D.C. Circuit Court

Breyer says SCOTUS has to decide whether Guantanamo detainees can continue to be held

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer said Monday that the high court should consider whether the Constitution permits continued detention of Guantanamo detainees. Breyer called for Supreme Court action in a statement respecting its refusal to hear the case of Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi, a Yemeni national who has…

Jun 10, 2019 11:14 AM CDT

DC Circuit says Guantanamo judge created ‘intolerable cloud of partiality’ and tosses his rulings

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court tossed every pretrial ruling issued in the last 3½ years by a Guantanamo judge in the case of an accused terrorist.

Apr 17, 2019 9:04 AM CDT

DC Circuit bars release of grand jury materials to author; are there implications for Mueller report?

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Friday that judges don’t have inherent authority to order the release of grand jury information that is protected by secrecy rules.

Apr 8, 2019 11:23 AM CDT

DC Circuit refuses to block ban on bump stocks; SCOTUS also had refused to intervene

Gun rights groups are losing their battles to stop a ban on bump stocks from taking effect. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene in two cases last week, one from Michigan and the other from Washington, D.C., the New York Times had…

Apr 2, 2019 9:25 AM CDT

Supreme Court denies review in mystery grand jury subpoena case

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a $50,000-per-day contempt fine imposed on a mystery company for failing to comply with a subpoena in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Court papers identified the company only as “Corporation” from “Country A.” The case attracted media attention in December when…

Mar 25, 2019 11:05 AM CDT

Trump has filled 1 in 5 appellate judgeships now that Neomi Rao has been confirmed to DC Circuit

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Neomi Rao to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a month after she apologized for insensitivity in college articles she wrote about date rape. The Senate confirmed Rao in a 53-46 vote along party lines. She is filling the…

Mar 13, 2019 4:11 PM CDT

‘My Cousin Vinny’ plays big role in Merrick Garland opinion

Cross-examination drawing on lessons of My Cousin Vinny helped undermine a nursing home operator’s claimed reason for firing several union organizers, according to a federal appeals court. Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland—whose Supreme Court nomination failed after no vote was taken—wrote the March 5 opinion for the U.S. Court…

Mar 7, 2019 7:30 AM CST

DC Circuit nominee Neomi Rao apologizes for controversial writings on sexual assault

Federal appeals court nominee Neomi Rao apologized Monday for insensitivity displayed in op-ed articles she wrote about sexual assault in the 1990s. Rao is currently the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. She is nominated to fill the former seat of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett M.…

Feb 12, 2019 9:26 AM CST

DC Circuit nominee under fire for college writings on race, feminism, date rape

Federal appeals court nominee Neomi Rao wrote about how to avoid date rape (“stay reasonably sober”) and “touchy-feely talk of tolerance” in a series of controversial opinion articles published during and soon after her graduation from Yale University. President Donald Trump nominated Rao in November to the U.S. Court of…

Jan 16, 2019 3:38 PM CST

Differing with other courts, DC Circuit refuses to block limits on transgender people in military

A federal appeals court has dissolved an injunction that had blocked President Donald Trump’s limits on transgender people serving in the military.

Jan 4, 2019 2:30 PM CST

Chief justice refers ethics complaints against Kavanaugh to 10th Circuit

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has referred ethics complaints filed against Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings to the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Oct 11, 2018 8:47 AM CDT

DC Circuit receives complaints about Kavanaugh, reportedly sends them to Supreme Court

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has received complaints about Brett Kavanaugh’s statements during hearings on his confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a statement Saturday by a judge on the federal appeals court.

Oct 9, 2018 8:50 AM CDT

FDA has ‘unreasonably delayed’ graphic warnings on cigarette packs, Mass. federal court rules

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has unreasonably delayed enforcing a 2009 law calling for graphic warnings on cigarette packages, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled Wednesday. “The court must compel agency action,” Judge Indira Talwani wrote in her decision, reports the Boston Globe. The law requires that color images of…

Sep 7, 2018 1:24 PM CDT

Second murder trial against former Blackwater guard results in mistrial

The retrial of a former Blackwater Worldwide security guard, convicted of first-degree murder for starting a mass shooting more than a decade ago in Iraq, resulted in a hung jury on Wednesday. Nicholas A. Slatten was accused of firing the first shots that lead to the shooting of 31 unarmed…

Sep 6, 2018 12:42 PM CDT

Kavanaugh seems to shun gun registration laws, but may not oppose license training requirements

If appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh could be less hospitable to gun regulation—and more likely to vote in favor of cert grants on gun cases—than the man he would replace, Justice Anthony Kennedy. In District of Columbia v. Heller, the landmark 2008 U.S. Supreme Court case…

Jul 30, 2018 11:12 AM CDT