The FBI has released its dossier on Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple
Inc. who died on October 5, 2011. The dossier includes documents compiled in 1991 as the
federal government considered Jobs for an appointment to the President's
Export Council under George H.W. Bush, as well as documents from a 1985 investigation of a bomb threat against Jobs. The dossier predates Jobs' return to Apple Inc. in 1996. The release comes as the result of a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Justice Department has issued a memorandum that supports President
Obama's recent recess appointments that occurred despite the fact that
the Senate is conducting pro forma sessions continuously through its
scheduled recesses. The memo concludes that the pro forma sessions do
not remove the president's ability to exercise a recess appointment
since no business is conducted during the sessions.
Texas Governor Rick Perry has sued the Virginia Board of Elections and
the Virginia Republican Party over his failure to obtain the 10,000
signatures necessary to have his name included on the presidential
primary ballot. Perry alleges that Virginia election rules violate his
right to freedom of speech and association, and has asked the court to
order his certification as a candidate on the primary
ballot.
An inquiry into the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) by the US
Department of Justice has concluded that the MCSO, headed by outspoken
Sheriff Joe Arpaio, engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional
policing. The report specifically mentions racial profiling, illegal
stops and unlawful retaliation by the department as the basis for its finding.
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by ten congressmen
alleging that the United States' participation in the military campaign
in Libya violated the War Powers Clause of the United States
Constitution and the War Powers Resolution. The judge determined that
the congressmen lacked standing to file the lawsuit since they had the
ability to address the situation through legislative channels.
A panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked two
portions of the controversial Alabama immigration law from going into
effect, but has allowed the state to begin enforcing other parts of the
law. The panel found that the United States had met its burden for an
injunction pending appeal in regards to the sections of the law that
create a misdemeanor offense for failing to carry an alien registration
document and require school officials to determine whether incoming
children are immigrants of the children of immigrants and evaluate
whether they qualify for English as a second language or other remedial
language classes.
A coalition of health and environmental groups have filed a petition
with the federal court of appeals in the District of Columbia requesting
a review of the Obama administration's decision to withdraw stricter
regulations of smog-causing ozone emissions.
The United States government filed an emergency motion with the 11th
Circuit on October 7, 2011 asking the court to enjoin portions of
Alabama's controversial new immigration law while the issue is on
appeal. The Department of Justice argued in its motion that the state
law encroaches on an area of the law under the exclusive control of the
federal government. The district court in the case had previously
denied the DoJ's multiple requests for injunctions.
The DC Circuit has upheld the gun laws passed by the District of
Columbia after the Supreme Court struck down prior DC firearm
regulations. The laws at issue in the suit imposed registration
requirements and prohibited assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
The court found that the laws did not violate the Second Amendment.
A coalition of environmental organizations has filed a lawsuit against
the federal government seeking to stop work on TransCanada's Keystone
oil pipeline. The groups allege that TransCanada received authorization
to begin work on the pipeline, which will transport crude from oil
sands in Alberta to refineries in Texas, from the Department of Fish and
Wildlife before the State Department had issued a final approval for
the project. The groups allege that this violated a federal law
preventing the commencement of project work before issuance of a final
approval.
