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In each case, Coinbase filed briefs as an "amicus," or friend of the court. A ruling favoring another crypto defendant at the trial court level would not be binding on Coinbase's own case, but the company could potentially point to it in its defense, legal experts said. Coinbase argued the digital assets on its platform do not pass that test, in part because they lack contractual agreements. In its other amicus brief, Coinbase urged a federal judge in Manhattan to allow the fair notice defense in the SEC case against Ripple Labs, which was the industry's highest-profile battle with the regulator prior to the Coinbase case. Coinbase argued to U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres that denying the Ripple defendants the fair notice defense "would jeopardize the validity of the defense in future cases."

Persons: Coinbase, Gibson Dunn, Crutcher, Akiva Shapiro, Gary Gensler, Paul Grewal, Coinbase's, Cahill Gordon, Reindel, Tana Lin, Ishan Wahi, Wahi, Lin, Gensler, Analisa Torres, Torres, XRP, Jody Godoy, Tom Hals, Deepa Babington Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, U.S, Supreme, SEC, Reuters, FAIR, U.S . Constitution, Ripple Labs, San, District, Thomson Locations: U.S, Coinbase, Manhattan, Solana, Cardano, Seattle, U.S ., San Francisco, New York, Wilmington , Delaware

☆ How U.C. Berkeley tried to buoy enrollment of Black students without affirmative action
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Sharon Bernstein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

[1/5] Prospective students tour the University of California, Berkeley campus before beginning of the new semester, in Berkeley, California, U.S., June 8, 2023. Black student enrollment across the system - which hovered at 3 or 4% for decades after the affirmative action ban - last year rose to 5%. While other campuses in the system have struggled to enroll Black students, the issue has been particularly painful at Berkeley, which under affirmative action had exceeded the system overall in enrollment of Black students. For one, factors such as economics and a school's location are no longer as useful for recruiting Black students, Ogundele said. Last fall, Black students made up 7% of UCLA's freshman class, the same as before affirmative action was banned.

Persons: Carlos Barria, James Bennett, I've, Bennett, Femi, Berkeley's, we've, Ogundele, Tyler Mahomes, didn't, Allexys Cornejo, Judith Painter, Painter, powell, Berkeley's Othering, Shereem Herndon, Brown, They're, Sharon Bernstein, Colleen Jenkins, Diane Craft Organizations: University of California, REUTERS, U.S, Supreme, Berkeley, U.S . News, Best Global Universities, UCLA, Multicultural Resource Center, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Emory University, College, Thomson Locations: Berkeley, Berkeley , California, U.S, BERKELEY, California, Stanford, Puerto Rican, Los Angeles, U.C, Sacramento, Cambodian, Black, Atlanta

☆ Illumina acquisition of Grail wins support from GOP lawmakers, state AGs as FTC tries to block it
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Republican lawmakers, state attorneys general and several advocacy groups have voiced their support for Illumina's acquisition of cancer-test developer Grail while the Federal Trade Commission fights to unwind the deal. The groups filed 14 amicus briefs Monday urging the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse an FTC order that would have Illumina undo the $7.1 billion Grail deal over concerns that it stifles competition. Thirty-four Republican lawmakers touted Grail's early screening test, which can detect more than 50 types of cancers through a single blood draw. And activist investor Carl Icahn, who holds a 1.4% stake in Illumina, launched a proxy fight with the company over the Grail deal. Icahn's opposition stemmed from Illumina's decision to close the acquisition without first gaining approval from antitrust regulators.

Persons: Illumina, Carl Icahn, Francis deSouza Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, U.S, FTC, Food and Drug Administration, European Commission Locations: San Diego, Alaska , Arkansas, Georgia , Idaho , Indiana , Iowa , Kentucky, Louisiana , Nebraska, South Carolina , Utah, Virginia, Illumina

☆ Self-made millionaire: Smart risk-takers don't try to 'change the world'—here's what they do instead
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Ashton Jackson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Oftentimes, commencement speakers conclude their speeches with something to the effect of, "now go out and change the world." Taking smart risks can ultimately lead to revolutionary ideas, says John Crowley, executive chairman of Amicus Therapeutics, a biotechnology company. But if your ultimate career goal is to change the world, you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. "Very few people have changed the world," Crowley tells CNBC Make It. Crowley says that smart risk-takers avoid setting lofty, broad goals, opting instead for clear, tangible goals.

