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Public Policy
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December 12, 2024
Bitcoin Investor Gets 2 Years For Tax Fraud In Landmark Case
An investor who concealed millions of dollars he earned in bitcoin and became the first person criminally charged for failing to report gains from the sale of cryptocurrency by filing false returns was sentenced to two years in federal prison Thursday.
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December 12, 2024
Sierra Club-EPA Row Has 6th Circ. Debating Smog Data
A Sixth Circuit judge questioned Thursday whether a Sierra Club challenge over Detroit's air quality was "a debate over the science" as opposed to the law, as the group fights federal regulators' determination that air pollution in the area is under control.
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December 12, 2024
SEC Will Be GOP-Only Without Crenshaw's Vote, Groups Warn
More than 40 organizations sent a collective letter to U.S. senators in support of Democrat Caroline Crenshaw's reconfirmation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, a day after Senate Republicans blocked a closed-door vote on her nomination.
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December 12, 2024
Texas AG Targets Instagram, Reddit Over Youth Data Security
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday that his office is looking into minors' privacy and safety policies of more than a dozen tech companies, including Character.AI, Reddit and Instagram, as part of his long-running campaign to stop companies from selling minors' personal information without permission from their parents.
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December 12, 2024
Mich. Judge Hesitant To Rule On $217M Dam Repair Tax
A Michigan federal judge sounded reluctant Thursday to make a decision about whether a $217 million dam repair tax assessment violated homeowners' constitutional rights before a state appellate panel rules on the homeowners' challenge to the assessment in a parallel case over properties affected by flooding from the 2020 Edenville Dam collapse.
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December 12, 2024
Wash. Judge Weighs Stay Of Gas Reg Suit Amid New Cases
A Seattle federal judge hinted on Thursday she might pause a building industry coalition's lawsuit challenging Washington regulations discouraging the use of natural gas appliances in new construction, pointing to fresh litigation in state court that could force regulators to revise the rules in the wake of an initiative voters passed in November.
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December 12, 2024
NY Judge Bars Pot Regulator From Processing Retail Apps
A New York state judge Thursday ordered cannabis regulators to stop processing applications submitted by would-be marijuana sellers who did not secure a location for their proposed pot shop before November of last year, leaving hundreds of prospective retailers in limbo.
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December 12, 2024
AT&T Exec Can't Get Bribery Acquittal After Jury Deadlocks
An Illinois federal judge on Thursday denied a former AT&T executive's bid for acquittal on charges he bribed ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan after his case resulted in a hung jury earlier this year, saying the government presented sufficient evidence of a quid pro quo.
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December 12, 2024
Feds Weigh In On High Court North Dakota Voting Dispute
Two local North Dakota Republican Party officials lack standing to claim racial gerrymandering in a dispute over the state's newly created voting subdistricts, the federal government told the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing there's undisputed evidence to conclude that federal law requires the state to establish the boundaries.
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December 12, 2024
IRS Seeks Feedback On Limits In Previous Taxed Profit Rules
The Internal Revenue Service will consider whether rules included in recently proposed guidance on previously taxed earnings and profits to limit instances where U.S. multinationals may use basis to offset gain are too restrictive, an official said Thursday.
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December 12, 2024
Immigrant Rights Groups Slam DHS 'Manifestation' Standard
Immigrant rights organizations challenging the Biden administration's directive curtailing asylum at the southern border told a D.C. federal judge that the administration's latest brief confirms the updated rule goes far beyond what Congress authorized.
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December 12, 2024
Medicare Could Lose Billions From 'Patent Abuse,' Group Says
The $6 billion a year Medicare is supposed to save by negotiating drug prices under the Inflation Reduction Act is close to the billions of dollars the government could lose due to "patent abuse" by drugmakers, according to a new report by a consumer interest group.
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December 12, 2024
3rd Circ. Backs Dismissal Of Anti-Abortion Group's Suit
The Third Circuit on Thursday affirmed the dismissal of an anti-abortion pregnancy center's bid to block the enforcement of a subpoena seeking information about its donors, ruling its constitutional claims are not yet ripe.
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December 12, 2024
FDIC Must Reconsider Redactions Of Crypto 'Pause' Letters
A Washington, D.C., federal judge told the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Thursday to "make more thoughtful redactions" of certain crypto-focused letters it handed over in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed on behalf of crypto exchange Coinbase, since the regulator's heavy-handed first pass seemed to lack a "good-faith effort."
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December 12, 2024
Ryan Park Withdraws Nomination For 4th Circ. Bench
Ryan Young Park, solicitor general of North Carolina, has dropped his bid for a seat on the Fourth Circuit after it was clear he would not be getting a vote on the Senate floor.
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December 12, 2024
IRS Chief Makes Case To Restore $20B Funding Shortfall
Congress should reverse a $20 billion IRS funding gap in a year-end budget bill to help the agency modernize its technology, improve customer service and collect unpaid taxes from wealthy businesses and individuals, Internal Revenue Commissioner Daniel Werfel said Thursday.
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December 12, 2024
6th Circ. Appears Divided On Telecom Breach Reporting Rule
A Sixth Circuit panel seemed split over the Federal Communications Commission's tightened telecommunications data breach rules, with one judge defending the commission as taking necessary steps to safeguard consumers from a "true" danger and another claiming that the rule seemed to run afoul of lawmakers' wishes.
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December 12, 2024
AGs Launch Gun Violence Crackdown With Glock Suits
New Jersey and Minnesota unveiled lawsuits Thursday against Glock Inc. aimed at ending "once and for all" the homemade machine gun industry, marking the start of a crackdown by a coalition of enforcers looking to hold the firearms industry liable for gun violence.
