Daily Update | February 27, 2018
Ian Eppler, Caroline Cox // 2/27/18 //
The Supreme Court’s recently released calendar reveals that it will hear oral arguments on President Trump’s travel ban on April 25. The Justice Department is now moving toward regulating bump stocks despite earlier opinions that it did not have the power to do so. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in the workplace, applies to LGBT people. The Trump Organization claimed it donated its profits from foreign governments to the US Treasury, but refused to give any details on the amount of its donation.
IMMIGRATION
The Supreme Court has refused to grant the Trump Administration’s motion to hear an appeal of a district court opinion requiring the Administration to maintain the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program (Lyle Denniston Law News).
The recent order from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in the DACA case shows the enduring value of the departmentalism theory of constitutional interpretation, writes Keith E. Whittington at Lawfare.
The Supreme Court’s recently released calendar reveals that it will hear oral arguments on President Trump’s travel ban on April 25 (The Hill).
Alleging that officials illegally separated an asylum-seeking mother and daughter, the ACLU has filed suit against the Trump Administration (WSJ).
CIVIL RIGHTS
The Justice Department is now moving toward regulating bump stocks despite earlier opinions that it did not have the power to do so (WaPo).
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is launching a Title IX investigation into Michigan State University’s handling of sexual violence reports against Larry Nassar (Politico).
The intermediate scrutiny standard for gun regulations suggests that laws prohibiting eighteen year-olds from purchasing firearms would be unconstitutional, explains Michael Dorf at Dorf on Law.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in the workplace, applies to LGBT people (NYT).
- The opinion of the court can be read here.
- Lambda Legal offers its perspective on the opinion here.
- The ACLU provides its thoughts on the ruling here.
DEMOCRACY
President Trump believes that the court-mandated redrawing of the Pennsylvania congressional map is “very unfair to Republicans and to our country” (NYT).
JUSTICE & SAFETY
President Trump is privately supportive of a mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking offenses (Axios).
The United States is continuing its work to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem with plans to set up a small office in the city by May (NYT).
President Moon Jae-in of South Korea believes that North Korea is willing to talk with the United States (NYT).
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The Trump Organization claimed it donated its profits from foreign governments to the US Treasury, but refused to give any details on the amount of its donation (Politico, WaPo, WSJ).
Two Republican commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission are facing ethics complaints after appearing at the Conservative Political Action Conference (Ars Technica).
REGULATION
A federal district judge dismissed a challenge to President Trump’s “one in, two out” executive order on regulation (The Hill).
- The opinion is available here.
The Department of Justice filed its opening brief in the DC Circuit in response to a challenge to President Trump’s authority to appoint Mick Mulvaney as interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Consumer Finance Monitor).
President Trump met with credit union CEOS and lobbyists to discuss financial deregulation (The Hill).
The Trump administration’s position in a pending Supreme Court case regarding the appointment of administrative law judges could undermine the ALJ program, suggests Jeffrey Lubbers at Notice and Comment.
Freedom of Information Act lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency have soared under the Trump administration (Politico).
RULE OF LAW
Chief of Staff John Kelly is unlikely to intervene in the security clearance process to grant a clearance to Jared Kushner, but is also unlikely to resign if President Trump intervenes himself (Politico).
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
A prosecution of President Trump for obstructing justice may be untenable given that the investigation into the Trump campaign was at an early stage when President Trump allegedly obstructed justice, argue Samuel Estreicher and David Moosmann at Just Security.
Congressional Democrats are likely to push the Trump administration to implement sanctions on Russia in the coming weeks, reports Andrew Desiderio at The Daily Beast.
And that's our update today! Thanks for reading. We cover a lot of ground, so our updates are inevitably a partial selection of relevant legal commentary.
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Tags:
Immigration Rule of Law Conflicts Regulation Democracy Civil Rights Justice & Safety Russian Interference