Please enjoy the latest version short circuita weekly feature written by a group at the Institute for Justice.
Friends, the FBI is proposing a new, clear rule that would require new corporate entities to identify all owners who have “significant influence over important decisions.” It’s believed that this will help the government catch drug dealers and money launderers using shell companies to cover up their wrongdoing, but — we assure you — the bad guys are only going to change their tactics. The net effect of the rule would be to require law-abiding small business owners to file millions of unnecessary reports, creating a honeypot of sensitive information that hackers could exploit. IJ Senior Counsel Robert Everett Johnson at usa today.
- In 2014, environmental groups sued the EPA for failing to consider whether the pesticides it approved were compliant with the Endangered Species Act. The EPA admits it did not. DC circuit:(2017): You guys better get started. EPA: Yes, we’ll work it out. DC circuit:2022: Mandatory! Get it done by next September and update us on your progress every 60 days.
- In October 2018 and March 2019, two Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes crashed, killing everyone on board and exposing fatal flaws that grounded the planes worldwide. A class of plaintiffs sues. Oh, nothing to do with those crashes – they’re suing for the Boeing 737 MAX 8 that got them safely to their destination. But if they had known about the alleged flaws of these planes, they certainly would not have paid so much for the tickets. fifth circuit: The airline will not offer discounts to customers flying on the riskier aircraft; the airline will not operate any flights on the 737 MAX 8 if the defect becomes known to the public, reducing the number of available seats and Increase ticket price. No economic loss, no case.
- What do you do if you want to regulate, but you don’t actually want to… regulate? Maybe you gave a group of privates the power to regulate their peers. That’s the approach Congress took in a 2020 law that gave private associations the power to regulate the horse racing industry, including the power to issue rules, investigate violations and impose penalties. fifth circuit: This violates the basic rule that private groups cannot exercise government power.
- A man who entered the U.S. from Mexico has been convicted of illegal re-entry (having previously been deported twice).District Court: Although its Predecessor, the Unwelcome Aliens Act of 1929, violated equal protection, and Congress considered and enacted an updated version of the statute that removed the prior discriminatory taint. You were sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release, which gave you time to appeal the conviction. fifth circuit: The duration of supervised release cannot be determined on the basis of the timing of the appeal.
- Congress has poured cash into states to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19, but has said they cannot use the money “to directly or indirectly offset tax cuts.” Ohio (in one lawsuit) and Kentucky and Tennessee (in another) claim that “offsetting” is unconstitutional. In response, the Treasury said most tax cuts were feasible as long as overall spending was not reduced. sixth circuit: And because of this “credible” clarification, Ohio’s lawsuit is moot. sixth circuit: So (the objection) is of Kentucky. But Tennessee isn’t because it will have more paperwork. This means we can say that Congress is unconstitutionally vague. (sixth thus with eighth circuit, found Missouri lacking status. )
- Allegation: Columbus, Ohio, officials say a man was arrested at his home (Thanksgiving Day) and sentenced to five days in jail weeks after he fled a traffic stop. oops! The man’s roommate, who looked nothing like him, had borrowed his car that night. The police simply looked at the owner’s photo and included his description in their report. sixth circuit (unpublished): “Officials lying on the basis of probable cause is an ‘obvious’ rights violation that does not require cataloging of factually similar cases.” And, “[a]n The officer does not need to be aware of the specific types of lies he is prohibited from telling. “That said, there was a case. There was no qualifying immunity.
- Plaintiffs: These Michigan Counties Illegally Retain Residual Value of Homes Sold to Enforce Tax Liens, So We Sue Them! Insurance company (for one of the counties): Our policy does not require us to cover these claims, so we will sue you immediately! sixth circuit: You can’t sue someone who didn’t ask you to do anything, just because you want a statement that you don’t have to pay for a judgment against a third party that they might one day get.
- illinois subscribers good housekeeping It was discovered that her personal information had been sold to data miners without her permission. She sued Hearst Communications for violating Illinois’ Right to Publicity Act. Seventh Circuit: The bill doesn’t prohibit the sale of personal information (“Here’s what we know about Elizabeth”), it prohibits the use of personal information to sell stuff (“Elizabeth of Illinois thinks our subscriber data is the best!”). No claims.
- younger-Abstention lovers will know that federal courts rely too heavily on so-called “middlesex since the Supreme Court Sprint Communications, Inc. v. Jacobs. eighth circuit: Then why is the underwear of the client here? younger– Waiver appeals “are almost entirely focused on middlesex Factor”? Pish posh. No younger Abstain. The case, which challenges Stone County, Missouri’s vacation rental regulations, is likely to continue.
- The Salvadoran citizen came to the U.S. illegally as a minor and “accumulated a considerable criminal record” over the next few years. After his arrest in 2018, he was placed in deportation proceedings. He asked to be released on bail; it was refused. Fourteen months later, during deportation proceedings, he requested another bail hearing. Because his proceedings were “delayed,” does he have due process rights to a second hearing? ninth circuit: Standard balance test not performed. Agreed: If James Madison’s immigration views prevail, this guy might win. Unfortunately, John Marshall did just that. Objection: Test says yes.
- Plaintiff claiming to be heir to owner of Cuban beachfront property nationalized after 1959 revolution sues… US travel site? indeed! The sites allowed people to get lodging at resorts built by the Cuban government on stolen land, and in 1996 Congress created a private cause of action that would allow the prosecution of people who knowingly traded in confiscated property. (Until 2019, the cause of action was suspended by successive presidential orders.) eleventh circuit: The district court has jurisdiction over the defendant and the plaintiff has standing. The case was not dismissed.
- However, say eleventh circuitA man is suing a cruise line for the use of a Cuban commercial waterfront property that was confiscated from the plaintiff’s cousin’s brother in 1960, irrecoverable, because he inherited his interest in the property in 2000, which was acquired in 1996 after. Agreed: This is indeed a result of regulatory requirements, but it does look like a case of sloppy drafting.
- In en banc news, ninth circuit won’t reconsider its decision Insist on the mandatory repatriation tax of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which required investors in foreign companies to pay taxes on unrealized investment gains. Four justices dissented, arguing that the tax was an undistributed direct tax that exceeded Congress’ powers under the 16th Amendment, which applies only to realized income.
- while in Introduction to amicus curiae News, IJ asks the 2nd Circuit to rule that a police officer pointing a gun at a submissive and non-threatening person is in itself a well-established violation of the Fourth Amendment.Earlier this year, the Federal district court Qualifying immunity was granted to an NYPD officer who pointed a gun at a school teacher (at a traffic stop) because the officer also made no verbal threats or physical contact.
- there are more Introduction to amicus curiae News, IJ asks Indiana trial courts to stop a troubling new trend: the state acting through private prosecutors to conduct civil forfeiture in virtual secrecy by redacting basic information, including defendant names, property descriptions, and state law Affidavit of nearly every probable cause required) on court papers. That violates Indiana Supreme Court rules requiring the judicial process to be made public, as well as the state’s civil forfeiture statute, which requires prosecutors to publicly report withheld data.
A judge can authorize a search of your home. But they shouldn’t oversee the search themselves.Indeed, this is the federal district court A recent ruling denied absolute judicial immunity to a Raleigh County, West Virginia family court judge who forced her way into the home of IJ client Matthew Gibson under threat of arrest so his ex-wife could take some of the disputed property, including DVDs. and umbrella stand. (A judge banned Matthew from filming her barefoot search.) Now, IJ is Ask the Fourth Circuit The judgment of the District Court was upheld. Click here understand more.or Click here A well-crafted podcast episode about the history of judicial immunity.
