Search Results for: Jeff Sessions

The First Circuit ruled on Friday that “women unable to leave a domestic relationship” are a group eligible for asylum applications and cancellation of removal proceedings. The court’s opinion overturned a rule finalized under former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2018 that required the category of membership to be defined in separate terms from the [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California granted an injunction on Wednesday that prevents a citizenship question from appearing on the 2020 census. The Secretary of Commerce had previously ordered the question, “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” to appear on the 2020 census. The Department [...]

US Senators Richard Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse and Mazie Hiron dropped a lawsuit Tuesday that challenged the constitutionality of former acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker’s appointment, which was made without the Senate’s consent. The complaint, filed in November, alleged that Whitaker and President Donald Trump violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, which requires Congress’s “advice and consent” before principal federal Officers [...]

The US Senate on Thursday confirmed William Barr as Attorney General, replacing acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker. Barr previously served as Attorney General under President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993 and has since practiced in the private sector. Barr’s confirmation fills a position that has been vacant since President Donald Trump’s first Attorney [...]

Acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker testified on Friday before the House Judiciary Committee concerning his involvement in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 presidential campaign. Whitaker said he had not spoken with President Donald Trump about the matter in his tenure as acting Attorney General. “There has been no [...]

As US immigration courts opened on Monday to the 86,000 cases that were canceled during the shutdown, attorneys speculatde that it could take years to get through this backlog. As of the end of November, it was estimated that there were more than 800,000 cases pending before the immigration courts. Jennifer Williams, an immigration law [...]

The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a challenge to the appointment of Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker stemming from a case involving Second amendment rights for non-violent felons. Barry Michaels, a candidate for Congress in Nevada, is appealing a Ninth Circuit decision denying his right to carry a firearm after being convicted for non-violent [...]

Lawyer Tom Goldstein on Friday asked the US Supreme Court to appoint Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as the acting Attorney General, replacing Matthew Whitaker. Goldstein claims that Whitaker was illegally installed as the temporary successor of former attorney general Jeff Sessions, and that Rosenstein is the legal and constitutional successor to Sessions. The motion argues [...]

The Department of Justice (DOJ) released a memo Wednesday defending the constitutional basis for the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General. The memo was written by Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel of the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel. The Office of Legal Counsel serves as the principle legal interpretation body within the DOJ. [...]

The state of Maryland filed a motion for preliminary injunction on Tuesday seeking to restrain and enjoin former Chief of Staff to the Attorney General Matthew Whitaker from “appearing in the official capacity of the Acting Attorney General.” Instead, the motion seeks the appointment of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as the acting Attorney General, replacing [...]