Teleforum

In the current scholarship surrounding law enforcement issues, there are two diverging sides in which some advocate for major reform and others advocate for a continuation of the status quo across major police departments in the United States. Standing in the middle of this debate is a substantial player: police unions. The push for major reform in police departments sometimes collides with powerful police unions, who argue that Qualified Immunity and other policies that protect police officers should be maintained. Like many other unions in other fields, police unions often will fight to defend its members through advocacy of certain reforms, while opposing or ignoring other reforms. Catherine Fisk and L. Song Richardson argued in a law review article that police unions in several cities “have challenged police chiefs brought in to enact reforms that they consider threatening to officer safety or economic interests, or that they believe weaken public safety.” They claim union-negotiated procedural rights for

A sustained effort by activist investors to align corporate policy and investing with a progressive policy agenda could be shortchanging the retirement savings of millions of Americans. Data shows that investments tied to perceived environmental, social, and governance principles, or ESG, generally offer lower yields than the S&P 500 benchmark, but activists are pushing to use trillions of dollars in pension and retirement plans to discriminate against various industries. The trend could have profound implications for public and private pensions programs and other retirement savings plans. ESG investing might also pose a challenge to the fiduciary responsibility of asset management professionals to act in the best financials interests of the people they serve, a bedrock concept in financial planning.The U.S. Department of Labor is preparing to ensure ESG investing does not undermine protections enshrined in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). A proposed rule would codify in law that asse

This teleforum will focus on patent subject matter eligibility issues highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly as they relate to patentability of medical diagnostic tests. The panel will provide a brief review of Section 101 case law, particularly the recent line of subject matter eligibility cases from the Supreme Court stemming from Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank and Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, and will analyze the impact of these Supreme Court cases on innovation and investment in medical diagnostic technology. The panel will comment on the lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, and provide recommendations for administrative and legislative actions that would assure the continuation of US leadership in medical diagnostics.Featuring:-- Prof. Paul R. Gugliuzza, Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law-- Hon. David J. Kappos, Partner, Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP-- Prof. David O. Taylor, Robert G. Storey Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Associate Pro

Employers are increasingly being faced with difficult issues with respect to COVID-19, including challenging labor and employment issues. Various federal and state statutes present compliance issues for employers, particularly given the recent enactment of the First Families Act and the CARES Act at the federal level. Existing federal statutes such as the National Labor Relations Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act also present labor and employment law challenges for employers. This three-part teleforum series will review federal and state labor and employment issues and options for employers to consider. Federalist Society Labor and Employment Executive Committee member, G. Roger King will be the speaker for this first teleforum. Mr. King is Senior Labor and Employment Counsel for the HR Policy Association and previously a Partner at the Jones Day law firm.Featuring:-- G. Roger King, Senior Labor and Employment Counsel, HR Policy Association

As the United States faces the spread of COVID-19, officials in many jurisdictions have ordered the closure of "non-essential" or "non-life-sustaining" businesses. These shut-down orders have differed, including in their treatment of gun dealers, with officials in several jurisdictions ordering gun dealers to cease operations. Do these closures unduly burden the public's ability to acquire firearms for self-defense during an emergency, raising serious questions under the Second Amendment? What about heightened background-check requirements that operate in tandem with gun store closures as a categorical bar to firearm purchases? In addition, some officials have made public statements suggesting hostility toward the firearms trade, and some closure orders appear to single out gun-related businesses for disfavored treatment, leaving open, for example, marijuana dispensaries and liquor stores. As jurisdictions continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, many are poised to issue similar business closure orde

On June 25, Justice Alito, writing for a five justice majority of the Supreme Court, issued the opinion in Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam, which is the Court's first Suspension Clause case in over a decade. The decision not only has implications for the way Suspension Clause questions will be decided in the future, but also for the immigration context in particular, given that the case involved the ability of an unlawful alien to access habeas proceedings upon his detention. The implications of the decision and its effect going forward will be the focus of this teleforum.Featuring: -- O.H. Skinner, Arizona Solicitor General

