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News and AnalysisMay 20, 2024 10:18 am | By Paul Gordon
Biden’s AAPI Judges: Diversifying the Bench and Protecting Our Rights
This AAPI Heritage Month presents an opportune time to reflect upon the growing number of AAPI lawyers who are protecting people’s rights as federal judges. Until little more than half a century ago, no AAPI person had ever been selected…
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May 20, 2024 10:11 am | By Elliot Mincberg
Biden Judge Casts Deciding Vote to Reject Preliminary Injunction Claim that School System Must Allow Students to Opt Out of Use of LGBTQ- Friendly Books in Curriculum
Judge DeAndrea Benjamin cast the deciding vote to affirm a lower court ruling that refused to grant a preliminary injunction requiring the Montgomery County Maryland school system to allow students to opt out of using “LGBTQ-friendly” books included in the…
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News and AnalysisMay 16, 2024 6:40 pm | By Peter Montgomery
“Trumptastrophe”: “Election integrity” and how MAGA Republicans attempt to suppress voters
Welcome to our weekly “Trumptastrophe” series that serves to remind us of the destructive policies, decisions, and actions we encountered during the Trump presidency and the threats that he and others in the MAGA movement still pose – and to…
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May 15, 2024 3:19 pm | By Elliot Mincberg
Biden Judge Overturns Lower Court and Rules that Civilian Army Employee Can File Suit for Improper Firing
Judge Brad Garcia, nominated to the DC Circuit by President Biden, wrote a 2-1 decision ruling that a Senior Executive Service (SES) federal employee has a protected property interest in her job and can sue for improper firing under the…
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News and AnalysisMay 15, 2024 10:00 am | By Paul Gordon
70 Years Since Brown: Advancing Diversity in the Courts
During May, the country is celebrating the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. That unanimous Supreme Court decision striking down legally required school segregation was a watershed moment for America. For nearly a century, the Supreme Court had…
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May 15, 2024 9:33 am | By Elliot Mincberg
Brown v Board’s Enduring Values Reflected in Biden Judge Decisions
As we approach the 70th anniversary of Brown v Board of Education on May 17, it is clear that this landmark decision has meant much more to our society than ending state-mandated school segregation. Brown has helped promote values and…
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May 14, 2024 10:03 am | By Elliot Mincberg
Biden Judge Writes Unanimous Opinion That Detainees Who Work Outside Prison May Be Entitled to Minimum Wage Protection
Judge Toby Heytens, nominated to the Fourth Circuit by President Biden, wrote a unanimous opinion that reversed a Trump-nominated district judge and held that incarcerated people who work outside prison walls may be entitled to minimum wages and overtime under…
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May 12, 2024 3:28 pm | By Elliot Mincberg
Biden Judge Writes Unanimous Opinion Upholding Steve Bannon Conviction for Contempt of Congress
Judge Brad Garcia, nominated to the DC Circuit by President Biden, wrote a unanimous opinion upholding the conviction of former Trump advisor Stephen Bannon for contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over documents requested in a subpoena and to…
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Op-EdMay 9, 2024 2:34 pm | By Svante Myrick
A Great America Has Great Institutions
First published by the Washington Speakers Bureau. As Americans, we grow up with the idea that rugged individualism and self-reliance are core parts of our national identity. We love rags-to-riches, up-by-your-bootstraps stories about Horatio Alger types; they’re deeply embedded in…
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News and AnalysisMay 9, 2024 11:01 am | By Peter Montgomery
“Trumptastrophe”: Trump’s first 100 days and the frightening plans he has for his next term
Welcome to our weekly “Trumptastrophe” series that serves to remind us of the destructive policies, decisions, and actions we encountered during the Trump presidency and the threats that he and others in the MAGA movement still pose – and to…
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Op-EdMay 7, 2024 4:44 pm | By Svante Myrick
Conservatives’ savage child labor agenda wants kids working more for less
First published in The Hill. We tend to think of child labor under harsh conditions as a problem in developing countries, or in this country a century ago. So it was a shock to see this headline in the last…
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May 7, 2024 3:12 pm | By Elliot Mincberg
Biden Judge Rules that Family Can Proceed with Case Against Police Officer who Shot Father Five Times
Judge Rachel Bloomekatz, nominated by President Biden to the Sixth Circuit court of appeals, wrote a 2-1 decision that affirmed the denial of qualified immunity to a police officer who shot a suicidal man in his dining room five times,…
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May 7, 2024 2:58 pm | By Elliot Mincberg
Biden Judge Casts Deciding Vote to Reverse Lower Court and Let Class Action Against Cook County Jail Go Forward
Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi cast the deciding vote to overturn a lower court and allow a class action against Cook County jail to go forward, seeking damages for constitutionally inadequate dental care. Both the dissenting judge and the lower court judge…
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News and AnalysisMay 2, 2024 6:06 pm | By Peter Montgomery
“Trumptastrophe”: Trump’s First 100 Days and the Frightening Plans He Has for His Next Term
Welcome to our weekly “Trumptastrophe” series that serves to remind us of the destructive policies, decisions, and actions we encountered during the Trump presidency and the threats that he and others in the MAGA movement still pose – and to…
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May 2, 2024 10:49 am | By Elliot Mincberg
Biden Judge Writes Unanimous Decision Affirming Jury Verdict for Damages to Farm Owner Harmed by Corporate Strip Mining
Judge Dana Douglas, nominated by President Biden to the Fifth Circuit, wrote a unanimous opinion that affirmed a jury verdict of over $650,000 to a pecan farm whose property was damaged by strip mining of nearby land by Martin Marietta.…
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May 2, 2024 10:38 am | By Elliot Mincberg
Biden Judge Affirms NLRB Finding that Corporation Committed Unfair Labor Practices by Underfunding Pensions and Other Misconduct
Judge Veronica Rossman, nominated by President Biden to the Tenth Circuit court of appeals, wrote an almost unanimous decision that affirmed a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling that a large corporation had committed unfair labor practices by underfunding a…
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Op-EdApril 30, 2024 5:35 pm | By Svante Myrick
Conspiracies and Cynical Indifference Are the Right’s Latest Climate Strategy
First published in The Hill. A great story circulated on several media platforms before this month’s solar eclipse. It describes a famous “Battle of the Eclipse” that took place thousands of years ago in what is now Turkey. Two armies…
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April 30, 2024 4:36 pm | By Elliot Mincberg
Biden Judges Cast Deciding Votes Preventing State Health Care Plans from Excluding Gender Affirming Surgeries When Medically Necessary
Judge Toby Heytens and DeAndrea Benjamin, nominated by President Biden to the Fourth Circuit court of appeals, cast deciding votes in an 8-6 full court ruling that state health care plans in North Carolina and West Virginia cannot exclude medically…
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April 29, 2024 3:52 pm | By Elliot Mincberg
Biden Judge Rules that Student Seeking Damages for Failure to Accommodate Disability Need Not Exhaust Administrative Remedies
Judge Maria Kahn, nominated by President Biden to the Second Circuit court of appeals, wrote a unanimous decision reversing a lower court and ruled that a student suffering from asthma could go forward with a claim for damages against a…
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April 29, 2024 3:40 pm | By Elliot Mincberg
Biden Judges Vacate Injunction Against New York Consumer Protection Law on Broadband Service
Judge Alison Nathan, nominated by President Biden to the Second Circuit court of appeals, wrote a 2-1 decision joined by Biden nominee Sarah Merriam that reversed a lower court injunction and restored a New York consumer protection law requiring broadband…