The Trump administration announced in a letter to state Medicaid directors on Friday that it will be rescinding the Obama administration’s guidance that made it more difficult for state Medicaid programs to refuse to cover birth control and other reproductive health services. Obama’s 2016 guidance said that “Providing the full range of women’s health services [...]
The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled last week that the state’s education funding formula does not violate the state constitution . The decision, which reverses a lower court ruling , came this week after 14 months of deliberation. The case was brought by the Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding against various state agencies and [...]
Here’s the international legal news we covered this week: The Ukraine parliament (Verkhovna Rada) passed a bill Thursday that recognizes regions currently under Russia-backed separatist control as “occupied” and supports retrieving those areas through political and diplomatic means while allowing for military action. The bill was approved by 280 members of the 450-member parliament and [...]
Here’s the domestic legal news we covered this week: The US Supreme Court on Friday granted certiorari in Trump v. Members of Congress introduced legislation Thursday that would prohibit lawmakers from paying settlements in sexual harassment claims with taxpayers’ money. The office of the US Attorney for the District of Columbia announced Thursday that it [...]
The US Supreme Court on Friday granted certiorari in Trump v. Hawaii , a challenge to the latest version of the so-called travel ban. The court agreed to consider the following questions presented by the government: 1. Whether respondents’ challenge to the President’s suspension of entry of aliens abroad is justiciable. 2. Whether the Proclamation [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Thursday vacated the judgment of the district court that had canceled the Washington Redskins’ trademark registrations. The judgment vacated the holding in Pro Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse , which stated that “Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act does not implicate the First Amendment… the federal [...]
Members of Congress introduced legislation Thursday that would prohibit lawmakers from paying settlements in sexual harassment claims with taxpayers’ money. The bill, called the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act, would require the accused lawmaker to reimburse the US Treasury within 90 days of settlement. If they do not, their wages would be garnished. [...]
The office of the US Attorney for the District of Columbia announced Thursday that it was dropping charges against 129 people arrested in the Inauguration Day protests, proceeding with charges against 59 defendants. During President Donald Trump’s inauguration, more than 200 people were arrested on charges ranging from urging or inciting a riot, engaging in [...]
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to bypass a federal appeals court and decide whether the Acting Secretary’s decision to “winddown” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy is lawful. In September six immigrants filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California , challenging the [...]
The US Senate voted 65-34 on Thursday in favor of a six-year extension of the FISA Amendments Act , which authorizes the National Security Agency (NSA) to gather intelligence by means of warrantless surveillance of foreign persons and American companies. The House approved the bill last week 256-164. Critics believe that the updated Act will [...]
