CRS Report – Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress, Updated March 9, 2022: “Cluster munitions are air-dropped or ground-launched weapons that release a number of smaller submunitions intended to kill enemy personnel or destroy vehicles. Cluster munitions were developed in World War II and are part of many nations’ weapons stockpiles. Cluster munitions have… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Courts
Connecticut Introduces Library E-book Bill
Publishers Weekly: “Connecticut has become the latest state to introduce a library e-book bill, introducing bill 131 in its February session. The Connecticut bill is similar to efforts in other states now underway, in that it would require publishers who offer an e-book to consumers in the state to also offer to license the works… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court Just Came Perilously Close to Blowing Up Federal Elections
Slate: “The Supreme Court will not overturn a century of pro-democracy precedent and two centuries of historical practice to give state legislatures unlimited power over elections—yet. That’s the upshot of the court’s orders on Monday in two huge redistricting cases out of Pennsylvania and North Carolina. The court refused to block new congressional maps drawn… Continue Reading
Pair of cases on the Supreme Court’s “shadow docket” could eviscerate legal safeguards protecting free and fair elections
Vox: “A pair of cases are currently pending before the Supreme Court that could fundamentally rewrite the rules of US elections. Both cases are redistricting cases. In Moore v. Harper, the North Carolina Supreme Court struck down gerrymandered congressional maps drawn by the state’s Republican legislature. In Toth v. Chapman, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court selected… Continue Reading
How Do You Seat A Jan. 6 Jury When Everyone Knows Something About It?
BuzzFeedNews: “Every person who appeared in court Monday as a prospective juror in the first Jan. 6 trial knew something about the Capitol attack, if only that it happened. But that wasn’t enough to get them sent home. Instead, the judge and the lawyers spent hours painstakingly parsing exactly what they knew, where they got… Continue Reading
Biden to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court
SCOTUS Blog: “President Joe Biden has selected Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, according to multiple news reports. If confirmed by the Senate, Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Read our profile of Jackson.” AP: “Jackson would replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer,… Continue Reading
The Long Crusade of Clarence and Ginni Thomas
The New York Times Magazine: “The Supreme Court justice and his wife battled for years for a more conservative America. New reporting shows how far she was willing to go after Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss. The call to action was titled “Election Results and Legal Battles: What Now?” Shared in the days after the… Continue Reading
A Cheese by Any Other Name: The Legal Challenge over “Gruyere”
In Custodia Legis: “On December 15, 2021, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia upheld an administrative decision finding that, in the United States, “gruyere” is a generic term for a type of cheese, and therefore ineligible for legal protection through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Gruyère is a geographic… Continue Reading
Court Blocks Maryland’s Library E-book Law
Publishers Weekly: “In a rebuke to Maryland state legislators, a federal judge has granted the Association of American Publishers’ motion for a preliminary injunction, blocking Maryland officials from enforcing the state’s new library e-book law. “It is clear the Maryland Act likely stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment of the purposes and objectives of… Continue Reading
The Federal Circuit Helps a Patent Troll Block Public Access to Court Records
“For more than three years, EFF has been fighting for public access to court records in a patent case between Uniloc, one of the world’s most prolific patent trolls, and Apple, one of the world’s biggest tech companies. The district court has ruled three different times that the public has a strong presumption of access… Continue Reading
Deepfakes on Trial: a Call to Expand the Trial Judge’S Gatekeeping Role to Protect Legal Proceedings from Technological Fakery
Delfino, Rebecca, Deepfakes on Trial: a Call to Expand the Trial Judge’S Gatekeeping Role to Protect Legal Proceedings from Technological Fakery (February 10, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4032094 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4032094 “Picture this: You are arrested and accused of a serious crime, like carjacking, assault with a deadly weapon, or child abuse. The only evidence against… Continue Reading
Voting Laws Roundup: February 2022
Brennan Center for Justice: “As the 2022 state legislative sessions begin, lawmakers have already introduced more new restrictive voting legislation than at this time last year. They have also continued to introduce bills designed to undermine the electoral process. With the 2022 regular legislative sessions starting in all but 15 states as of January 14,… Continue Reading