Persons: John Crowley, Crowley, they've, —, Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Kelly Evans Organizations: Amicus Therapeutics, CNBC, Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, Genzyme Corporation, Microsoft, Apple

☆ New York Attorney General Letitia James leads multistate effort defending CFPB to the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading a multistate effort to urge the Supreme Court to overturn a decision that threatens the existence of the nation's leading consumer protection agency. Attorneys general in 22 other states and the District of Columbia joined New York in an amicus brief filing to the court Tuesday in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The brief comes a day after dozens of current and former Democratic lawmakers filed a separate amicus brief defending the agency. The Supreme Court agreed in February to hear arguments after the Biden administration appealed the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals' decision that the CFPB's funding method is unconstitutional. If the Supreme Court decides not to overturn the 5th Circuit's ruling, it could invalidate "numerous CFPB rules and other regulatory actions" and harm millions of Americans while destabilizing the consumer financial sector, the attorneys general said in a statement.

☆ Dozens of Democrats defend CFPB at Supreme Court as case threatens its existence
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Over 140 current and former Democratic lawmakers filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court on Monday to defend the country's leading consumer protection agency from challenges to its regulatory authority. Brown chairs the Senate Banking Committee while Waters is the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee. The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in the case in February, four months after a federal appeals court panel unanimously ruled that the CFPB's funding method was unconstitutional. The Biden administration appealed the 5th Circuit's decision to the Supreme Court, but a final decision could be delayed until June 2024 to hear other arguments in the case. In the brief, lawmakers said succinctly that "the judgment should be reversed."

☆ Jane Roberts' anti-abortion advocacy helped her husband, Chief Justice John Roberts, land his spot on the Supreme Court years before Roe v. Wade was overturned
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Chief Justice John Roberts' wife's anti-abortion advocacy once helped bolster his judicial career. Details of Jane Roberts' work, though not new, are worth revisiting in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade's reversal. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and his wife Jane exit the funeral service for Antonin Scalia. Jane Roberts' advocacy and public political beliefs ultimately helped convince two conservative legal power players, Leonard Leo and Jay Sekulow, to publicly advocate for John Roberts' confirmation, according to the Times. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesAt the time of John Roberts' nomination, liberals feared he might pose a threat to Roe v. Wade.

☆ Clarence Thomas' wife Ginni was paid nearly $100,000 for 'consulting' by a nonprofit that ended up filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A conservative activist helped Ginni Thomas rake in nearly $100,000 for consulting, The Washington Post reported. Conservative lawyer Leonard Leo reportedly ensured Ginni Thomas' name was kept off the paperwork. Leo's nonprofit filed an amicus brief before the Supreme Court that same year. Ginni Thomas has previously courted controversy with her public, pro-Trump activities, and other conservative activism. Neither Ginni Thomas, nor a representative for the Supreme Court immediately responded to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Kellyanne Conway is now caught up in Clarence Thomas' latest ethics scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kellyanne Conway helped route a payment to Clarence Thomas' wife, Ginni Thomas, according to the Washington Post. It's the latest ethics scandal to hit Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. According to a report from the Washington Post, conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo wanted to send thousands of dollars to Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, the wife of Clarence Thomas, in 2012. Though Justice Thomas didn't cite the nonprofit's brief, he did vote in favor of the side they supported. The silent payment to Ginni Thomas is the latest in a series of ethical concerns to surface surrounding Justice Thomas' financial affairs, including his cozy relationship with billionaire Harlan Crow, who paid for lavish vacations, bought Thomas' mother's house, and paid for his child's education.

☆ 33 Democrats urge ban on investor-state dispute provisions in all US trade deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-RhoadesWASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday urged the U.S. Trade Representative and State Department to eliminate investor-state dispute settlement provisions from current and future trade deals and to intervene on behalf of Honduras against a U.S. company's nearly $11 billion claim against the country. In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Trade Representative Katherine Tai seen by Reuters, 33 lawmakers said that investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) systems in trade deals constitute a "problematic corporate handout" that violates countries' sovereignty and democracy rights. The Democrats signing the letter said the case could require impoverished Honduras to pay billions of taxpayer dollars to a company that has "weaponized" the dispute settlement provisions. The dispute settlement provisions had been a way to protect U.S. firms from abrupt changes in trading partners' government policies by providing recourse through arbitration. The letter cited Georgetown University research tallying $27.8 billion in ISDS settlement orders against Latin American governments, with Argentina, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico and Ecuador the worst hit.

