Sanders leads Democratic presidential candidates in weekly Ballotpedia pageviews

• Last week, Bernie Sanders led all Democratic campaigns in pageviews. His campaign page was viewed 7,351 times, equaling 22.3% of pageviews for all Democratic campaigns this week. He was followed by Michael Bloomberg with 18.1% of pageviews and Pete Buttigieg with 15.9%. The top three Democratic presidential candidates in lifetime pageviews are Buttigieg with 178,783, Joe Biden with 166,119, and Sanders with 153,947.
• Elizabeth Warren was the only Democratic candidate to receive more pageviews this week relative to last week. Her campaign page increased in pageviews by 1.8%. All other Democratic candidates saw a decrease in pageviews relative to last week. The candidate with the largest decrease among them was Amy Klobuchar with a 34.6% decrease.
• Donald Trump ranked second of the three Republican candidates in pageviews last week. Trump received 5,501 pageviews, while Roque de la Fuente received 6,155 and Bill Weld received 4,951.

U.S. Senate confirms district judge for the District of Puerto Rico

• The U.S. Senate has confirmed Silvia Carreño-Coll to the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico on a 96-0 vote. Overall, the Senate has confirmed 193 of President Trump’s judicial nominees—138 district court judges, 51 appeals court judges, two Court of International Trade judges, and two Supreme Court justices.
• Carreño-Coll succeeded Judge Jay Garia-Gregory, who assumed senior status on September 30, 2018. After Carreño-Coll received commission, the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico had five Republican-appointed judges, two Democrat-appointed judges, and no vacancies.
• The U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts.

Democratic presidential candidates debate democratic socialism, foreign policy in South Carolina

• Seven Democratic presidential candidates debated in Charleston, South Carolina: former Vice President Joe Biden; former Mayors Michael Bloomberg and Pete Buttigieg; Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren; and former investor Tom Steyer.
• Steyer was the only candidate on stage who did not also participate in the Feb. 19 debate in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• The candidates discussed electability, healthcare, race, gun legislation, economic issues, education, criminal justice, infectious diseases, and foreign policy. Sanders had the most speaking time at 15.5 minutes. Steyer spoke the least at 7.1 minutes.
• For highlights from the debate for each candidate, click here.
• The next Democratic primary debate will take place after the Super Tuesday primaries on Mar. 15 in Phoenix, Arizona.

U.S. Supreme Court issues opinions in seven cases

The U.S. Supreme issued seven opinions this week, with four released Tuesday and three released Wednesday. Here is a summary of those cases:

