Good morning. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected today to issue its final two rulings in argued cases this term: climate change and immigration. Afterwards, Ketanji Brown Jackson will be sworn in, succeeding Justice Stephen Breyer. Meanwhile, Reuters reporter Luc Cohen’s got a detailed look at the charges Donald Trump might face over his failed effort to overturn the 2020 election. Plus: a longtime former career DOJ lawyer now at Alston is helping a key Jan. 6 committee witness navigate the proceeding. Let’s jump in.
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The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue its two final decisions today in argued cases, ruling on the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as an air pollutant, and ruling on the Biden administration’s bid to rescind a Trump-era policy that forced tens of thousands of migrants to stay in Mexico to await U.S. hearings on their asylum claims. Andrew Chung and Lawrence Hurley have more here on the cases.
The court’s decision in the EPA case could have big implications for the Biden administration and its desire to fight global climate change, Valerie Volcovici reports. U.S. solicitor general Elizabeth Prelogar argued for the EPA. Jones Day’s Yaakov Roth represented the North American Coal Corporation. Beth Brinkmann of Covington argued for power companies including Consolidated Edison, Exelon and New York Power Authority.
In the immigration case, which pits Prelogar against Judd Stone II, the Texas solicitor general, the justices are weighing a lower-court ruling that reinstated Trump's "remain in Mexico" policy. Republican-led states of Texas and Missouri sued to maintain the program. At the argument, some of the conservative justices questioned how much discretion an administration has to release migrants into the United States, and also whether Texas was intruding on an area of the law where the federal government long has held authority.
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Jody Hunt, a longtime former DOJ lawyer who’s now at Alston, is on the team representing key Jan. 6 committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson as she navigates Capitol Hill. Hunt formerly led the DOJ’s civil division during the Trump administration. The Alston team also includes partner William Jordan. (Reuters)
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Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife, conservative activist Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, is working with lawyer Mark Paoletta to represent her before the U.S. congressional investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Paoletta is a partner at the small firm Schaerr Jaffe. Paoletta earlier worked in the Trump administration, joining the White House from DLA Piper, where he worked with clients including Oracle, Gilead and Samsung Electronics. (Reuters)
- A number of New York-based law firms, including Fried Frank; Paul Weiss; Proskauer Rose; and Lowenstein Sandler are allowing attorneys and staff to work remotely for the month of August. (Reuters)
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National intellectual property firm Finnegan had named Erika Harmon Arner as its next managing partner, succeeding Anand Sharma in the role. Sharma will become firm chair. Arner, who will serve a three-year term as managing partner, has been at the firm for two decades. (Reuters)
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The Biden White House nominated Delaware Supreme Court Justice Tamika Renee Montgomery-Reeves to serve on the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit U.S. appeals court. Montgomery-Reeves has served on the state high court since 2019. Earlier in her career, she was a partner at Wilson Sonsini and an associate at Weil Gotshal. (White House)
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That’s the amount George Washington University School of Law paid U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in 2021 to co-teach a constitutional law seminar, according to a financial disclosure. University officials said this week they will not fire Thomas, despite public pressure to cut ties following his concurring opinion in the case that overturned Roe v. Wade. Each of the justices annually file disclosures showing any outside teaching, any book royalties and stock holdings. Thomas also reported earning $19,595 from teaching undergraduates at the University of Notre Dame.
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The state of Texas is suing Volkswagen Germany and Audi Germany for allegedly orchestrating the post-recall installation of emissions-cheating software on about 24,000 vehicles in Texas. The Texas Supreme Court was poised to decide whether Texas courts have jurisdiction over the German companies, but the litigation hit a snag when two justices recused themselves. On Friday, the state’s chief justice invoked a state law designed to solve exactly the problem, asking Texas Governor Greg Abbott to appoint two substitute justices from the lower Texas courts to participate in the Supreme Court’s deliberations. Guess who has a big, big problem with that? Yep: VW and Audi. Alison Frankel discusses their contention that the chief justice’s request violates the fundamental axiom that litigants don’t get to judge their own cases.
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"Do you remember that?"
—A woman identified as Jane Doe No. 2, speaking to R&B star R. Kelly at his sentencing hearing in federal court, as she described his alleged sexual abuse against her as a teenager. Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for exploiting his stardom and wealth over decades to lure women and underage girls into his orbit for sex. Kelly has repeatedly denied sexual abuse accusations. Prosecutors had urged a prison sentence of more than 25 years, saying Kelly had demonstrated a "callous disregard" for his victims and had shown no remorse. Defense lawyers said Kelly deserved no more than 10 years. Kelly still faces other charges.