☆ Coinbase, crypto industry hope new Supreme Court doctrine is silver bullet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But the agency will have to provide a more detailed response if Ripple, Coinbase or crypto groups that have filed friend-of-the-court briefs pushing major questions doctrine arguments manage to pique a judge’s interest. Former Coinbase manager Ishan Wahi expanded on the major questions theory last February in his motion to dismiss the SEC’s insider trading case. Under the major questions doctrine, they said, the SEC does not have the requisite Congressional authority to regulate digital assets. Coinbase’s contention in that paper, released last Thursday, is all-encompassing: The major questions doctrine, according to Coinbase counsel at Sullivan & Cromwell, “forecloses” regulation of the trillion-dollar crypto industry. But if the SEC moves ahead with a case against Coinbase, the major questions doctrine could turn out to be, well, a major question.

☆ A law school named after the late Antonin Scalia is a haven for conservative Supreme Court justices to enjoy lavish treatment, New York Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Antonin Scalia Law School at the Virginia-based George Mason University was renamed in 2016. The renaming was part of a plan to help its reputation by getting closer to the Supreme Court. Justices were given notable benefits to teach there, emails obtained by The New York Times reveal. This desire to keep Supreme Court leadership on their roster even superseded scandals the judges faced. The Antonin Scalia Law School and a spokesperson for the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Live updates: Supreme Court protects access to abortion pill
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Elise Hammond | Matt Meyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

A patient prepares to take Mifepristone, the first medication in a medical abortion, at Alamo Women's Clinic in Carbondale, Illinois. Along with misoprostol, mifepristone is one of the drugs used for an abortion via medication, as opposed to surgery. Someone having a medication abortion takes mifepristone and then, after 24 to 48 hours, takes misoprostol. Side effects of mifepristone: Mifepristone usually doesn’t have many side effects, doctors say, but as with any drug, there can be short-lived ones. Preliminary data published February 2022 from the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization focused on sexual and reproductive health that supports abortion rights, showed that medication abortion accounted for 53% of all abortions in the US.

☆ Former Trump AG Bill Barr joins new business lobbying group that aims to target Biden regulations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Former Attorney General Bill Barr will help to lead a new group formed by a business lobbying organization that aims to be an alternative to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the massive advocacy group that has fallen out of favor with some Republicans. Barr will be chair of an advisory board for a project called the Center for Legal Action, he told CNBC in an interview. The group is part of the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, the business lobbying group that launched last year as a possible rival to the chamber. The business lobbying behemoth moved away from predominantly supporting Republicans in recent years after former president Donald Trump embraced trade protectionism, bashed certain companies for their social stances and tried to overturn the 2020 election. The new group aims aims to challenge — at times in court — regulations put in place by the Biden administration.

☆ Blocking FDA approval of abortion pill could stifle innovation in the biopharma industry, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A messy legal fight over the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone poses risks to the biopharma industry that go beyond the single drug. If a subsequent decision tosses out the pill's approval, it could potentially stifle innovation in the sector and deter investments in the development of life-changing drugs, biopharma companies and experts in law and economics say. More than 200 biopharma companies made a similar claim Monday in an open letter calling for the reversal of Kacsmaryk's decision. But Hastings said biopharma companies still respect the FDA when the agency turns down their drugs. Suliman offered a more hopeful take on how the legal fight could affect biopharma innovation.

☆ Thousands of student-loan borrowers are facing 'obvious harm' if the Supreme Court agrees to halt the debt relief they already won in court, Biden's Education Department says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Education Department pushed back on a lawsuit to halt student-debt relief for borrowers who said they were defrauded. A federal judge signed off on a settlement that would give those borrowers $6 billion in debt relief. The Education Department agreed to the settlement last summer, and in November, a federal judge signed off on $6 billion in debt relief for 200,000 borrowers. On Wednesday, the Education Department responded to the schools' appeal, and as expected, it told the Supreme Court that staying the relief will cause "obvious harm" for impacted borrowers and the department itself. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case aiming to block that broader relief in February.

☆ House Democrats call for immediate hearing on Texas abortion pill ruling
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Abortion rights advocates gather in front of the J Marvin Jones Federal Building and Courthouse in Amarillo, Texas, on March 15, 2023. Democrats on the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday requested an immediate hearing on a federal judge's order suspending the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. All 23 Democrats on the committee wrote in a letter to Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., arguing that the ruling undermines the FDA's authority over the drug approval process. They alleged that the FDA failed to follow Congress' "statutorily prescribed drug approval process" by approving mifepristone in 2000. "The FDA's lawless actions ultimately endanger women and girls seeking chemical abortions," the lawmakers wrote.

