Sunday, June 22, 2014

Interesting summary. Can't wait for the memo.
In response to consolidated lawsuits filed by the ACLU and The New York Times, the Second Circuit recently ordered the Obama administration to disclose (with redactions) one of the legal memos authorizing the government’s premeditated killing of Anwar al-Aulaqi, an American citizen. The government has challenged certain aspects of the court’s decision, apparently with some degree of success (more on that below), and it has managed to defer the release of the memo by two months. To its credit, though, the court appears unwilling to allow the government to delay the release of the memo indefinitely. If the court holds to a plan it set forth ten days ago, it will publish the memo itself this coming week.
It seems likely that the court will publish, as early as Monday, a redacted version of the Barron memo, a revised version of its April ruling, and an opinion relating to the government’s petition for rehearing.


“We thought that laws only applied to the second class citizens we pretend to serve...” Or perhaps the law is too new and Congress needs a few more decades to adjust (before repealing the law)
SEC sues for congressional papers in insider trading probe
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit in New York seeking to compel the House Ways and Means Committee and a top House health care aide to turn over documents in an insider trading probe, a development that could begin a power struggle between two branches of government.
U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan on Friday ordered the committee and staffer Brian Sutter, a possible source of the leak, according to the SEC, to appear before him July 1. He said the committee must show why it should not be ordered to produce documents demanded by the SEC in May.
The SEC sought the subpoenas in an investigation testing the limits of federal insider-trading laws on whether the committee or staff members illegally passed on nonpublic information about a change in health-care policy. In seeking compliance with the subpoena demand, the SEC cited a 2012 law that requires public officials to keep confidential any nonpublic information about government matters that could move stock prices.
The regulator is investigating a spike in trading of health insurance companies, including Humana Inc., ahead of a government announcement last year that increased, rather than cut, payments to health insurers.


Anything new here? I don't see it.
Justices limit patents on software technology
The justices on Thursday ruled unanimously against an Australian company that sought exclusive intellectual property rights for INVENTCO, a computerized system for creating and exchanging financial instruments such as derivatives.
The court concluded Alice Corp.'s idea would "add nothing of substance to the underlying abstract idea," since that idea had been longstanding, and merely programmed for use on a computer.
… The legal dispute prompted a range of interested parties to file "amicus" or supporting briefs to the high court, including Facebook, IBM and Google.
… The case decided Thursday is Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International (13-298).


This could be useful.
– Create interactive video experiences that engage learners. Create a Zaption tour from your own video library, or from clips on YouTube. Add response elements throughout your tour, including multiple-choice questions, continuous polls, discussions, and more. Then publish it.


This should scare anyone considering law school.
– The Legislative Branch and the Executive Branch of the United States are two large and complex systems which make up the US Government. the legislative side, Congress and the Senate have numerous committees. Legislative Explorer tries to make sense of it all.

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