FedSoc Forums

On April 6, 2020, the Supreme Court, by a vote of 8-1, held that reasonable suspicion for a vehicle stop exists where the officer is informed that the registered owner of the suspect vehicle has a suspended driver's license. In an opinion written by Justice Thomas, the Court reaffirmed its decision in United States v. Cortez (1981) when it wrote that for an officer to initiate a brief investigative traffic stop requires "a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the particular person stopped of criminal activity."
Brian Fish will discuss today's opinion in Kansas v. Glover, its implications, and the dissent written by Justice Sotomayor.
Featuring:
Brian M. Fish, Special Assistant, United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland

Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up on our website. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

Does the Second Amendment “right of the people” to “bear arms” protect an individual right to carry handguns outside of the home for lawful purposes, or may government officials decide who has a “good reason” to do so? After Heller held that the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms guarantees a right to keep handguns in the home and McDonald incorporated that fundamental constitutional right against the states, the circuit courts have split over whether discretionary “may issue” carry licensing regimes are permissible. How might the Supreme Court resolve the current New York City case regarding transport of handguns outside of the home, and what are the potential implications for the hotly-debated question whether the right to carry applies generally to the law-abiding public? And in the wake of the Coronavirus shutdowns, should gun shops be considered “necessary businesses,” so that citizens who so choose may acquire a gun to protect their families?

Featuring:
-- Stephen Halbrook, author of The Founders’ Second Amendment and Senior Fellow, Independent Institute
-- Moderator: Mark Smith, Presidential Scholar and Senior Fellow in Law and Public Policy, The King’s College in New York City

Amongst the many studies of the makeup of the Federal Judiciary, one particularly noticeable characteristic is the overrepresentation of Ex-prosecutors in relation to other potential professional backgrounds on the federal bench. One recent study published by the Cato Institute fully delved into this controversial issue and brought further attention to this aspect of the Federal Judiciary. Is the overrepresentation necessarily a negative aspect of the Federal Judiciary? Are there sound reasons for preferring judges who have a prosecutorial background? How has this aspect of the Judiciary shaped our constitutional and statutory law in recent decades?
Join us as we discuss these controversial issues with our distinguished guests:
Clark Neily, Vice-President for Criminal Justice, The Cato Institute
Jesse Panuccio, Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
Moderator: Jodi Balsam, Associate Professor of Clinical Law|Director, Externship Program Brooklyn Law School

In this teleforum, co-authors Randolph May and Seth Cooper will highlight key themes from their new book, Modernizing Copyright Law for the Digital Age: Constitutional Foundations for Reform (Carolina Academic Press, 2020). They will be joined by other experts to discuss current issues in copyright law and policy.

Web-based streaming and online platform services featuring user-uploaded content present new market opportunities as well as new infringement dangers. Government and analyst reports have highlighted both the economic importance of copyright-intensive industries as well as the steep financial losses that result from mass online infringement as well as from piracy operations using illicit streaming devices and illegal IPTV streams. In 116th Congress, the House passed and the Senate is considering legislation to provide a voluntary venue for addressing small copyright infringement claims. The U.S. Senate's Intellectual Property Subcommittee has commenced a series of hearings to review of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. And earlier this year, Congress passed the USMCA Free Trade Agreement, which contains important provisions to strengthen copyright protections. In their book, Mr. May and Mr. Cooper suggest specific reform measures on these topics and more. Join us for this timely discussion about proposals for reforming copyright law to fit the Digital Age.

The rapid deployment of 5G technologies has become a stated objective of the Trump Administration that reaches across a wide range of economic and security equities. These include economic competitiveness and productivity interests traditionally represented by the National Economic Council and the Department of Commerce, as well as network security and trusted-vendor supply chain interests represented by defense, trade and national security agencies. Underlying all of this, the FCC is grappling with how to replace Chinese and other foreign adversary equipment in rural networks, as well as diverse competition and spectrum issues that are critical to incentivizing industry deployments.

Given this range of overlapping government interests, has policy making on 5G become too diffuse? Join Federalist Society members Tricia Paoletta, Lawrence Spiwak, and John Kneuer as they discuss the legal and policy issues driving the Administration’s and FCC’s 5G agenda.

Featuring:
-- Hon. John Kneuer, President and Founder, JKC Consulting LLC
-- Patricia J. Paoletta, Partner, Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP
-- Lawrence J. Spiwak, President, Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies

Few Americans know that when they settle a case with the SEC (or the CFTC which has a similar “rule”) that they will be forced to agree to a lifetime gag, a subject of much concern to Americans across the political and economic spectrum. Whether in small businesses or large, Americans charged by these powerful government agencies settle 98% of the cases brought against them, meaning that those defendants cannot question the strength or the merits of the government’s case against them—for life.

For nearly 50 years the SEC has settled cases in this manner even though the “rule” that purports to authorize the practice was never lawfully enacted in 1972. Join us for a litigation update forum with Peggy Little, Senior Litigation Counsel of New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), to discuss whether this practice violates First Amendment doctrines forbidding prior restraint, content-based restrictions on speech, unconstitutional conditions, or suppresses rights of petition, rights of the public to hear truthful speech and due process. Does this silencing of truthful speech immunize the agencies from examination and criticism by the very people best situated to level such criticism? Congress itself could not lawfully enact such a rule, and the teleforum will explore why an administrative agency is exercising powers that Congress does not have.

Litigation and Regulatory Background and Disclosure: NCLA petitioned to amend the SEC’s gag rule in October of 2018, which led to a lively hearing before the Senate Banking Committee. NCLA similarly moved to amend the CFTC gag rule in July 2019. NCLA also represents Barry D. Romeril, former CFO of Xerox, who moved to set his gag aside in the Southern District.

On January 10, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed revisions to its regulations for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), signed into law in 1970. CEQ has not comprehensively updated these regulations for forty years.
Since its enactment, the NEPA environmental review and permitting process has become increasingly complex and time-consuming. Importantly, NEPA is a procedural statute that requires Federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of proposed major Federal actions. The chosen means is a “procedural” statute that requires Federal agencies to prepare a detailed statement on environmental impacts from a proposed Federal action, alternatives to the proposed action, unavoidable adverse effects, and any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources that would be involved.
The average length of an environmental impact statement is over 600 pages and the average time to complete a NEPA review of major projects is four and a half years. NEPA analyses are frequently challenged in the courts, which delays and increases the costs for transportation, water, pipelines and other infrastructure that benefit States, Tribes, and local communities. CEQ’s proposal, if adopted, would modernize and clarify the regulations to facilitate timely NEPA reviews by Federal agencies in connection with proposals for agency action.
This 90-minute teleforum discussion is co-hosted by the Federalist Society and ConservAmerica and will offer background on CEQ’s proposal and contrasting views on the White House’s proposed NEPA reform and modernization.
Featuring:
Prof. Richard Esptein, The Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law, New York University; Senior Fellow, Hoover Institute
Prof. Robert Glicksman, The J. B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law, George Washington University Law School.
Mr. Mario Loyola, Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute; Former Associate Director for Regulatory Reform, White House Council on Environmental Quality
Dr. Tim Male, Executive Director, Environmental Policy Innovation Center; Former Associate Director for Conservation, White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Moderator: Mr. Brent Fewell, General Counsel, ConservAmerica


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