The Equal Rights Amendment and Article V

MICHAEL C. DORF

Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf discusses the possible consequences of the Virginia legislature’s ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) just last week, becoming the 38th state to do so. Dorf explains why there remains a question as to the validity of Virginia’s ratification, given the Amendment’s purported deadline, and explains why both liberals and conservatives alike should urge Congress to deem the ERA now valid.

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The Framers Would Want You to Know: Alan Dershowitz Is Wrong About Impeachment, and So Is the President

MARCI A. HAMILTON

Marci A. Hamilton, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, argues that abuse of power is a sufficient ground for presidential impeachment, notwithstanding the argument to the contrary by President Trump’s impeachment defense lawyer, Alan Dershowitz. Hamilton explains that abuse of power by the President was the very fear of the Framers of the Constitution, and to reject it as an impeachable offense would subvert the spirit of the Constitution, as evidenced by the Framers’ debates at the Constitutional Convention.

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Defense Distributed v. United States

Docket: 18-50811

Opinion Date: January 21, 2020

Judge: James C. Ho

Areas of Law: Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law

Plaintiffs, Second Amendment advocates, filed suit seeking to prevent the State Department from blocking their efforts to publish plans for how to assemble a firearm using a 3D printer. Plaintiffs settled with the State Department and then voluntarily dismissed the suit. Now plaintiffs seek to revive their Texas suit under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e) in response to a nationwide injunction against enforcement of the settlement issued by the Western District of Washington. The Fifth Circuit declined plaintiffs request to revive the lawsuit, holding that Rule 59(e) authorizes motions to alter or amend judgments, not to revive lawsuits. The court explained that the initiation and prosecution of the Washington suit did not render any action by the district court in Texas erroneous, let alone manifestly erroneous.

Frank v. P N K (Lake Charles) LLC

Docket: 18-31060

Opinion Date: January 21, 2020

Judge: Carl E. Stewart

Areas of Law: Civil Procedure

Plaintiffs filed a wrongful death action against defendants, alleging inter alia, claims for negligence, premises liability, and breach of warranty. On appeal, plaintiffs argued that the Texas court erred in not exercising personal jurisdiction over PNK because a non-resident company, like PNK, may be subjected to general jurisdiction for its targeted advertising in the forum state. The Fifth Circuit affirmed and held that the Southern District of Texas properly held that it lacked personal jurisdiction over PNK and appropriately transferred this action to Louisiana. In this case, PNK is a limited liability company domiciled in Louisiana, and PNK's corporate contacts with Texas are not of the exceptional nature such that PNK could be found to be "at-home" in Texas. The court rejected plaintiffs' claims to the contrary and held that it could not exercise general jurisdiction over PNK.

Louisiana v. United States

Docket: 19-30213

Opinion Date: January 21, 2020

Judge: W. Eugene Davis

Areas of Law: Government & Administrative Law

Louisiana filed suit against the United States, alleging that the Corps failed to maintain the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in compliance with the River and Harbor Improvements Act. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of the complaint and held that Louisiana failed to satisfy the requirements for the waiver of sovereign immunity under section 702 of the Administrative Procedure Act, because the state did not challenge agency action and the state's alleged injury did not fall within the zone of interests of the River and Harbor Improvements Act. The court also held that the state's failure to act claim was not subject to judicial review under the APA because the Corps is not legally required to preserve and/or maintain the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at a certain width. Therefore, the state's complaint was properly dismissed based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction.