Ken Klukowski

Ken Klukowski - Page 11

Articles by Ken Klukowski

California Cities Sue Oil Companies over Climate Change

City attorneys in San Francisco and Oakland, California, sued five oil companies in two coordinated lawsuits on Tuesday, arguing that the courts should hold these companies responsible for climate change, and force them to financially compensate the cities for harm the plaintiffs claim those companies are causing to the planet’s environment.

american worker

Senate Confirms Noel Francisco as Solicitor General

Senators on Tuesday confirmed Noel Francisco as solicitor general of the United States—the nation’s top lawyer before the U.S. Supreme Court—ending weeks of delays and obstruction, just days before the Trump administration will begin arguing a host of major cases before the justices. The vote was shockingly narrow with a tally of 50-47.

Noel Francisco Mark WilsonGetty Images

Fifteen States Sue Trump over DACA

Fifteen states with leftist attorneys general sued President Donald Trump in federal court on Wednesday over his decision to end President Barack Obama’s controversial DACA program.

We Persist to Resist Eduardo Munoz AlvarezGetty ImagesAFP

Harry Reid Named in Court Filing in Sen. Menendez Corruption Trial

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pushed the Obama White House to help Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) in getting the federal government to back off a Medicare fraud criminal scheme involving a major Menendez supporter, efforts for which Menendez will stand trial in federal court next week on public corruption charges.

Menendez, Corker, Reid, Obama MANDEL NGANAFPGetty Images

Sanctuary City Funding Fight Likely Destined for Supreme Court

Lawsuits by Chicago and California against President Donald Trump’s sanctuary city executive order and Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ federal funding conditions are almost certain to end up at the Supreme Court within two years, raising profound constitutional questions about immigration, state sovereignty, and the rule of law.

Sanctuary-Cities-Protest-Anti-Trump-Illegal-Immigration-Los-Angeles-640x480-Getty-640x480-

Justice Department Argues Congress, Not Courts, Makes Sexual Orientation Laws

WASHINGTON, DC—Justice Department lawyers told a federal appeals court on Wednesday that only Congress can decide to make sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes under federal civil rights laws, reversing the Obama administration’s position that courts can reinterpret previous laws to include these new social categories.

All Gender Sign REUTERSJonathan Drake.

Federal Appeals Court: Trump EPA Cannot Delay Obama EPA Methane Rule

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, last week claimed the power to override President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency when the agency reconsiders an Obama-era regulation. While the specifics sound bureaucratic and are laced with legalese, this decision creates a new precedent that likely only the Supreme Court can reverse.

WASINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama walk

Lawyers for Sarah Palin and New York Times Appear Before Federal Judge

Lawyers representing former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) appeared in federal court in Manhattan on Friday for an initial hearing in Palin’s lawsuit against the New York Times for defamation, following the Times’ editorial accusing the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee of inciting violence.

Sarah-Palin-Getty

Trump in Poland: West’s Will to Survive is ‘Fundamental Question of our Time’

President Donald Trump in Poland on Thursday declared the paramount importance of defending our values, protecting our borders, building strong families, and preserving Western civilization. It was a speech that could have been given by President Ronald Reagan, reminiscent of Reagan’s historic “Tear Down This Wall” speech.

donald trump Poland REUTERSKacper Pempel

Klukowski: Justices Gorsuch and Scalia’s Legacy on Independence Day

President Donald Trump set a high bar when he promised to nominate a successor to Justice Antonin Scalia who would fill the shoes of the conservative lion. Last month’s decisions proved Justice Neil Gorsuch is indeed an originalist in the mold of Justice Scalia whom all Americans can celebrate this Independence Day, though it will take years for the newest justice to set forth all the nuances of his legal philosophy.

Justices Gorsuch and Scalia

Justice Kennedy Considers Retirement in 2018

Rumor has it that Justice Anthony Kennedy is telling potential new law clerks that he is considering retiring from the Supreme Court next summer, setting up an epic showdown for the 2018 midterm elections.

Justice Kennedy Chip SomodevillaGetty

Supreme Court Orders Hearing on Fatal Border Shooting of Mexican Teenager

The Supreme Court set aside an appeals court decision involving the fatal border shooting of a Mexican national by a U.S. Border Patrol agent, sending the case back down for further proceedings on possible violations of constitutional rights and whether the agent is personally liable to pay money to the Mexican citizen’s family.

Relatives of Sergio Hernández sit in Ciudad Juarez at the U.S.-Mexico border, on the seco

Justices Thomas and Gorsuch: Supreme Court Should Take More Second Amendment Cases

Gun owners were disappointed Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take perhaps the highest-profile Second Amendment case in the country right now: Peruta v. California.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch share those gun owners’ disappointment, declaring the need for the nation’s highest court to require adherence to its Second Amendment precedents.

Brandon Oathout of Johnstown, N.Y., attends a Second Amendment rally at the Capitol on Tue

Supreme Court Rules for Federal Agents in 9/11 Lawsuits

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled on lawsuits involving the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that have been running since then, ruling mostly in favor of the federal agents sued for their actions following the attacks, but remanding one issue back to the lower courts for another hearing.

twin towers 9/11 attack

Big Cases Still Waiting for Supreme Court Decisions in 2017

Seventeen cases from this year’s Supreme Court term are still pending, with decisions expected in the next eight days. Religious liberty, the constitutional rights of illegal aliens, and free-speech rights to express messages some people find offensive are several of the high-profile issues raised in the remaining cases.

WASHINGTON, DC-JAN 27: President Trump will most likely fill a vacancy on the Supreme Cour

Adam Schiff Threatens to Violate Constitution–Twice–with Independent Counsel

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) threatened to have Congress appoint a special counsel, despite the Supreme Court’s decision that it is unconstitutional for Congress to appoint any federal official. This decision came from a case so famous that the lawmaker almost certainly learned it as a student at Harvard Law School.

House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA).

Trump Could Silence Comey, But Lets Him Speak

President Donald Trump has constitutional authority to prevent former FBI Director James Comey from testifying before Congress by invoking executive privilege but instead has chosen to let his former top investigator speak publicly.

Trump, Comey ThompsonReuters