Daily Archives: January 17, 2021

Posted Fri, January 15th, 2021 1:41 pm by Andrew Hamm

This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether Facebook plug-ins violate the Wiretap Act and whether the Second Amendment protects an individuals right to possess firearms outside the home or after a conviction for a nonviolent offense.

Passed in 1968, the Wiretap Act makes it unlawful for someone to intentionally intercept[] any wire, oral, or electronic communication, unless that person is a party to the communication. Facebook users brought a class action alleging that the tech company violated the Wiretap Act between 2010 and 2011. Specifically, the users claim that Facebook plug-ins on different websites allowed Facebook to gather URL data even when they were logged out of Facebook, which the users contend was an unlawful interception. The district court dismissed the case on the ground that Facebook was a party to the communication. Acknowledging a circuit split, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that the case could proceed. In Facebook v. Davis, the company asks the justices to review and reverse the 9th Circuits decision.

District of Columbia v. Heller held that the Second Amendment protects an individuals right to possess firearms at home. The decision further indicated that longstanding firearms bans for felons were presumptively lawful. Under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), individuals convicted of crimes punishable by over one years imprisonment are barred from possessing firearms. Holloway v. Rosen and Folajtar v. Barr ask whether applications of the ban to nonviolent offenders violate the Second Amendment. Raymond Holloway cannot possess firearms because of a misdemeanor conviction for driving under the influence. Lisa Folajtar is barred because of a felony conviction for willfully making a materially false statement on her tax returns.

In Holloways case, the district court ruled that the ban was unconstitutional as applied to Holloway, who argued that he was not the type of unvirtuous citizen who has historically been disarmed because, among other things, his offense was a nonviolent misdemeanor for which his sentence was less than one year. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit disagreed, determining that Holloways DUI was serious enough to consider him an unvirtuous citizen. In Folajtars case, both the district court and the 3rd Circuit rejected her argument that her nonviolent crime was not serious enough for the ban. Both petitions ask the Supreme Court to reverse the decisions below and to clarify the standards for when presumptively lawful felon-possess bans rise to a Second Amendment violation.

Heller also left unresolved the extent of Second Amendment protections outside the home. In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Corlett, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch applied for New York licenses to carry firearms outside the home. The licensing officer denied their requests after determining that, under New York law, they had failed to show proper cause to carry a firearm in public for the purpose of self-defense, because [they] did not demonstrate a special need for self-defense that distinguished [them] from the general public. Nash, Koch and the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association ask the Supreme Court to take their case because the lower courts are split over the strength of Second Amendment protections outside the home.

These and otherpetitions of the weekare below:

Facebook Inc. v. Davis20-727Issue: Whether an internet content provider violates theWiretap Actwhen a computer users web browser instructs the provider to display content on the webpage the user visits.

Bognet v. Boockvar20-740Issues: (1) Whether the petitioners, four individual voters and one congressional candidate, have standing to raise their elections clause, electors clause and equal protection clause claims; (2) whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court usurped the Pennsylvania General Assemblys paramount authority from the Constitution to direct [the] Manner for appointing electors for president and vice president and to prescribe [t]he Times, Places and Manner for congressional elections; (3) whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Courts extension violates the petitioners right to have their votes counted without dilution and their right not to have their votes treated in an arbitrary and disparate manner under the equal protection clause; and (4) whetherPurcell v. Gonzalezcounsels against enjoining unconstitutional usurpations of authority to regulate federal elections by state courts and executive branch officials.

Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation v. Yakima County, Washington20-753Issue: Whether the United States can change the scope of its re-assumption of Pub. L. 83-280 jurisdiction over crimes involving Indians in Indian Country years after the re-assumption became effective under25 U.S.C. 1323without the Yakama Nations prior consent required by25 U.S.C. 1326.

Serrano v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection20-768Issue: Whether, when the government seizes a vehicle for civil forfeiture, due process requires a prompt post-seizure hearing to test the legality of the seizure and continued detention of the vehicle pending the final forfeiture trial.

Holloway v. Rosen20-782Issue: Whether a lifetime firearms prohibition based on a nonviolent misdemeanor conviction violates the Second Amendment.