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Justice Stephen Breyer will formally retire at noon, a move that will allow his successor, Ketanji Brown Jackson, to be sworn in as the court’s first Black female justice. Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the constitutional oath to Jackson, who is arriving at the court from the D.C. Circuit bench. The Supreme Court said Breyer will administer a judicial oath in a ceremony that will include a gathering of Jackson's family. The ceremony will be live-streamed on the court’s website. A formal investiture ceremony for Jackson in the courtroom will be scheduled for a later date.
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The Second Judicial Circuit Court in Leon County, Florida, will hear arguments from a group of Florida abortion providers including affiliates of Planned Parenthood challenging the state's new Republican-backed ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The plaintiffs, whose lawyers include teams from the ACLU, Center for Reproductive Rights and Jenner, said in the complaint filed on June 1 that the measure violates the state's constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday overturning Roe v. Wade has since spurred a number of lawsuits in state courts seeking to protect reproductive rights under state laws.
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Lawyers for the state of Louisiana have asked U.S. District Judge John deGravelles in Baton Rouge to vacate by today an injunction blocking the state from implementing certain abortion-related restrictions on doctors. The state had asked deGravelles to quickly lift the injunction after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. Louisiana clinics opposed the fast-track effort and urged the court to at least receive newly filed court briefs from the two sides. In an order on Wednesday, deGravelles agreed with the clinics, calling the matter one of “considerable importance” involving “complicated issues of procedural and substantive law.” He also wrote that “granting this motion with only two days’ consideration is unreasonable and unwarranted.”
Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.
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What charges might prosecutors bring against Donald Trump over his bid to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat and how might he defend himself? Trump has repeatedly denied doing anything illegal in connection with the Jan. 6 events. Here’s a look at some ideas being floated. (Reuters)
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The U.S. Justice Department asked a Maryland federal judge to stop Booz Allen Hamilton's planned purchase of rival EverWatch. King & Spalding's Norman Armstrong is representing Booz Allen, and Amanda Reeves of Latham is advising EverWatch. (Reuters)
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The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to Native American tribal authority in a 5-4 ruling that increased the power of states to prosecute crimes on reservations. The court ruled in favor of Oklahoma in its bid to prosecute a non-Native American man convicted of neglecting a Native American child on the Cherokee Nation reservation. Until now, states generally lacked jurisdiction over such crimes, which were prosecuted by the federal government. (Reuters)
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New York state and New York City sued 10 distributors of gun components to stop the sale of untraceable "ghost guns" that they say make the streets more violent. Officials said in separate lawsuits that companies are creating a public nuisance by selling unfinished frames and receivers that purchasers, who might otherwise be ineligible to buy firearms, can build into finished guns. (Reuters)
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The Federal Circuit ruled against Coca-Cola in its bid to cancel the U.S. trademarks of another company’s soft drinks with the same name. The court revived Meenaxi Enterprise’s U.S. trademarks after finding Coca-Cola failed to prove it suffered any harm. Coca-Cola sells Thums Up and Limca drinks in India and other countries in Asia and Africa, while Meenaxi sells drinks by the same names to Indian grocers in the U.S. (Reuters)
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Lawyers for GenBioPro said the abortion medication company plans to file lawsuits contesting efforts to restrict or ban the medication’s use. A Mississippi federal judge is weighing a case that GenBioPro, whose attorneys include a team from Latham, brought last year. The Biden administration has said it will seek to prevent states from banning a pill used for medication abortion. (Politico)
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Gibson Dunn added partner Vivek Mohan to its Palo Alto office, where he is co-chair of the artificial intelligence and automated systems practice group. He was previously at Mayer Brown. (Gibson Dunn)
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Evan Kelson joined Mayer Brown’s banking and finance practice as a partner in New York. He moved from Reed Smith. (Mayer Brown)
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Partner Ellia Thompson joined the Los Angeles office of Venable in its land use and zoning practice. She comes from Beverly Hills-based firm Ervin Cohen & Jessup. (Venable)
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McGuireWoods added Charles “Trey” Rayburn III as a partner in the firm’s Charlotte, North Carolina, office focused on restructuring and insolvency. He earlier practiced at Moore & Van Allen. (McGuireWoods)
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Healthcare fraud enforcement will remain a post-pandemic key priority at the U.S. Justice Department and other government enforcement agencies, write Laura McLane, Tony Maida and Dana McSherry of McDermott Will & Emery. They said they expect the Justice Department to use the False Claims Act and other measures to pursue alleged violations of the terms and conditions of participation in federal COVID-19 relief programs. Telehealth enforcement scrutiny is also expected to continue to increase.
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