April 7, 2017

Gov't Drops Summons For Real Identity Of 'Alt' Immigration Twitter Account

Source: Talking Points Memo




By MATT SHUHAM Published APRIL 7, 2017, 2:01 PM EDT

Twitter has withdrawn a lawsuit against the federal government after the government dropped its summons for the social media company to "unmask" the individuals behind an anonymous account critical of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

"On April 7, 2017, counsel for Defendants from the Department of Justice contacted counsel for Twitter, to advise that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has withdrawn the summons and that the summons no longer has any force or effect," a short court filing Friday said in part. "Because the summons has now been withdrawn, Twitter voluntary dismisses without prejudice all claims against Defendants in the above captioned matter."

On Thursday, Twitter sued the Department of Homeland Security, and specifically U.S. Customs and Border patrol and its leadership, for requesting identifying information for the individuals behind the @ALT_USCIS account, which posts critical commentary on the government's handling of immigration and other issues.

Twitter accused the government of potentially violating its and the account holders' rights to free and pseudonymous speech, and said that the summons for information sent to them by CBP had contained nothing more than "boilerplate language" with no specific evidence of a criminal or civil offense.

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Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/government-drops-summons-twitter-lawsuit-alt-uscis

April 6, 2017

Report: Mitt Romney Considering 2018 Senate Run For Hatch's Seat

Source: Talking Points Memo



By ESME CRIBB Published APRIL 6, 2017, 4:15 PM EDT

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is considering running for Senate in 2018, according to a report published Thursday by the Atlantic.

Romney discussed the possibility of a run for Sen. Orrin Hatch's (R-UT) seat with high-level Republicans in Washington and Utah, according to the report, which cited six unnamed sources familiar with the situation.

In an interview last week with the National Journal, Hatch said that he would consider retiring if Romney ran for his seat.

"If I could get a really outstanding person to run for my position, I might very well consider it," he said. "Mitt Romney would be perfect."

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/report-mitt-romney-considering-senate-run

April 6, 2017

Senate Republicans go nuclear, pave the way for Gorsuch confirmation to Supreme Court

Source: The Washington Post




By Ed O'Keefe April 6 at 12:34 PM

Senate Republicans successfully voted to change the rules of the U.S. Senate on Thursday and confirm U.S. Supreme Court nominees with a simple majority vote.

The long-anticipated change came after Democrats earlier blocked attempts to advance the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to serve on the high court. The change now means that all presidential nominees for executive branch positions and federal courts only need a simple majority vote to be confirmed by senators.

A final confirmation vote on Gorsuch is not scheduled until Friday, when 52 Republicans and at least three Democrats — from states won by Trump in last year’s election — are expected to vote for him to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the high court.

But the next 24 hours could be among the most contentious in recent Senate history.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/senate-poised-for-historic-clash-over-supreme-court-nominee-neil-gorsuch/2017/04/06/40295376-1aba-11e7-855e-4824bbb5d748_story.html?pushid=58e66e359de27e1d00000006&tid=notifi_push_breaking-news&utm_term=.0b8447daadab

April 6, 2017

Democrats block Gorsuch consideration, paving way for Senate rules change

Source: The Washington Post

By Ed O'Keefe April 6 at 11:43 AM

Democrats successfully blocked Judge Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court from advancing in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, sparking what is expected to be a bitter clash with Republicans over how the chamber confirms high court nominees.

Gorsuch failed to earn the 60 votes needed to end debate on his nomination. In response, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has vowed he will change Senate rules in order to confirm Gorsuch and all future Supreme Court nominees with a simple majority vote.

A final confirmation vote on Gorsuch is not scheduled until Friday, when 52 Republicans and at least three Democrats — from states won by Trump in last year’s election — are expected to vote to have him replace the late Antonin Scalia on the high court.

But the next 24 hours could be among the most bitter in recent Senate history.



Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/senate-poised-for-historic-clash-over-supreme-court-nominee-neil-gorsuch/2017/04/06/40295376-1aba-11e7-855e-4824bbb5d748_story.html?pushid=58e65bd19de27e1d00000005&tid=notifi_push_breaking-news&utm_term=.c7640

April 5, 2017

Court: Workplace discrimination against gays is prohibited by federal law

Source: The Washington Post


By Sandhya Somashekhar April 4 at 10:02 PM

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that workers may not be fired for their sexual orientation, becoming the highest court in the country to find that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gays from workplace discrimination and setting up a possible Supreme Court battle.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, based in Chicago, found that instructor Kimberly Hively was improperly passed over for a full-time job at Ivy Tech Community College in South Bend, Ind., because she was a lesbian. While the Civil Rights Act does not explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, it bars sex discrimination; the court concluded that the college engaged in sex discrimination by stereotyping Hively based on her gender.

“Hively represents the ultimate case of failure to conform to the female stereotype … she is not heterosexual,” Chief Judge Diane Wood wrote in Tuesday’s opinion. “Hively’s claim is no different from the claims brought by women who were rejected for jobs in traditionally male workplaces, such as fire departments, construction, and policing.”

The ruling echoes those of a number of lower courts, which have also concluded that discrimination against gays is a prohibited form of sex stereotyping. It conflicts, however, with others, including a ruling last month by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, which interpreted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act more narrowly and found that sexual orientation is not a protected class under that law. A split in the circuits could set up a clash before the Supreme Court.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/04/04/court-discrimination-against-gays-is-prohibited-by-federal-law/?utm_term=.a6d6afdfa794&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

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Court: Civil Rights Law covers LGBT workplace bias

MICHAEL TARM, Associated Press

Published: April 4, 2017, 6:52 pm Updated: April 4, 2017, 7:15 pm

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal appeals court in Chicago on Tuesday ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act also protects LGBT employees from workplace discrimination, the first time a federal appellate court has come to that conclusion.

The decision by the full 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago comes just three weeks after a three-judge panel in Atlanta ruled the opposite, saying employers aren’t prohibited from discriminating against employees based on sexual orientation.

-snip-

The entire court reheard oral arguments in November and directed the toughest questions at a lawyer for the college who argued only Congress could extend the protections. The aggressive questions suggested the court might be willing to expand the 53-year-old landmark law.

Judge Richard Posner asked the attorney for the community college, John Maley: “Who will be hurt if gays and lesbians have a little more job protection?” When Maley said he couldn’t think of anyone who would be harmed, Posner shot back, “So, what’s the big deal?” Posner also said it was wrong to say a decades-old statute is “frozen” on the day it passed and that courts can never broaden its scope. Eight out of the 11 judges who reheard the case, including Posner, were appointed by Republican presidents.

The ruling comes as hopes have dimmed among some gay rights activists that the question will be resolved in their favor following election victories in November by Republicans.

more
http://wavy.com/2017/04/04/federal-appeals-court-civil-rights-act-covers-lgbt-workplace-bias/