsuspecting lower-income investors. The... Read More »
A photo-bombing suspect who posed with his feet up on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk during the Capitol Hill attack was found and arrested by federal prosecutors. Richard Barnett, 60, from Gravette Arkansas, faces several criminal charges, said US Attorney Kenneth Kohl. Barnett is faced with federal charges, including unlawful... Read More »
In December, Trump vetoed a $740.5 billion defense spending bill after it passed Congress. His objections did not relate to the disgorgement provisions included regarding the SEC’s work. On December 28, 2020, the House overrode Trump’s veto. On January 1, the Senate voted to override the president’s veto as well... Read More »
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser launched a new probe into the death of unarmed, 23-year old Elijah McClain in Colorado in 2019. The US Justice Department has also launched a civil rights probe into the death of the unarmed young man by police. With echoes of the infamous choking death... Read More »
There is growing support for a monument to be established in Central Park commemorating the five wrongly accused men in the "Central Park Jogger" case. The chairwoman of Community Board 10’s Park and Recreation Committee, Karen Horry, has shared her vision of the exhibit with various other boards explaining, “We... Read More »