• McKinney v. Arizona was argued before the court on December 11, 2019:
  • James McKinney was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed the sentence after an independent review. A U.S. district court denied McKinney's petition for habeas corpus. On appeal, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals instructed the district court to grant the habeas corpus petition. After another independent review, the Arizona Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence.
  • The outcome: In a 5-4 opinion, the court affirmed the Arizona Supreme Court's ruling, holding that a state appellate court, rather than a jury, may conduct a reweighing of aggravating and mitigating circumstances on habeas corpus review in cases concerning the death penalty. Justice Brett Kavanaugh delivered the opinion of the court. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan.
• Rodriguez v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was argued before the court on December 3, 2019:
  • United Western Bank, a subsidiary of Colorado corporation United Western Bancorp, Inc. (UWBI), closed in 2011 after suffering $35.4 million in losses. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was appointed as United Western Bank's receiver. An agency or court appoints a receiver as an alternative to filing for bankruptcy. The receiver manages the assets of a bankrupt business.
  • Also in 2011, the parent company, UWBI, filed a tax refund request of $4.8 million to recover a portion of United Western Bank's 2008 taxes. In 2012, UWBI filed for bankruptcy. Both the FDIC and UWBI argued in bankruptcy court that the tax refund belonged to them. The bankruptcy court ruled the refund belonged to UWBI.
  • On appeal, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado reversed the bankruptcy court's decision. Simon Rodriguez, the Chapter 7 trustee for UWBI's bankruptcy estate, appealed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed the district court's ruling and remanded the case to the bankruptcy court.
  • Rodriguez petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the 10th Circuit's decision, arguing circuit courts were divided on the question of tax refund ownership.
  • The outcome: In a unanimous opinion, the court vacated and remanded the judgment of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, holding the Bob Richards rule "is not a legitimate exercise of federal common lawmaking," in which federal judges—instead of Congress, agencies, or states—make laws. SCOTUS held federal judges "may appropriately craft the rule of decision in only limited areas."
  • The Bob Richards rule came from a 9th Circuit decision in In re Bob Richards Chrysler-Plymouth Corp., Inc. in 1973. The rule "presumes that a tax refund belongs to the subsidiary that caused the underlying loss unless the parties have entered into a tax agreement clearly assigning the refund to the parent."
  • Justice Neil Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the court.
• Hernandez v. Mesa was argued before the court on November 12, 2019:
  • U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agent Jesus Mesa shot and killed 15-year-old Mexican national Sergio Hernandez. The Hernandez family filed charges against Mesa. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas dismissed the case.
  • After several appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Hernandez v. Mesa in 2016. Click here for more information about the 2016 case.
  • At that time, SCOTUS vacated the 5th Circuit's judgment and remanded the case so the 5th Circuit might reconsider its ruling in light of the Supreme Court's opinion in Ziglar v. Abbasi (2017). In Ziglar, the U.S. Supreme Court held that it could not authorize an action for implied damages against former federal officials under the court's precedent in Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics (1971).
  • On remand, the 5th Circuit ruled the Hernandez family could not rely on Bivens to file charges and affirmed the district court's dismissal of the case. Bivens provides for relief under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments when a U.S. government agent uses excessive, deadly force.
  • The outcome: The court affirmed the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in a 5-4 ruling, holding that the plaintiffs cannot sue the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent for damages under the U.S. Constitution and that the Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Fed. Bureau of Narcotics holding does not extend to claims based on a cross-border shooting.
  • Justice Samuel Alito delivered the opinion of the court. Justice Clarence Thomas filed a concurring opinion, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan.
• Monasky v. Taglieri was argued before the court on December 11, 2019:
  • Monasky v. Taglieri concerned the standard of review for "habitual residence" and how to establish "habitual residence" for purposes of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
  • Domenico Taglieri, an Italian citizen, and Michelle Monasky, an American citizen, were a married couple living in Italy when they had a daughter, A.M.T. Both parents began applications for Italian and U.S. passports for their daughter. In 2015, Taglieri revoked his permission for A.M.T.'s U.S. passport. Two weeks later, Monasky took A.M.T. to the United States. Taglieri petitioned the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio for A.M.T.'s return to Italy under the Hague Convention. The district court granted Taglieri's petition. On appeal, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, affirmed the district court's ruling.
  • The outcome: The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the 6th Circuit's decision in a unanimous ruling, holding an actual agreement between the parents on where to raise a child is not necessary to establish the child's habitual residence.
  • Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the court. Justice Clarence Thomas joined as to Parts I, III, and IV, and filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment. Justice Samuel Alito filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment.
• Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma was argued before the court on December 4, 2019:
  • The case concerned the interpretation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) statute of limitations.
  • Christopher Sulyma worked at Intel from 2010 to 2012, where he participated in retirement accounts an Intel investment committee managed. In 2015, Sulyma sued Intel, claiming the committee mismanaged his retirement accounts and violated the ERISA. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted summary judgment in favor of Intel, who argued Sulyma's claims were untimely under Section 1113(2) of the ERISA.
  • Section 1113(2) limits filing suit related to alleged fiduciary breaches to "three years after the earliest date on which the plaintiff had actual knowledge of the breach or violation."
  • The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the ruling and remanded the case.
  • The outcome: The court affirmed the 9th Circuit's decision in a unanimous ruling, holding that to meet the "actual knowledge" requirement of Section 1113(2), a plaintiff must be aware of an alleged breach or violation. Justice Alito wrote, "The addition of 'actual' in §1113(2) signals that the plaintiff's knowledge must be more than 'potential, possible, virtual, conceivable, theoretical, hypothetical, or nominal.'"
• Holguin-Hernandez v. U.S. was argued before the court on December 10, 2019:
  • Gonzalo Holguin-Hernandez pleaded guilty to violating his supervised release by committing a new offense. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas revoked his term of supervised release and sentenced him to one year in prison to be served consecutively with the sentence from his new conviction. Holguin-Hernandez challenged his one-year sentence as greater than necessary under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). On appeal, the 5th Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment.
  • SCOTUS was considering "whether a formal objection after the pronouncement of a sentence is necessary to invoke an appellate reasonableness review of the length of a defendant's sentence."
  • The outcome: The court vacated and remanded the 5th Circuit's decision in a unanimous ruling, holding a formal objection after a sentencing pronouncement is not necessary to invoke "an appellate challenge to the substantive reasonableness of the sentence."
  • Justice Breyer wrote, "A defendant who, by advocating for a particular sentence, communicates to the trial judge his view that a longer sentence is 'greater than necessary' has thereby informed the court of the legal error at issue in an appellate challenge to the substantive reasonableness of the sentence."
• Shular v. United States was argued before the court on January 21, 2020:
  • Eddie Shular pleaded guilty to charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of controlled substances. Shular was classified as an armed career criminal because of six previous drug convictions in Florida. He objected to the classification in court, arguing his previous convictions were not "serious drug offenses" under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida overruled the objection and sentenced Shular to concurrent terms of 15 years in prison on each count. On appeal, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's ruling.
  • Shular appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, pointing to a circuit split regarding the determination of serious drug offenses under the ACCA.
  • The outcome: The court affirmed the 11th Circuit's decision in a unanimous ruling, holding the ACCA's "serious drug offense" definition refers to conduct and does not "call for a comparison to a generic offense." Justice Ginsburg wrote, "The 'serious drug offense' definition requires only that the state offense involve the conduct specified in the federal statute; it does not require that the state offense match certain generic offenses."