The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced indictments of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and several of his regime allies for drug trafficking and money laundering. This Teleforum will address the unique legal and political challenges involved in prosecuting a foreign dictator and will feature former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Roger F. Noriega, and Professor Manuel A. Gomez, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Global Engagement at Florida International University. Featuring: -- Professor Manuel A. Gomez, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Global Engagement at Florida International University-- Hon. Roger F. Noriega, Visiting Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, and former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs-- Moderator: Harout Jack Samra, Associate, DLA Piper

On July 9, the Supreme Court released its decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma. By a vote of 5-4, the judgment of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals was reversed. Justice Gorsuch's majority opinion was joined by Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan. The Chief Justice dissented, joined by Justices Alito and Kavanaugh, and by Justice Thomas except as to footnote 9. Justice Thomas also filed a dissent. Our group of experts joins us to discuss the decisions and implications moving forward.Featuring: A.J. Ferate, Of Counsel, Spencer Fane LLPAndy Lester, Partner, Spencer Fane LLPProf. Taiawagi “Tai” Helton, W. DeVier Pierson Professor of Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law This call is open to the public - please dial 888-752-3232 to access the call.

In today’s digital age, businesses create seemingly infinite quantities of data. And when the mere prospect of litigation looms, current rules require businesses to assume significant costs to store and maintain any data that might be relevant to that litigation. This seemingly boundless duty to preserve, unmoored from our legal traditions, all but abandons the common law of discovery.At common law, the duty attached only upon the filing of a suit (or when filing was imminent), and generally required only that parties not destroy evidence directly related to litigation. But today’s duty casts aside these originalist common-law pillars—the duty not only attaches earlier, but is broader in scope. What’s more, recent judge-made preservation obligations make obtaining spoliation sanctions far easier by removing the common-law requirement that the spoliator acted in bad faith. Such a broad duty and simple path to sanctions has led, predictably, to over-preservation, placing significant burd

May grand juries or congressional oversight committees obtain the personal tax records and other financial information about the President, even from third parties? This is the question presented in Trump v. Mazars USA and Trump v. Vance, two cases decided today by the Supreme Court, and discussed in today’s Courthouse Steps Teleforum call. Devin Watkins of the Competitive Enterprise Institute will join us to discuss the results in these cases and the implications on separation of powers and the future of the presidency.Featuring:Mr. Devin Watkins, Attorney, Competitive Enterprise Institute This call is open to the public and press. Please dial 888-752-3232 to access this call at 3:30 p.m. ET.

In today's decision in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru (together with St. James School v. Biel), the justices decided, by a vote of 7-2, that the judgments of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit are reversed and the cases remanded. Justice Alito's majority opinion was joined by the Chief Justice and Justices Thomas, Breyer, Kagan, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh. Justice Thomas also filed a concurring opinion, joined by Justice Gorsuch. Justice Sotomayor dissented, joined by Justice Ginsburg. Daniel Blomberg joins us to discuss this decision and its implications. Featuring: Daniel Blomberg, Senior Counsel, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty This call is open to the public - please dial 888-752-3232 to access the call.

In Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, the justices upheld in a 7-2 ruling a federal rule exempting employers with religious or moral objections from providing contraceptive coverage to their employees under the Affordable Care Act. Eric Kniffin joins us to discuss the decision and its implications. Featuring:-- Eric N. Kniffin, Partner, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP

In Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, Inc., the Supreme Court held unconstitutional a portion of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act that protected the public from certain kinds of robocalls to cell phones. In a badly split (3-1-3-2) decision, the Court concluded that the statute unconstitutionally imposed a content-based limitation on speech by generally banning robocalls but creating an exception for calls to collect a debt "owed to or guaranteed by the United States." Thus, the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC), which wished to make political robocalls, was prohibited from doing so by the statute. The Court held that it was unconstitutional to treat calls differently depending on their content, and it remedied the violation by eliminating the exception for calls to collect a government debt. In the end, the AAPC convinced the Court that the statute was unconstitutional, but was not able to convince the Court that its own speech should be protected. Instead, we

In Chiafalo v. Washington and its companion case Colorado Department of State v. Baca, the Supreme Court affirmed the power of the states to regulate the decisions of presidential electors. States may fine electors who vote for a candidate other than the winner of the statewide popular vote, and states may replace electors who attempt to vote for someone else. We can expect to see more states institute "faithless electors" rules for the 2020 presidential election and beyond.Featuring:Prof. Derek T. Muller, Professor of Law, University of Iowa College of Law This call is open to the public and to the press. Please dial 888-752-3232 to access the call.