Servotronics Inc. v. Rolls-Royce PLC20-794Issue: Whether the discretion granted to district courts in28 U.S.C. 1782(a)to render assistance in gathering evidence for use in a foreign or international tribunal encompasses private commercial arbitral tribunals, as the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 4th and 6th Circuits have held, or excludes such tribunals without expressing an exclusionary intent, as the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 2nd, 5th and, in the case below, the 7th Circuit, have held.

Houston Community College System v. Wilson20-804Issue: Whether the First Amendment restricts the authority of an elected body to issue a censure resolution in response to a members speech.

RollinsNelson LTC Corp. v. United States, ex rel. Winters20-805Issue: Whether theFalse Claims Actrequires pleading and proof of an objectively false statement.

Folajtar v. Barr20-812Issue: Whether18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), which permanently prohibits nearly all felonseven those convicted of nonviolent crimesfrom possessing firearms for self-defense, violates the Second Amendment, as applied to an individual convicted of willfully making a materially false statement on her tax returns.

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Corlett20-843Issue: Whether the Second Amendment allows the government to prohibit ordinary law-abiding citizens from carrying handguns outside the home for self-defense.

Posted in Facebook Inc. v. Davis, Bognet v. Boockvar, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation v. Yakima County, Washington, Serrano v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Holloway v. Rosen, Servotronics Inc. v. Rolls-Royce PLC, Houston Community College System v. Wilson, RollinsNelson LTC Corp. v. U.S., ex rel. Winters, Folajtar v. Barr, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Corlett, Featured, Cases in the Pipeline

Recommended Citation: Andrew Hamm, Petitions of the week: Three Second Amendment petitions and a Wiretap Act claim against Facebook, SCOTUSblog (Jan. 15, 2021, 1:41 PM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2021/01/petitions-of-the-week-three-second-amendment-petitions-and-a-wiretap-act-claim-against-facebook/

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Petitions of the week: Three Second Amendment petitions and a Wiretap Act claim against Facebook - SCOTUSblog

Austin, TX, January 15, 2021 One year ago, a wave of Texas counties began declaring that they were Second Amendment sanctuaries.

Now Governor Greg Abbott has said that he wants the entire state to be a gun rights haven.

I want to make sure that Texas becomes a Second Amendment sanctuary state so that no government official at any level can come and take your gun away from you, despite those people who said, Heck yes, were going to take your gun, said Abbott during the Texas Public Policy Foundations 2021 Policy Orientation.

Were gonna say, Heck no, you cannot take peoples guns away in Texas, said Abbott in a self-censored reference to Beto ORourkes quip during his presidential campaign.

Though ORourkes line on the debate stage in Houston was meant to rally support from pro-gun control voters, it roused the concerns of pro-Second Amendment supporters.

While a handful of Texas counties had already passed resolutions declaring that they would not authorize the enforcement of any law that violates the state or federal constitutional protection of guns, the measure gained much more traction after ORourkes comment.

By early 2020, commissioners in over 60 counties often with the support of the county sheriff had passed some sort of Second Amendment sanctuary resolution.

Though the number of counties to adopt the pro-gun measure came to a halt as the world shifted its focus to the coronavirus pandemic last March, gun sales have boomed to record highs based on firearm background check statistics.

With the Texas legislature now convened for its regular session, state lawmakers will now be debating the gun policies.

Dozens of bills have been filed by legislators on both sides of the political aisle, with Republicans aiming to bolster firearm protections and Democrats pushing for increased gun control.

Two lawmakers have filed versions of the Texas Firearm Protection Act a bill that then-Attorney General Greg Abbott helped draft in 2013.

Out of the gun legislation that has been brought forward so far, the Texas Firearm Protection Act is the most similar to the idea of a Second Amendment sanctuary.

Both bills Rep. Steve Toths (R-The Woodlands) House Bill (HB) 112 and Rep. Ben Lemans (R-Anderson) HB 919 would prohibit law enforcement from enforcing federal measure that purports to regulate a firearm, a firearm accessory, or firearm ammunition if the statute, order, rule, or regulation imposes a prohibition, restriction, or other regulation, such as a capacity or size limitation, a registration requirement, or a background check, that does not exist under the laws of this state.

