“Despite widespread concern about an epidemic of opioid abuse, and announcements by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and others of stepped up efforts by the Trump administration to address it, federal criminal prosecutions for drug offenses have dropped to historic lows. The latest data, current through June 2017, show that fewer drug offenders were federally prosecuted… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Courts
Judge Orders Sep. 8 Deadline for Mar-a-Lago Visitor Records Release
National Security Archive: “The Department of Homeland Security will release the visitor logs for President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort by September 8, according to a court order filed on July 14, 2017, by federal judge Katherine Polk Failla. The order is in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by the National Security… Continue Reading
LC Online Exhibition – Drawing Justice: The Art of Courtroom Illustration
“Drawing Justice: The Art of Courtroom Illustration showcases the Library’s extensive collections of original art by talented artists hired by both newspapers and television to capture the personal dynamics of legal trials. Skilled at quickly conveying both individual likenesses and the atmosphere of the courtroom, these artists reveal, in intimate detail, the dramatic and, at… Continue Reading
Critics Blocked from President’s Twitter Account File Suit
Knight First Amendment Institute: “Joined by seven individuals from across the country, the Knight First Amendment Institute filed suit in the Southern District of New York today contending that President Trump and his communications team are violating the First Amendment by blocking individuals from the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account because they criticized the president or his… Continue Reading
In Voter Privacy Case EPIC Files for Temporary Restraining Order
Follow up to previous resources included in this posting – Trump’s fraud commission demanded all states deliver personal voter info – Not! – via EPIC: “The federal District Court in Washington, DC has scheduled a hearing on Friday, July 7, 2017 at 4:00 pm, to consider EPIC’s motion for a Temporary Restraining Order. EPIC is… Continue Reading
Sqoop – free data journalism site makes it easier to find and track public records
Data Driven Journalism: “Just because there’s a duty to disclose, doesn’t mean there’s a duty to make it easy. This seems to be a universally true when it comes to public records, regardless of the country or government making them available. The consequences for journalists can be profound: hours of time spent digging through messy… Continue Reading
LC Drawing Justice Gallery Talk on Legal Research
In Custodia Legis, Margaret Wood: “Last week, I had the honor to give a gallery talk on the Library of Congress exhibit, Drawing Justice: The Art of Courtroom Illustration. As a co-curator for the exhibit, I had helped in doing legal research for information about the cases portrayed by the drawings in the exhibit. At… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Establishes A First Amendment Framework For Social Media
Benton Foundation – Andrew Jay Schwartzman, June 21, 2017: “On June 19, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States used an unlikely vehicle to expand the scope of First Amendment protection for Internet users. In Peckingham v. North Carolina, speaking for five members of the Court, Justice Anthony Kennedy started with the general principle… Continue Reading
The 2017 EU Justice Scoreboard
“The EU Justice Scoreboard is an information tool aiming to assist the EU and Member States to achieve more effective justice by providing objective, reliable and comparable data on the quality, independence and efficiency of justice systems in all Member States. Such data is essential to support reforms in national justice systems required to render… Continue Reading
How Many Cases? Assessing the Comparability of EU Judicial Datasets
Ontanu, Elena Alina and Velicogna, Marco and Contini, Francesco, How Many Cases? Assessing the Comparability of EU Judicial Datasets (June 17, 2017). Presented at the Conference Ius Dicere in a Globalized World XXIV Bi-Annual Colloquium of the Italian Association of Comparative Law (AIDC), Naples, 15-17 June 2017. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2990558 “Efficiency is often considered… Continue Reading
DC and Maryland sue Trump citing emoluents clause
Washington Post: “Attorneys general for the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland sued President Trump on Monday, alleging that he has violated anti-corruption clauses in the Constitution by accepting millions in payments and benefits from foreign governments since moving into the White House. The lawsuit, the first of its kind brought by government… Continue Reading
EFF – Supreme Court Victory for Case in Right to Refill Printer Cartridge
EFF – “The Supreme Court struck a blow today [PDF] for your right to own the things you buy, reversing a lower court decision that had given patent owners the power to sue customers who paid in full for a patented item but then used it in a way the patent owner didn’t care for.… Continue Reading
