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As President Joe Biden makes a final push to confirm judicial nominees before his term in office ends, he is on track to have appointed more federal judges of color than any president before him. If Cheeks is approved, Biden will have appointed 63 Black federal judges, the most of a presidency of any length, according to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Both Obama and Bill Clinton each appointed 62 Black judges over the course of their two terms. Senate Democrats vowed to confirm as many Biden nominees as possible before Trump takes office in January and Republicans take control of the Senate. They’ve confirmed dozens since Election Day, but these circuit nominees are in limbo amid some opposition from Democrats as well as GOP senators.

Persons: Joe Biden, Tiffany Johnson, Benjamin Cheeks, Serena Raquel Murillo, Cheeks, Biden, Ben LaBolt, ” “, Lena Zwarensteyn, they’ve, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Jimmy Carter, Obama, Bill Clinton, Trump, They’ve, Chuck Schumer, Biden’s, ”, Marge Baker, “, ” Baker, Abdullah Mangi, Julia M, Karla M, Campbell of, Ryan Young, There’s, ” Biden, He’s, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, ” “ Biden, Black, Dedrick Asante, Muhammad, Elliot Mincberg, ” Zwarensteyn, “ He’s Organizations: Senate, Northern, Northern District of Georgia, NBC News, U.S, Committee, Leadership Conference, Civil, Human, White House, People, Circuit, 1st, 6th, of, 4th Circuit, White, Supreme, Joint Center, Political, Economic Studies Locations: Northern District, New Jersey, Maine, Campbell of Tennessee, of North Carolina, Washington

☆ White nationalist groups must pay more than $2 million to victims of ‘Unite the Right’ rally, federal appeals court rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Nic F. Anderson | Lauren Rapp | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that white supremacist and nationalist groups will have to pay a more than $2 million in punitive damages to people who suffered physical or emotional injuries from the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In 2021, a jury ruled white nationalist leaders and organizations had to pay more than $26 million in damages to those who suffered injuries from the rally. The “Unite the Right” rally was a two-day event to protest the city’s plan to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Circuit Court of Appeals found a state law which caps the total dollar amount of punitive damages each person can receive to $350,000, court documents show. In Monday’s opinion, Chief Judge Albert Diaz wrote, “… we vacate the district court’s order to the extent that it reduces the jury’s punitive damages to $350,000 for all plaintiffs under the Virginia punitive damages cap.

Persons: Confederate, Robert E, Albert Diaz, “, James Alex Fields Jr, Fields, ” Diaz Organizations: CNN, Circuit, Appeals, ” CNN Locations: Charlottesville , Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, Maumee , Ohio

It states that no one can hold office who has previously taken an oath to support the Constitution but then engaged in an insurrection or provided help to enemies of the United States. The Colorado Supreme Court agreed, ruling that Trump's conduct amounted to engaging in "insurrection" in violation of Section 3. And only an appointed and not an elected official can be an ‘officer of the United States,’” his legal team said. “My colleagues and I have filed a brief in the Supreme Court on that very question, and we have argued to the Supreme Court that that is the quintessential insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution of the United States. “He is the presumptive Republican nominee and the leading candidate for President of the United States.

Persons: Donald Trump –, –, Trump, Noah Bookbinder, “ We’re, ”, Bookbinder, “, ” Trump, ’ ”, ” “, ’, J, Michael Luttig, ” Luttig Organizations: Republican, Citizens, GOP, Capitol, The, The Colorado Supreme, Trump, Electoral College, U.S ., Appeals, Circuit, MSNBC, New Locations: United States, Washington, Colorado, The Colorado, United States of America, Iowa, New Hampshire

BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down Maryland’s handgun licensing law, finding that its requirements, which include submitting fingerprints for a background check and taking a four-hour firearms safety course, are unconstitutionally restrictive. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond said they considered the case in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that “effected a sea change in Second Amendment law.”The underlying lawsuit was filed in 2016 as a challenge to a Maryland law requiring people to obtain a special license before purchasing a handgun. Even though Maryland’s law doesn’t prohibit people from “owning handguns at some time in the future, it still prohibits them from owning handguns now,” Richardson wrote. Pennack said the 2013 law made obtaining a handgun an overly expensive and arduous process. Before that law passed, he said, people had to complete a more limited training and pass a background check, among other requirements.

Persons: “, Wes Moore, ”, ” Moore, Judge Julius Richardson, Richardson, G, Steven Agee, ” Richardson, doesn’t, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, misapplied, Keenan, ” Agee, —, Mark Pennack, he’s, Tuesday’s, Pennack Organizations: BALTIMORE, —, U.S, Circuit, Supreme, Sandy Hook Elementary, Maryland . Maryland Gov, Republican, Democrat Locations: Richmond, Maryland

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear arguments in a case challenging the Food and Drug Administration's authority to reject approvals of flavored electronic cigarettes. The FDA issues marketing denial orders to reject product applications. A spokesperson for the FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Supreme Court's decision. In 2016, the FDA determined that e-cigarettes were subject to its regulation, like traditional tobacco products. The agency gave companies until September 2020 to submit applications for approval of each of their vape products, even if they were already on the market.