Congress is in Session:

Both the Senate and the House are in session next week. Click here to see the full calendar for the second session of the 116th Congress.

SCOTUS is in session:

The Supreme Court will hear five hours of arguments this week. To learn about the current 2019-2020 term, click here.

South Carolina Democrats to allocate 54 pledged delegates in presidential primary

• South Carolina is holding its Democratic presidential primary. The following candidates will appear on the ballot: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, and Elizabeth Warren.
• Five candidates who suspended their campaigns will also appear on the ballot: Michael Bennet, Cory Booker, John Delaney, Deval Patrick, and Andrew Yang.
• Fifty-four pledged delegates are at stake in South Carolina, the most of any February Democratic primary event.
• The Republican Party of South Carolina voted on September 7, 2019, to cancel its presidential primary. In the 2016 general election, President Donald Trump (R) carried South Carolina with 54.9% of the vote.

Supreme Court to hear cases regarding the Constitution's Suspension Clause, abortion, and presidential appointment and removal powers

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear five hours of oral argument in six cases. One hour of argument is for two consolidated cases.

• March 2:

  • In Nasrallah v. Barr, Nidal Khalid Nasrallah, a citizen and native of Lebanon, pleaded guilty to two counts of receiving stolen property in interstate commerce. An immigration judge determined that one of Nasrallah's convictions involved moral turpitude, which Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary defines as "conduct that is shamefully wicked, an extreme departure from ordinary standards of morality, justice, or ethics." The immigration judge also determined the conviction constituted a particularly serious crime, making Nasrallah subject to removal as an alien. However, the judge granted Nasrallah protection from removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).

