SCOTUS rules on 'bump stocks' case, Justice Thomas questions ability of groups to challenge US laws, LSAT alternative gains popularity, and more ?
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?? Good morning from The Legal File! Here is the rundown of today's top legal news:
?? US Supreme Court backs challenge to federal ban on gun 'bump stocks'
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a challenge to a federal ban on "bump stock" devices that enable semiautomatic weapons to fire rapidly like machine guns, dealing a setback to yet another firearms restriction - this time one enacted under Republican former President Donald Trump.
The justices, in a 6-3 ruling over a dissent by the court's three liberal justices, upheld a lower court's decision siding with Michael Cargill, a gun shop owner and gun rights advocate from Austin, Texas, who challenged the ban by claiming that a U.S. agency improperly interpreted a federal law banning machine guns as extending to bump stocks.
Federal officials have said the rule was needed to protect public safety in the United States, a nation facing persistent firearms violence. The ban was put in place in 2019 during Republican former President Donald Trump's administration and was defended by Democratic President Joe Biden's administration.
??? Supreme Court's Thomas questions ability of groups to challenge US laws
Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas questioned a 47-year-old court precedent that has allowed advocacy groups, trade associations and other organizations to routinely bring challenges in court to government policies on behalf of their members.
It’s a long-recognized legal doctrine relied upon by associations ranging from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to environmental groups and gun rights advocacy organizations.
Thomas laid out his position in an opinion that concurred with the Supreme Court's 9-0 ruling rejecting efforts to restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone, used in more than 60% of U.S. abortions.
Thomas said that doctrine "seems to run roughshod" over the traditional requirement under Article III of the U.S. Constitution that plaintiffs must show a violation of their own rights to have a claim considered in court.
?? LSAT alternative gains popularity as more law schools sign on
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The American Bar Association has granted five law schools permission to use the alternative admissions program JD-Next, pushing the number of campuses that allow applicants to bypass the Law School Admission Test or GRE to 57.
Fordham University School of Law; the University of Illinois College of Law; DePaul University College of Law; the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law; and the University of St. Thomas School of Law are the latest to adopt JD-Next.
Participants in JD-Next complete an eight-week online contracts course for prospective law students and culminates in a law school-style exam that covers what they’ve learned.
More than a quarter of the 197 ABA-accredited law schools now accept JD-Next.
?? US finds Phoenix Police Dept violates civil rights of city residents
The U.S. Justice Department took aim at the Phoenix Police Department, accusing its officers of systemically violating peoples' civil rights and using excessive and at times "unjustified deadly force" against city residents.
In a new investigative report, the Justice Department Civil Rights Division said it has reasonable cause to believe that police in Phoenix routinely discriminate against Black, Hispanic and Native Americans, and unlawfully detain homeless people and dispose of their belongings.
The report also found that the police frequently violate people's protected free speech, discriminate against people with behavioral disabilities and use aggressive tactics with children that could have a "lasting impact" on their wellbeing.
The report found:
"In the years leading up to our investigation, PhxPD officers shot and killed people at one of the highest rates in the country."
?? That's all for today, thank you for reading?The Legal File, and have a great weekend!
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