Five days before Rafael Mejia and Homes Rios’s drug trial was to begin, the Justice Department, pursuant to the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), filed an ex parte, in camera motion with the trial court seeking to prevent disclosure of certain classified information during discovery. The trial court granted the motion, determining that the information…
New England’s electricity market is structured as a “forward capacity market,” administered by ISO New England, Inc. and overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). This means that rather than engaging in a traditional cost-based regulatory approach, New England sets utility rates by auction, in which electricity providers “purchase from generators options to buy…
After selling crack cocaine three times to a government informant, Dennis Webb was convicted of drug offenses under three federal provisions: 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A), prohibiting sale of 50 grams or more of crack cocaine, § 841(b)(1)(B), prohibiting sale of 5 grams or more, and § 841(b)(1)(C), prohibiting sale of any other amount. However, the…
In Initiative and Referendum Institute, individuals and organizations attempting to collect signatures for petitions on sidewalks and other exterior areas of post offices challenged a USPS regulation banning the solicitation of signatures on petitions, polls, or surveys on USPS property. The court concluded that the regulation was unconstitutional when applied to a public forum. Although the…
Under the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, registered lobbyists must disclose organizations that contribute more than $5,000 to the registrant and actively participate in the planning, supervision, or control of the registrant’s lobbying activities. The National Association of Manufacturers filed suit contending that the HLOGA violated the First Amendment facially and as…