3rd Circuit Denies En Banc Appeal in Sen. Menendez Case
Nest stop SCOTUS? … Continue reading
Category Archives: Speech or Debate Clause
3rd Circuit Seems Skeptical of Menendez Speech or Debate Clause Attack on His Indictment
AP reports. … Continue reading
Sen. Menedez Files 3d Circuit Brief in Speech or Debate Clause Appeal
Howard with the stories and the brief. … Continue reading
“Robert Menendez Case Eligible for Appeal”
AP: Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey may appeal his indictment on corruption charges, based partly on his argument that some of the charges stem from routine legislative work protected by the Constitution. The United States Court of Appeals for … Continue reading
“N.J.’s Menendez says actions that helped friend were legitimate”
NJ.com: Lawyers for U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez argued in U.S. District Court in Newark that his actions on behalf of Dr. Salomon Melgen concerned legitimate policy questions and were not favors for a friend and campaign donor. In filings submitted late … Continue reading
“Government Not Impressed by Menendez’s ‘Policy’ Approach to Speech or Debate”
Point of Order explains. … Continue reading
Speech or Debate Clause, Citizens United, Weigh Heavily in Sen. Menendez Defense to Bribery
This should be interesting. Even if these claims ultimately fail (which they likely will), it will likely buy the Senator some significant time before potential incarceration. … Continue reading
Bauer Critical of SCOTUS AZ Redistricting Decision and Renzi Cert. Denial
Interesting read: The doctrinal fine points are open to be debate, but it is hard to escape the impression that Court believes readily in the failures of the democratic process and the part played in this breakdown by self-interested legislators. … Continue reading
Bauer on #SCOTUS Renzi Petition and Congressional Self-Policing
interesting. … Continue reading
Renzi Speech or Debate Clause Case Relisted at #SCOTUS
John Elwood: The other two rescheduled cases involve the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution. The first petitioner is former Representative Richard Renzi, who was charged with extorting private investors to buy land owned by his friend and business … Continue reading
“Will Menendez Staffers Be Forced to Testify Against Their Boss?”
Roll Call on how far the Speech or Debate privilege extends … Continue reading
9th Circuit Affirms Renzi Conviction
The opinion, again rejecting a defense under the Speech or Debate Clause, is here. Rick’s earlier coverage is here. … Continue reading
“The Legislator-Lobbyist Privilege?”
Very interesting post at Point of Order. … Continue reading
“House Lawyers Defend ‘Speech or Debate’ Protections”
Legal Times: A bipartisan group of congressional leaders filed court papers Tuesday defending the constitutional shield that protects members of Congress and their staff from being forced to provide information about legislative activities. The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the … Continue reading
“Developing a Speech or Debate Clause Framework for Redistricting Litigation”
Christopher Asta has posted this draft on SSRN (NYU Law Review). Here is the abstract: The Speech or Debate Clause of the U.S. Constitution protects legislators from being “questioned” at trial about their legislative acts. This protection shields legislators from … Continue reading
“Former Rep. Rick Renzi Convicted in Corruption Case”
Roll Call reports. So I’ll now be updating a few things in the Legislation chapters of my work in progress, Legislation, Statutory Interpretation, and Election Law: Examples and Explanations. (From alleged to convicted…) … Continue reading
“Dueling Speech or Debate Privileges in the Renzi Case”
Interesting discussion at Point of Order. … Continue reading
“The Curious Case of Rick Renzi”
Interesting Speech or Debate Clause issue in the Renzi trial. … Continue reading
Texas court denies privilege for congressional redistricting conversations
Yesterday, the federal court handling most of the mammoth Texas redistricting litigation denied a motion by members of Congress to prevent disclosure of their conversations to the Texas legislators conducting redistricting. Michael Li, who’s been following all of the back … Continue reading
“9th Circuit Denies Rehearing in Renzi Case”
Legal Times has this post on the one-page order declining to rehear the Speech or Debate Clause case en banc. No dissents, although some predict a cert grant. You can find Rick’s post on the panel opinion here. … Continue reading
Support for an en banc rehearing in Renzi
Before we get to a cert. grant in the case against former Rep. Richard Renzi, there’s the matter of potential en banc proceedings. The bipartisan legal advisory group of the House of Representatives (which reflects the House’s official institutional position … Continue reading
Adler Predicts a Likely Cert. Grant in Renzi Case
Here. I’m inclined to agree. UPDATE: Mike Stern too. … Continue reading
Breaking News: Former Rep. Renzi Loses Appeal on Speech or Debate Clause Grounds in Ninth Circuit
I have posted the opinion in United States v. Renzi at this link. There is also an unpublished portion of the opinion (which I have not seen), reinstating the racketeering act dismissed by the district court. Here is the introduction: … Continue reading