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Judge Tanya S. Chutkan (D.D.C.) on Monday issued a preliminary injunction and stay of the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security’s “Voter Data Transmission Policy,” whereby the federal government has urged local election officials to investigate or set aside votes by people whom DHS suspects are noncitizens based on a national database it has compiled of voter registration information. Judge Chutkan held that plaintiff nonprofit organizations were likely to succeed on their claims that the government’s policy violates the Privacy Act and is not authorized by any statute. (Opinion.) (Democracy Docket.)
Two labor unions and two political-interest groups petitioned the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday for full court en banc review of the limited en banc court’s reinstatement of a three-judge panel stay that allowed federal authorities to request that local election officials “sequester” ballots submitted by voters whom DHS believes are noncitizens. (Petition.)
Lawyers for the Justice Department argued in a Tuesday hearing that executive privilege shields communications related to President Trump’s decision to close the Kennedy Center for two years for renovations. Lawyers for Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) have sought discovery of communications between Kennedy Center staff and President Trump, who is chairman of the center, as part of the lawmaker’s lawsuit challenging the center’s closing. (NYT.) (Motion to Compel.) (Docket.)
The Justice Department has reportedly sent letters to approximately 20 Democrats telling them that they are targets of an investigation or asking them to preserve records related to the recruitment in the Alaska Senate race of a candidate with the same name as the incumbent. (WaPo.) (NYT.) For background on the controversy, see a prior Roundup.
Andrew C. McCarthy argued that although the statute of limitations has run on the criminal offense for which the Justice Department has attempted to charge former FBI director James Comey, the statute of limitations is a defense to prosecution—not a bar to indictment. (National Review.)
Eric S. Fish argues in a forthcoming article that expedited removals are inconsistent with the Appointments Clause. (SSRN.) Christopher Walker reviewed the article and argued that expedited removals are an example of “bureaucracy beyond judicial review.” (Jotwell.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Mullin v. Friends of the Ruidosa Church: The government on October 21 asked the Supreme Court to issue a stay pending appeal of a district court preliminary injunction halting government construction of barriers along a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border. The government asked the Court to construe its application as a petition for a writ of certiorari and grant the petition. (Application.) The respondents filed their opposition on October 29, and the government filed its reply on October 30.