+ 9th Circuit to weigh Trump’s use of troops.

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The Daily Docket

The Daily Docket

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

 

By Caitlin Tremblay

Good morning. In Trump's drug war, prisoners may be too much of a legal headache, experts say. Plus, the 9th Circuit will weigh President Trump’s use of troops in California; and the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear from Trump's two newest judicial nominees. Here are some dogs in costumes to carry us through Wednesday. Let’s get going.

 

In Trump's drug war, prisoners may be too much of a legal headache, experts say

 

REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

When two alleged drug traffickers survived a U.S. military strike last week in the Caribbean, they left the Trump administration with a decision to make: send them back home, or find a way to keep them detained. 

Rather than holding them, the United States sent them back to their home countries. The move, which was first reported by Reuters, suggests that for now U.S. officials don't want to grapple with legal issues surrounding military detention for any alleged drug traffickers captured during the Caribbean operations, legal experts said.

Read more about why that is here.

 

Coming up today

  • The 9th Circuit will hear President Trump’s appeal of a district court order that restricted his use of National Guard troops in California. The appeals court has already stayed the lower court decision, allowing Trump to retain control of California's National Guard over the objections of the state and its governor Gavin Newsom, while the legal battle plays out.
  • L'Oreal will argue that the 9th Circuit should uphold a California court's decision to dismiss a trade-secret lawsuit from Metricolor LLC over hair-coloring technology after the district court found that Metricolor's president had "repeatedly fabricated, destroyed, and withheld evidence." Metricolor argues that the court sanction terminating the case was too harsh.
  • The 9th Circuit will take up an appeal from the Republican National Committee challenging a Nevada state law that requires election officials to count mail ballots that are received up to four business days after Election Day. Read the district court order.
  • The 4th Circuit will hear an appeal in a lawsuit accusing the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice of mistreatment of children in its custody. The South Carolina NAACP is challenging the case’s dismissal. Read the district court order here.
  • The 4th Circuit will hear arguments over whether “Texas two-step” restructuring is an indicator of bad faith for the purposes of a bankruptcy stay. Read the district court order here.
  • U.S. District Judge Stacey Neumann in Bangor, Maine, will hold a hearing in a lawsuit accusing the state of violating the ADA. Maine reached a settlement with the DOJ last year that would support children with disabilities and comply with federal law. The DOJ has since reconsidered its position and both parties are seeking to amend the settlement.
  • The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hear from President Trump's two newest judicial nominees: Louisiana Supreme Court Justice William Crain, who is nominated to serve as a judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana, and Alexander Van Hook, a federal prosecutor nominated to a seat in the Western District of Louisiana. The committee will also hear from Andrew Tysen Duva, Trump's nominee to lead the DOJ's criminal division.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

 

More top news

  • Trump says Justice Department owes him money, vows to donate any payout to charity
  • U.S. lawmakers advance bill to require key aviation tracking technology
 
 

Industry insight

  • Several top lobbying firms in D.C. beat or nearly broke their revenue records in the third quarter of the year, before the U.S. federal government shut down earlier this month. Find out more here.
  • Moves: Real estate partner Jennifer Yashar moved to Gibson Dunn from Fried Frank … IP partners Glenn Gundersen and Gayle Denman left Dechert for Davis Wright … Foley Hoag added tech transactions partner Brooke Fritz from Cooley … Joshua Altman left Katten Muchin Rosenman for Neal Gerber Eisenberg’s restructuring and insolvency practice.
 

In the courts

  • Biotech company 10x Genomics sued rival Illumina in Delaware federal court, accusing Illumina of infringing patents related to 10x's genetic analysis technology. Read the complaint.
  • Apple urged the 9th Circuit to reverse a federal judge’s order that bars it from collecting commissions on some app purchases and to overturn a contempt finding against the iPhone maker for violating a prior court decision in the case. Read more here.
  • A former Amazon delivery driver has sued the EEOC for ceasing investigations into workplace policies with discriminatory impacts, including her complaint accusing the online retail giant of sex discrimination. Read the complaint.
  • Amazon agreed to settle a nationwide consumer lawsuit accusing it of unfair and deceptive practices for failing to issue refunds or recharging customers who had timely returned purchases. Read more here.
  • More than 99% of bankrupt drugmaker Purdue Pharma's creditors voted to accept a $7.4 billion settlement of legal claims related to the company's sales of addictive opioid medication. Read more here.