☆ 20 GOP-led states are asking the Supreme Court to halt Biden's latest student-debt cancellation for 200,000 borrowers, backing a request from 3 schools accused of defrauding their students
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A federal judge ruled that 200,000 borrowers can move forward with relief in a borrower defense settlement. Last month, three schools mentioned in the settlement appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. 20 GOP-led states filed an amicus brief supporting the schools, arguing Biden doesn't have authority to carry out this relief. Unlawful delay of debt relief results in clear monetary harm." The Education Department has until Wednesday to file a response to the three schools' lawsuit, which currently sits with Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.

Alaska's elected officials say the project will create hundreds of jobs and bring billions of dollars in revenue to state and federal coffers. The state relies heavily on revenue from oil production, but output there has declined dramatically from its peak in the 1980s. "I feel the people of Alaska have been heard," U.S. Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat from Alaska, said on a call with reporters. The Interior Department approved the project with three drill pads after saying last month it was concerned about the greenhouse gas impacts of Willow. "This was the right decision for Alaska and our nation," ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Ryan Lance said in a statement.

Companies Conocophillips FollowWASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - The oil industry on Monday cheered the U.S. government's greenlighting of ConocoPhillips' multibillion-dollar oil drilling project in Alaska's Arctic, but court challenges could mire the plans in further delays. President Joe Biden's administration approved a trimmed-down version of the $7 billion Willow project on federal lands in a pristine area on Alaska's north coast. Kristen Monsell, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, another group involved in the previous suits, said Monday's approval for the Willow project is "still inadequate in numerous respects." Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska, told reporters the state's lawmakers are prepared to defend the decision against "frivolous" legal challenges. Even if Interior could beat back the oil company's challenge, it would probably only mean another delay for Willow, he said.

Circuit Court of Appeals that said because her overtime pay lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania, only workers from that state could join. The Supreme Court last year declined to take up appeals of those cases. Under the FLSA, workers can file "collective actions" that are similar to class action lawsuits but have some key procedural differences, including that other workers must opt in to be included. The 3rd Circuit upheld that ruling last year, prompting Fischer's Supreme Court petition. The case is Fischer v. Federal Express Corp, U.S. Supreme Court, No.

☆ The push for a bitcoin ETF is going to court. Here's what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The years-long push for an exchange traded fund that tracks bitcoin will finally get its day in court this week. Several different firms tried to bring a spot bitcoin ETF to market in the U.S. without success, but Grayscale Investments is taking it a step further for the future of its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) . The largest of those funds, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) , now has nearly $800 million in assets under management. Over the past year, the market price of a GBTC share has fallen by roughly 60%, according to Grayscale's website. Crypto winter The excitement around a bitcoin ETF has cooled considerably along with the prices for crypto markets in general.

☆ A 'financial disaster for millions of Americans' could arise if the Supreme Court strikes down Biden's student-loan forgiveness, Elizabeth Warren details in a new report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The cases that challenged Biden's debt relief are headed to the Supreme Court on Tuesday. "If the Supreme Court sides with the extremist judges, millions of Americans' monthly costs will rise significantly when student loan payments resume later this year," the report said. Still, Republican lawmakers have been adamant that canceling student debt broadly is unfair to those who already paid off their loans or did not borrow for college. Lawsuits are causing 'financial anxiety for vulnerable borrowers'Failing to implement debt relief would put a strain on younger and older borrowers alike. Now, all eyes turn to the Supreme Court, which is expected to hand down rulings in the two cases before the end of its term, typically in late June or early July.

☆ Days before the Supreme Court takes on Biden's student-loan forgiveness, Elizabeth Warren urges it to 'do its job and apply the law as it is written'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Sen. Elizabeth Warren urged the Supreme Court to uphold Biden's student-debt relief. "The Supreme Court needs to do its job and apply the law as it is written." GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn, for example, wrote on Twitter on Thursday that "canceling student debt is Biden's gift to young left-wing activists. She also led GOP senators in filing an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court urging it to strike down Biden's debt relief. This scale of student-loan forgiveness is unprecedented, so it's hard to determine which way the Supreme Court will rule.

☆ Trade group argues U.S. SEC case unfairly labels crypto as securities
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Hannah Lang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency trade association Chamber of Digital Commerce is urging a federal court to dismiss a case brought by the U.S. securities regulator against ex-Coinbase (COIN.O) employees accused of insider trading, arguing that the case unfairly labeled several crypto assets as securities. The Blockchain Association also filed an amicus brief in the case earlier this month. The crypto industry has previously criticized the SEC for bringing enforcement cases against digital asset companies, arguing that the regulator should instead engage in formal rulemaking specific to cryptocurrency. The SEC has maintained that pre-existing securities laws also apply to digital assets, and that many crypto tokens meet the definition of a security. The move would also likely hurt the value of those tokens, which could harm retail investors, the group said.

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