Rep. Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands) was one of the five filers of the bill in 2013 and filed it again this year.

In an interview after introducing the act again for the 87th Legislative Session, Toth said that the incoming Biden administration has made it very clear that theyre coming after our guns, but that theyre gonna get a big hell no out of Texas.

I have a zero tolerance policy to prevent the erosion of our gun rights by the left and I will not stand for an oppressive federal government that systematically disarms our citizens, said Leman when he introduced his bill.

In 2013, the Texas House of Representatives passed Toths bill with a 100 vote supermajority after its third reading, but the bill died in the state Senate.

How the legislation will fare this year has yet to be seen, but with Democratic control of the U.S. House of Representatives, exactly half of the U.S. Senate seats, and the White House, there is sure to be an appetite among many Republicans in Texas to push back against the federal government.

That includes Abbott, who is rumored to be considering a run for the presidency and emphasized his priority of focusing on the Tenth Amendment during his discussion at TPPFs event.

I still hold a record that will never be broken by anybody, said Abbott. I hold the record for the most lawsuits filed against Barack Obama 31 legal actions against him.

We had to because the actions he was taking trampled upon Texas liberties based upon the Tenth Amendment. We need to go back to the fundamentals of the Tenth Amendment and reassert that against any potential encroachments that we see under the Biden administration.

See the original post here:
Governor Abbott Says Texas Should Be a Second Amendment Sanctuary - The Texan

The State Capitol in Richmond, Va., and the square in front of the building were secured with fencing and boards on Friday.Credit...Brian Palmer for The New York Times

RICHMOND, Va. Police officers have shut down the square around Virginias Capitol and plan to close streets in downtown Richmond on Sunday and Monday in an attempt to discourage the kind of violent mob that surged through the nations Capitol in Washington on Jan 6.

State capitals across the country were on high alert following an F.B.I. bulletin last week warning of planned violence against the government, but concerns were particularly high in Richmond. This weekend is also the anniversary of a major gun rights protest that drew about 22,000 people to the state Capitol last year, most of them armed.

The protesters massed last year on Martin Luther Kings Birthday, which is a traditional day for Virginia residents to lobby the state legislature at the beginning of its term. The authorities braced for the possibility of violence, fueled by reports that white supremacists, armed militia groups and other extremists planned to attend the rally. But in the end, the police reported no major incidents or violence and announced only one arrest.

City and state authorities have said they are prepared for any disruptions this year, and officials put the city under a state of emergency. If you come here and act out, Virginia will be ready, Gov. Ralph Northam said on Thursday.

State legislators are not convening at the Capitol for this years General Assembly session because of coronavirus concerns. Instead, the State Senate is meeting at the Science Museum of Virginia, where there is room to spread out their desks, and the House of Delegates has opted for a fully remote session.

The authorities said their primary focus will be monitoring a rolling caravan of Second Amendment supporters who plan to drive through the city on Monday, in a pandemic-era version of last years rally. Both years events were planned by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun rights organization.

WASHINGTON Military vehicles and police barricades lined the streets of the nations capital and surrounded statehouses across the country on Sunday, as officials braced for pro-Trump protests amid concerns about potential violence or domestic terrorism.

Striving to head off any repeat of the riot less than two weeks ago, when President Trumps supporters breached the Capitol in Washington, D.C., state officials have deployed National Guard troops, shut down statehouse grounds and delayed legislative sessions in response to F.B.I. notices that white supremacists and right-wing extremists could target capital cities across the country.

People posting on right-wing websites and social media have called for supporters to march on Washington and all 50 state Capitols on Sunday, with plans in Washington for a march to end at the White House. In recent days, however, as officials have beefed up precautions, some posters sought to discourage people from turning out, making it unclear what to expect.

In Washington, concerns mounted over the weekend ahead of the presidential inauguration on Wednesday. A militarized green zone grew downtown, as streets were blocked by concrete barricades and military vehicles, and police sirens blared frequently on Saturday. Pentagon officials said that 9,500 National Guard members from 46 states and 3 territories had arrived in Washington by Saturday, and that as many as 25,000 are expected by Wednesday.