Persons: Eric Heyer Organizations: Food, 4th Circuit U.S, Appeals, FDA, CNBC

☆ U.S. Supreme Court won't weigh gender dysphoria's status under disability law
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( John Kruzel | Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday turned away a dispute involving a transgender woman whose former jailers housed her with men and delayed her hormone treatment in a case that asked whether gender dysphoria is a disability under federal law. At issue was whether gender dysphoria, a condition involving distress resulting from a discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their assigned sex at birth, qualifies as a disability under a landmark 1990 federal law called the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The jail classified Williams as male because she "maintains the male genitalia with which she was born," according to 2021 court records. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the judge's ruling, finding that gender dysphoria is protected under the ADA. Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kesha Williams, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Williams, Sheriff Stacey Kincaid, Jesse Helms, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Disabilities, Conservative, Adult, Republican, Circuit, ADA, Lawyers, Virginia, Thomson Locations: Fairfax County , Virginia, Fairfax, U.S, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Richmond , Virginia, West Virginia, New York

June 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a lower court ruling that blocked South Carolina from ending public funding to Planned Parenthood, giving the Republican-governed state another chance to defend its bid to deprive the reproductive healthcare and abortion provider of government money. Circuit Court of Appeals had barred South Carolina from terminating funding to Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, the organization's regional affiliate, under Medicaid, because the organization provides abortions. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic operates clinics in the South Carolina cities of Charleston and Columbia, where it provides physical exams, cancer and other health screenings, as well as abortions. South Carolina is one of numerous Republican-led states that have moved to ban or restrict abortion since the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized the procedure nationwide. The law is a revised version of a previous ban that the state's highest court struck down in January.

Persons: Julie Edwards, Henry McMaster, Edwards, Roe, Wade, Andrew Chung, Nate Raymond, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Republican, Circuit, Appeals, Atlantic, Medicaid, Federal Nursing Home, Thomson Locations: South Carolina, Indiana, Richmond , Virginia, Charleston, Columbia, South Carolina's, New York, Boston

☆ Mountain Valley Pipeline's West Virginia water permit tossed by court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Clark Mindock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Circuit Court of Appeals found several defects in the review the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection conducted before issuing the permit. They told the court the agency ignored Equitrans' history of violating state water regulations when it issued the permit under the Clean Water Act. A spokesperson for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection said they're reviewing the decision. The permit is one of the last remaining hurdles for the multi-billion dollar project, which would carry natural gas between West Virginia and Virginia. For West Virginia: Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Michael Williams and Lindsay See of the state attorney general’s office and Jason Wandling of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

“This is a major life decision that should involve the parents,” Circuit Judge Paul Niemeyer said as the panel heard arguments in the case before it makes a decision. Steven Fitschen, the group's president, said in an email that he anticipates filing more lawsuits challenging school policies barring the disclosure of students' gender identity. At least 168 U.S. school districts with more than 3.2 million students have such policies, according to conservative group Parents Defending Education. Parents have filed lawsuits challenging similar policies adopted by school districts in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Virginia and Iowa, among other states. Quattlebaum and Circuit Judge Allison Rushing, who rounded out the panel, are appointees of Republican former President Donald Trump.

A lawyer for Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary said in a statement that the company would seek a rehearing of the panel’s decision by the full 3rd Circuit court. Gordon’s strategy worked in bankruptcy court but set up J&J for failure when it faced the 3rd Circuit appeals panel. Gordon, at the bankruptcy conference, described the lawsuits as “completely unmanageable” and a dire threat to J&J that could go on for decades. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear arguments in coming months on a challenge to the 3M subsidiary’s bankruptcy. The litigation, they asserted, should be allowed to proceed against Georgia-Pacific because the parent company did not file for bankruptcy.

Jan 30 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday shot down Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) attempt to offload tens of thousands of lawsuits over its talc products into bankruptcy court. The appeals court ruling revives those lawsuits. Monday's decision by the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia dismissed the bankruptcy filed by the J&J subsidiary in 2021. The appeals court decision could force companies considering the strategy to more carefully consider its risks, two legal experts said. The Texas two-step has garnered criticism from Democratic lawmakers in Washington, and inspired proposed legislation that would severely restrict the practice.

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Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar to file a brief expressing the Biden administration's view on the litigation and whether the Supreme Court should take up the matter. Charter schools are publicly funded but operated separately from school boards run by local governments. The 4th Circuit ruling did not make a conclusion on the Title IX claim. Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, in a decision joined by her fellow Democratic appointees on the 4th Circuit. The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority.

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