Richard Epstein’s The Dubious Morality of Modern Administrative Law examines how the growth of the administrative state as a result of FDR’s New Deal has coincided with many different Supreme Court decisions since the 1936-37 term of the Court that legitimized the reach of different administrative agencies by giving them far more control over substantive issues through different forms of judicial deference to agency interpretation, such as Auer and Chevron deference. Throughout his book, Epstein effectively frames how Auer deference, Chevron deference, and the Court’s major decision, Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association v. State Farm, led to the courts becoming “too deferential on questions of law and too interventionist on matters of fact.” Epstein asserts that the administrative state has grown far too powerful for us to mitigate its power significantly. However, he suggests that we can initiate a minor constitutional revolution in administrative law by turning away from the judicial language that has de

On June 30, the Supreme Court released its decision in the case of Espinoza v. Montana Dep't of Revenue. By a vote of 5-4, the judgment of the Supreme Court of Montana was reversed and the case remanded. Chief Justice Roberts' majority opinion was joined by Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh. Justice Thomas filed a concurring opinion joined by Justice Gorsuch. Justices Alito and Gorsuch also filed concurring opinions. Justice Ginsburg dissented, joined by Justice Kagan. Justice Breyer dissented, joined by Justice Kagan as to Part I. Justice Sotomayor also filed a dissenting opinion. Michael Bindas joins us to discuss the decisions and its implications.Featuring: Michael Bindas, Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up on our website. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those ema

On Monday, the Supreme Court released its decision in United States Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International. By a vote of 5-3, the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is reversed. The justices held that the enforcement of a law requiring foreign affiliates of domestic groups receiving funds to fight HIV/AIDS to have a policy opposing prostitution and sex trafficking does not violate the First Amendment. Justice Kavanaugh's majority opinion was joined by the Chief Justice and Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch. Justice Thomas also filed a concurring opinion. Justice Breyer dissented, joined by Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor. Justice Kagan took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. Our speakers will discuss the decision and its implications. Featuring: Casey Mattox, Senior Fellow, Free Speech and Toleration, Charles Koch InstituteKrystal B. Swendsboe, Associate, Wiley Rein LLP Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members

On June 29, 2020, the Supreme Court issued its first major abortion decision on the merits since Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement. The consolidated cases, June Medical Services v. Russo and Russo v. June Medical Services, involved the constitutionality of Louisiana's law requiring physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital, and whether abortion providers can be presumed to have third-party standing to challenge health and safety regulations, such as Louisiana's admitting privileges law, on behalf of their patients. The plurality opinion held that the abortion providers had standing and Louisiana's law was unconstitutional because it imposed an undue burden. This teleforum will discuss this opinion, as well as Chief Justice Roberts' concurrence, the four dissents, and the decision's implications. Featuring: Steven H. Aden, Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel, Americans United for Life Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Societ

In Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Supreme Court decided the constitutionality of the CFPB, an agency long criticized not just by the business community but also constitutional scholars who see major problems a single-director agency seemingly unaccountable to the president or anyone else. The lawsuit was brought by a law firm that assists in resolving personal-debt issues, among other legal work that puts it in the crosshairs of those who want greater regulation of consumer-facing financial services. The CFPB is the most independent of independent agencies, with power to make rules, enforce them, adjudicate violations in its own administrative hearings, and punish wrongdoers. It doesn’t need Congress to approve its budget, because its funding requests are met by another agency insulated from political control: the Federal Reserve. Even CFPB supporters concede that the CFPB structure and authority is unique. John Eastman and Brian Johnson join us to discuss the Supreme