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This case concerns the question of whether the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires an agency to study environmental impacts beyond the proximate effects of the action over which the agency has regulatory authority. When the Surface Transportation Board granted a petition from the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition to construct and operate an 80-mile Utah railway, they conducted an...

In the last several years, numerous minors who identify as transgender have undergone surgery and other medical procedures to mirror common physical features of the opposite sex. In March 2023, Tennessee enacted Senate Bill 1, which prohibits medical procedures for the purpose of either (1) enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex,...

Bethesda University, a private Christian university founded around Pentecostal theology, faced an internal leadership dispute, as the president persuaded the board to appoint non-Pentecostal members to the board of directors. The rest of the leadership objected and fired President Cho, arguing that only Pentecostals could serve on the board of directors. The former President and the California Cou...

There have been significant changes in federal AI policy over the course of the first term of the Trump administration and Biden administration that present a major inflection point for President-elect Trump as he prepares for his second term in office. This panel will delve into the differing doctrinal and policy frameworks for executive branch and congressional AI policy to map out how this tran...

The intersection of the First Amendment, parental rights, and educational texts has become a topic of significant conversation over the past several years. School boards in states across the nation are facing questions related to what materials are appropriate for students to read, how to educate children, the nature of parental rights, what exceptions should be granted for families who raise reli...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has initiated a proceeding that proposes to require radio and TV broadcasters as well as cable and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) operators to include a disclaimer on all political advertisements that contain content generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The requirement would apply to both candidate and issue ads. The broadcasters of the ads also...

Under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the FDA must approve new tobacco products. Wages and White Lion Investments (dba Trion Distribution) and Vapetasia manufacture and sell flavored nicotine-containing liquids for use in refillable e-cigarette systems. They applied for FDA approval in 2020; about ten months later the FDA announced new requirements for approval and, based on...

With the upcoming shift in presidential administrations, there is a potential for significant changes within federal agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission. This webinar will speculate and discuss exactly what sorts of changes may be in store for the SEC agenda. Our two speakers will address questions surrounding topics like the agency’s enforcement approach, the future of cryp...

This past April, the Department of Education published a 423-page final rule amending its implementing for Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in federally-funded education programs and activities, with certain, important exceptions. The new rule was consistent with an order issued by President Biden on his first day in office that the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Cla...

The Supreme Court has recently issued rulings in three cases involving speech-based arrests, demonstrating increased scrutiny of such incidents. In a span of four months, the Court reversed three lower court decisions that had previously granted immunity to government officials accused of arresting individuals for their speech. The cases are Gonzalez v. Trevino, decided on June 20, 2024; Murphy v....

Each month, a panel of constitutional experts convenes to discuss the Court’s upcoming docket sitting by sitting. The cases covered in this preview are listed below. Food and Drug Administration v. Wages and White Lion Investments, LLC (December 2) - Federalism & Separation of Powers; Issue(s): Whether the court of appeals erred in setting aside the Food and Drug Administration&a...

Delligatti v. United States concerns whether a crime that requires proof of bodily injury or death, but can be committed by failing to take action, has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force. Known by some as the "non-violent murder case" Delligatti ties into a larger conversation on the way "violent"/"use-of-force" crimes are defined categorically rather than on...

In 1996, the FTC and DOJ issued Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Health Care. The statements addressed important topics, such as hospital mergers, information sharing, joint purchasing, and provider joint ventures. The DOJ withdrew the guidelines in February 2023, and the FTC followed in July. Some healthcare companies – and businesses in other sectors – that have establis...

Reducing the cost of prescription drugs has been a bipartisan priority for years. One recent effort is the Preserve Access to Affordadble Generics and Biosimilars Act (S. 142), sponsored by Sen. Klobuchar with the support of Sen. Grassley and others. This bill would give the FTC new authority to investigate settlements between branded and generic drug companies that delay generic/biosimilar market...

Discussions of the dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have long included concerns about AI systems’ potential to discriminate against racial minorities, women, and other groups said to be disadvantaged. But more recently, there have been increasing concerns about the dangers of Woke AI. Because generative AI models learn from large amounts of real-world data, which is primarily gleaned...

Tennessee v. Cardona concerns the Biden Administration’s recent revisions to regulations under Title IX. Particularly at issue are those provisions that redefine the term "sex" to include "gender identity" for purposes of the regulation. Six states, including Tennessee, along with an association of Christian educators and a female high-school student sued, alleging the regulation as amended...

The Atlantic City Fire Department requires all personnel who respond to fires or other emergencies to follow the proper use of an air mask when exposed to hazardous air. To ensure a proper fit, employees are prohibited from growing facial hair that could interfere with the mask seal. Plaintiff, Pastor Alexander Smith requested a religious accommodation to wear a short beard, arguing that growing t...

E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera concerns what standard the court should apply in cases of exceptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act. This act governs such limitations as hours worked, overtime pay, and working conditions across the United States. Several provisions within it exempt certain industries from some requirements, and this case deals with the burden of proof on a corporation to prove that...

Chiles v. Salazar arises from a challenge to a Colorado law limiting therapists’ speech when counseling gay and transgender individuals. The Minor Conversion Therapy Law (MCTL) prevents licensed mental health professionals from providing any practice or treatment that “attempts or purports to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity including efforts to change...

Each month, a panel of constitutional experts convenes to discuss the Court’s upcoming docket sitting by sitting. The cases covered in this preview are listed below. Wisconsin Bell v. U.S., (November 4) - Telecommunications; Whether reimbursement requests submitted to the Federal Communications Commission's E-rate program are “claims” under the False Claims Act. Advoc...

In September, the Department of Justice announced that it would withdraw its 1995 bank merger guidelines and apply its 2023 merger guidelines for all industries, a move that some have interpreted as signaling stricter review of bank mergers. At the same time, Congress is considering the “Credit Card Competition Act,” which purports to promote competition in the credit card netw...

In 1906, Congress passed the Antiquities Act, which gives the President the authority to set aside federal land to protect "objects of historic or scientific interest." Presidents have since used the Act in increasingly broad ways, setting aside millions and millions of acres to protect broader arrays of "objects." Recently, President Biden set aside 3 million acres in Utah to protect a collection...

Last term, the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. This watershed ruling included the notable line, “Chevron is overruled.” The federal judiciary is now to review agencies’ interpretations of statutes that are “silent or ambiguous” without affording an agency deference. This decision is already affecting ad...

When it comes to patent eligibility and statutory construction, does “any” really mean “any?” In the courts, is it permissible to limit statutorily-authorized patent term adjustment based on a doctrine that has no basis in statute? The debate surrounding these issues has only gotten livelier with recent Federal Circuit decisions and a bi-partisan patent eligibility bill wor...

The Federalist Society is proud to host Mark Rienzi, President of the Becket Fund and Professor of Law at the Catholic University of America, for this year’s annual discussion of Religious Liberty at the Court. This webinar will be moderated by William Saunders, Professor and Co-director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Catholic University of America. Please join us for this latest...