Federal officials are vetting hundreds of possible airplane passengers, putting any who have been identified among the violent protesters at the Capitol on Jan. 6 on a no fly list. The Transportation Security Administration added federal marshals on flights and explosive-detection dogs at airports.

State capitals were quiet on Saturday, but many streets around Capitol buildings were heavily policed and militarized, and looked similar to those in downtown Washington Across the country, at least 19 states activated National Guard units.

In Virginia, site of a rally a year ago on Martin Luther Kings Birthday that drew thousands of gun-rights protesters to Richmond and prompted concerns about violent extremism, Gov. Ralph Northam issued a warning: If youre planning to come here or up to Washington with ill intent in your heart, you need to turn around right now and go home.

Potentially violent protests are expected on Sunday and Wednesday in Michigan, where armed and angry demonstrators crowded into the State Capitol in April to protest coronavirus lockdown orders Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has activated the Michigan National Guard, and a six-foot fence has been erected around the Statehouse in Lansing, where windows of state office buildings have been boarded up.

The state Legislature has canceled several sessions scheduled for this week after credible threats were received by Michigan State Police.

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California authorized the deployment of 1,000 National Guard troops and had the State Capitol grounds in Sacramento surrounded with a chain-link fence.

There will be no tolerance for violence, Mr. Newsom said last week, referring to the attack on the nations Capitol. California will take every necessary measure to protect public safely and our democratic principles, and to ensure that those disgraceful actions are not repeated here.

The ragged camps of far-right groups and white nationalists emboldened under President Trump have long nursed an overlapping list of hatreds and goals: Overthrowing the government. Igniting a second Civil War. Banishing racial minorities, immigrants and Jews. Or simply sowing chaos in the streets.

But now they have been galvanized by the outgoing presidents false claims that the election was stolen from him and by the violent attack on the nations Capitol on Jan. 6 that hundreds of them led in his name.

The politicians who have lied, betrayed and sold out the American people for decades were forced to cower in fear and scatter like rats, one group, known for pushing the worst anti-Semitic tropes, commented on Twitter the day after the attack.

The Capitol riots served as a propaganda coup for the far right, and those who track hate groups say the attack is likely to join an extremist lexicon with Waco, Ruby Ridge and the Bundy occupation of an Oregon wildlife preserve in fueling recruitment and violence for years to come.

Even as dozens of rioters have been arrested, chat rooms and messaging apps where the far right congregates are filled with celebrations and plans. An ideological jumble of hate groups and far-right agitators the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, the Boogaloo movement and neo-Nazis among them are now discussing how to expand their rosters and whether to take to the streets again this week to oppose the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Some, enraged by their failure to overturn the presidential election, have posted manuals on waging guerrilla warfare and building explosive devices.

People saw what we can do, they know whats up, they want in, boasted one message on a Proud Boys Telegram channel earlier this week.

Link:
Protests Today: Live Tracker from Capitol and Across the Country - The New York Times

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Posted: Sunday, January 17, 2021 2:15 am

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Country is in chaos George PittsFort Stockton Odessa American

In the last five years there have been three attempted political coups to dispose Trump and effect overthrow our government.

The first was the Mueller witch hunt.

The second was the ridiculous impeachment attempt because of simple phone call to a Ukrainian official by Trump, and now, thirdly the rigged, corrupt, and stolen election for Biden by Biden and his ilk.

The courageous and bible-believing founders of our country were rightfully suspicious and a little paranoid about big government (see king George of England). That is why they enacted the second amendment, the right to bear arms. This right was not instituted for rabbit hunting. It was to dispose tyrannical government should it ever occur in our nations future.

Well, it looks like tyrannical government has arrived. What are Trumps voters going to do if the Biden coup occurs on Jan. 20? Roll over and play dead?

This county is full of feckless, weak, docile, and passive, cowards, our founders were strong and God fearing. They preferred death rather than lose their freedom.

Well, this countrys fate is now in the hands of God and the 75 million Trump supporters.

Posted in Letters To Editor on Sunday, January 17, 2021 2:15 am. | Tags: Letter To The Editor

Excerpt from:
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Country is in chaos - Odessa American