Articles Posted in Politics

Last week Congress voted to pass a farm bill that addresses the legalization of cultivating hemp in the U.S. as well as other issues such as nutrition, conservation, trade, energy, and forestry. The bill received support from both major parties, and is expected to be signed into law by President Trump.

Reports from CNN and New York Times state that the Trump administration will ban bump stocks, devices that allow semiautomatic weapons to mimic machine guns, within the next few days. CNN reports that the new legislation will mandate that people who own bump stocks must turn in or destroy the devices within 90 days.

A judge in New York has ruled that state Attorney General Barbara Underwood's case against the Trump Foundation can go forward. The case alleges that the charitable foundation engaged in a consistent pattern of illegal acts for over a decade, being used to settle business disputes and support the 2016 Trump presidential campaign. The judge ruled that U.S. Supreme Court precedent in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit against then-President Clinton clearly states that the president is not immune from civil liability while in office.

On Wednesday, November 14, 2018, the United States Department of Justice provided a twenty page memo to President Donald J. Trump arguing that President Trump's appointment of Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker complied with federal statutes and the U.S. Constitution, and that the appointment is "[c]onsistent with our prior opinion and with centuries of historical practice and precedents."

A landmark bill aimed at protecting the rights of transgender Massachusetts residents in the context of public accommodations was upheld by voters on November 6.

On Friday, September 28, 2018, United States District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ruled that the lawsuit brought by 200 Democratic members of the United States Congress against President Donald J. Trump, alleging violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause, may move forward in the District of Columbia.

Last week, a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel in Cincinnati ruled that protestors who attended a Trump campaign rally cannot sue President Donald Trump for having them physically removed.

A federal district court judge in Illinois has granted preliminary approval to a settlement between State Farm and a class of plaintiffs claiming that the insurance giant created a RICO enterprise to bankroll the election of a judge to the state's high court. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier was elected in 2004, and in 2005 voted to overturn a $1.05 billion verdict against the insurer stemming from breach of contract claims regarding its alleged use of non-original parts in vehicles damaged in accidents. State Farm will not admit liability through the recently-proposed settlement, but will pay $250 million to class members. 

The North Carolina legislature historically has been dominated by Republicans, but times may be changing in a state known for extremely conservative lawmaking. While the Governor is a Democrat, the Republican supermajority in the legislature has pushed many laws past his veto over the last two years. One of the most notable…

The FCC should investigate Verizon’s throttling of firefighters’ “unlimited data” that took place during California’s largest wildfire, two Senate Democrats recently argued.