Trump rally shooting, end of Rudy Giuliani's bankruptcy, Tennessee birth certificate sex change ban upheld, and more??
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?? Good morning from The Legal File! Here is the rundown of today's top legal news:
?? Trump rally shooting: Focus on Secret Service
The U.S. Secret Service was under intense scrutiny on July 14 after a gunman managed to evade its agents and open fire on former president Donald Trump at a political rally, with Republican leaders vowing swift investigations and President Joe Biden calling for an independent review.
Mike Johnson, speaker of the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, said panels in the chamber will call officials from the Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI for hearings.
The Secret Service, tasked with protecting current and former presidents, is part of the Department of Homeland Security. The department's Office of the Inspector General is responsible for conducting oversight of Secret Service operations.
In the moments after Trump was injured, the former president was quickly surrounded by Secret Service personnel who formed a human shield, while heavily armed agents in body armor and toting rifles also took to the stage and appeared to scan the area for threats.
Trump supporters blasted the Secret Service as having failed to protect the former president. Billionaire Elon Musk called for the agency's leadership to resign.
???? Judge ends Giuliani bankruptcy, heightening legal risks
A U.S. judge on July 12 ended Rudy Giuliani's bankruptcy, allowing lawsuits for defamation, sexual harassment and other claims to proceed against Donald Trump's former lawyer.
Giuliani filed for bankruptcy protection in December after a Washington, D.C., court ordered the former New York City mayor to pay $148 million to two Georgia election workers that he falsely accused of rigging votes in the 2020 presidential election.
The bankruptcy prevented the former Georgia election workers, Wandrea "Shaye" Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman, from collecting on that judgment, while freezing other lawsuits stemming from Giuliani's work for Trump, the former Republican president, as he sought to overturn his loss in the 2020 election.
The dismissal allows Giuliani's creditors to resume lawsuits against him, but it frees Giuliani to appeal the $148 million defamation judgment that forced him to seek bankruptcy protection.
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??? Court upholds Tennessee ban on changing sex in birth certificates
A divided federal court on July 12 rejected a constitutional challenge to Tennessee's decades-old policy of not allowing people born in the state to amend their birth certificates to reflect their gender identity.
A 2-1 panel of the 6th Circuit held that the U.S. Constitution did not require the Republican-led state to change the biological sex listed on the birth certificates of four transgender women born in Tennessee.
The state is among only a handful nationally that categorically bars individuals from amending the sex on their birth certificates.
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at the LGBTQ rights group Lambda Legal, said they were disappointed and considering their options.
"Nobody is harmed by our plaintiffs having birth certificates reflecting who they are," Omar said.
?? Net neutrality rules reinstatement temporarily halted by US appeals court
A U.S. court said on July 12 it was temporarily putting the Federal Communications Commission's reinstatement of landmark net neutrality rules on hold until Aug. 5 as it considers legal challenges from the broadband industry.
The FCC voted in April along party lines to reassume regulatory oversight of broadband internet and reinstate open internet rules that were rescinded in 2017 under then-President Donald Trump.
Net neutrality rules require internet service providers to treat internet data and users equally rather than restricting access, slowing speeds or blocking content for certain users. The rules also forbid special arrangements in which ISPs give improved network speeds or access to favored users.
Reinstating net neutrality has been a priority for President Joe Biden, who signed a July 2021 executive order encouraging the FCC to reinstate the rules adopted in 2015 under President Barack Obama, a fellow Democrat.
?? That's all for today, thank you for reading?The Legal File, and have a great day!
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