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December 12, 2024
Cannabis Shops Ask DC Judge To Halt Store Shutdowns
A coalition of Washington, D.C.-based recreational marijuana shops is asking a D.C. federal judge to put a stop to district regulators' enforcement actions against their stores, saying the businesses face "imminent destruction" absent an injunction.
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December 12, 2024
DOI Plan Would Protect NM Land From New Mining Claims
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on Thursday initiated a two-year segregation period to temporarily withdraw 165,000 acres of public lands in New Mexico from new mining claims and the issuance of new federal mineral leases.
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December 12, 2024
Judge Troubled By Conduct Of Pot Farmer And State Officials
A federal judge said this week that he's concerned by the "tone and tenor" that both a medical marijuana cultivator and Oklahoma law enforcement officials have taken in a case involving millions of dollars' worth of farm equipment destroyed during an erroneous raid, saying he's going to be looking closely at the conduct of all parties.
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December 12, 2024
Sam Adams Maker Using 'Draconian' Noncompete, Court Told
A former Boston Beer Co. sales worker told a Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday that the Sam Adams brewer is aggressively enforcing noncompete agreements that don't comply with state law.
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December 12, 2024
2 Deny Joining Would-Be Trump Assassin To Target Journalist
Two New York City men on Thursday denied participating in a plot to kill a noted journalist and Iran critic, pleading not guilty to murder-for-hire charges that claim they worked for a foreign agent who also is tasked with targeting Donald Trump.
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December 12, 2024
Mobile Trade Group's CEO To Leave Organization Next Year
The president and CEO of mobile industry lobbying group CTIA will leave the organization when her contract expires next year, the group said Thursday.
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December 12, 2024
Prison Co. Says Jurors Shouldn't See ICE Facility In TVPA Suit
Private prison operator Geo Group urged a Colorado federal judge to deny immigrant detainees' request to show jurors the inside of its detention facility in a trafficking case, including the size of housing units, arguing Wednesday the facility's size will not be relevant when determining whether detainees performed forced labor.
Expert Analysis
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Key Healthcare Issues That Hinge On The Election Outcome
The 2024 presidential race, while not heavily dominated by healthcare issues compared to past elections, holds significant implications for the direction of healthcare policy in a potential Harris or Trump administration, encompassing issues ranging from Medicare to artificial intelligence, says Miranda Franco at Holland & Knight.
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Ex-Chicago Politician's Case May Further Curb Fraud Theories
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Thompson v. U.S. to determine whether a statement that is misleading but not false still violates federal law, potentially heralding the court’s largest check yet on prosecutors’ expansive fraud theories, with significant implications for sentencing, say attorneys at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.
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Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity
Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.
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Crypto.com's Suit Against SEC Could Hold Major Implications
Crypto.com's recent lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could affect the operation and regulation of crypto markets in the U.S., potentially raising more questions about the SEC's authority to regulate the industry when it's unclear whether another agency is ready to assume it, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.
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Lessons For Municipalities Facing Cyberattacks
With municipal IT teams facing the daunting task of keeping agencies operational while safeguarding sensitive government data, including residents' and employees' personally identifiable information, there are steps a municipality can take to guard against a major cyberattack, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
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Testing The Waters As New Texas Biz Court Ends 2nd Month
Despite an uptick in filings in the Texas Business Court's initial months of operation, the docket remains fairly light amid an apparent wait-and-see approach from some potential litigants, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
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Biden Green Card Program Unlikely To Advance Post-Election
Even if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the election and continues a Biden administration policy that would allow certain foreign relatives of American citizens to apply for green cards without leaving the U.S., a challenge in Texas federal court is likely to delay implementation for a long time, says Brad Brigante at Brigante Law.
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New Export Control Guidance Raises The Stakes For Banks
Recent guidance from the Bureau of Industry and Security alerts banks that they could be liable for facilitating export control violations, the latest example of regulators articulating the expectation that both financial institutions and corporations serve as gatekeepers to mitigate crime and aid enforcement efforts, say attorneys at Freshfields.
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Opinion
Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules
The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
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Fluoride Ruling Charts Path To Bypass EPA Risk Evaluations
A California federal court's recent ruling in Food and Water Watch v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ordering the agency to address the public health risks of fluoridated drinking water, establishes a road map for other citizen petitioners to bypass the EPA's formal risk evaluation process, say attorneys at Wiley.
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The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO
The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.
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Planning For Cyber Incident Reporting Requirements In Sports
Attorneys at Wiley discuss the proposed rules under the Cybersecurity Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act that would impose extensive reporting requirements on professional and collegiate athletic organizations, universities and sports venues, including defining a covered entity and analyzing the types of events that would trigger reporting.
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How 2 Proposed Bills Could Transform Patent Law
The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act and the Prevail Act may come up for vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee after the election, and both offer benefits and challenges for inventors and companies seeking to obtain patents, says Philip Nelson at Knobbe Martens.
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Inside FTC's Decision To Exit Key Merger Review Labor Memo
Despite the Federal Trade Commission's recent withdrawal from a multiagency memorandum of understanding to step up enforcement of labor issues in merger investigations, the antitrust agencies aren't likely to give up their labor market focus, say attorneys at Stinson.
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FDIC Guidance Puts Next-Gen ATMs In Regulatory Spotlight
The boring existence of ATMs is changing thanks to the emergence of new-age interactive teller machines, prompting the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to sound off in a potentially influential August letter to branches on which services might need regulatory approval, says Thomas Walker at Jones Walker.