    The case was appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which affirmed in part and reversed in part the immigration judge's decision, and ordered Nasrallah's removal. Nasrallah petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit for review. The 11th Circuit denied in part and dismissed in part the petition, holding it lacked jurisdiction under 8 U.S. Code § 1252(a)(2)(C).

    Section 1252(a)(2)(C) prohibits courts from having "jurisdiction to review any final order of removal against an alien who is removable by reason of having committed" certain criminal offenses.

    The issue (from SCOTUSblog): "Whether Section 1252(a)(2)(C), which bars judicial review of factual determinations in final orders of removal on criminal grounds, also bars judicial review of Nasrallah’s challenge to the denial of his application for deferral of removal under the CAT."

  • In Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam, Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam, a Sri Lankan native, illegally entered the United States by crossing the border with Mexico in 2017. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer apprehended Thuraissigiam and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began expedited removal proceedings. An asylum officer and later an immigration judge decided Thuraissigiam did not have a credible fear of persecution in Sri Lanka.

    Thuraissigiam filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The district court dismissed the petition for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, ruling the court was not authorized to review claims under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(e).

    On appeal, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the district court's ruling. The 9th Circuit held § 1252(e)(2) violated Thuraissigiam's rights under the U.S. Constitution's Suspension Clause, which bars a writ of habeas corpus from being suspended once it has been issued.

    DHS filed a petition for review with the U.S. Supreme Court.

    The issue: Whether 8 U.S.C. § 1252(e)(2) is unconstitutional under the Suspension Clause.

• March 3:

  • Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau concerns the extent of the president’s appointment and removal powers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a civil investigative demand to the California-based firm, Seila Law. Seila Law refused to comply, so the agency petitioned the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, asking it to enforce the demand. Seila Law responded by arguing that the CFPB violated the U.S. Constitution's separation of powers doctrine. The district court rejected Seila Law's argument and ordered it to comply.

    Seila Law appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed the district court's order.

    The issues:

    1. Whether the vesting of substantial executive authority in the CFPB, an independent agency led by a single director, violates the separation of powers.

    2. If the CFPB is found unconstitutional on the basis of the separation of powers, can 12 U.S.C. §5491(c)(3) be severed from the Dodd-Frank Act?

       The Dodd-Frank Act created the CFPB in 2010. 12 U.S.C. §5491(c)(3) of the Act established one agency director, a presidential appointee subject to Senate confirmation. The director serves a five-year term, and can be removed only for cause—"inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office."

  • In Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued business partners Charles Liu and Lisa Wang, alleging they had misappropriated funds and defrauded investors in their EB-5 visa business. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled in favor of the SEC, finding that Liu and Wang violated the Securities Act of 1933, and imposed civil penalties in addition to a disgorgement order requiring Liu and Wang to surrender to the SEC the millions of dollars they raised from investors.

    The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's ruling. Liu and Wang appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing the SEC lacked the legal authority to ask the district court to impose a disgorgement order.

    According to the Legal Information Institute, disgorgement is a "remedy requiring a party who profits from illegal or wrongful acts to give up any profits he or she made as a result of his or her illegal or wrongful conduct."

    The issue: Whether the SEC may seek and obtain disgorgement from a court as "equitable relief" for a securities law violation even though the U.S. Supreme Court has determined that such disgorgement is a penalty.

• March 4:

  • June Medical Services v. Gee is consolidated with Gee v. June Medical Services.

    June Medical Services, a clinic in Shreveport, Louisiana, challenged Louisiana Act 620 in court. Act 620 established requirements for doctors performing abortions, specifically that they be able to admit patients and provide diagnostic and surgical services to a hospital within 30 miles of the facility where the abortion is provided.

    The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction. Louisiana appealed to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which lifted the injunction. The U.S. Supreme Court then restored the injunction.

    While June Medical Services' lawsuit was ongoing, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt that a Texas law similar to Act 620 was unconstitutional.

    On remand, the Middle District of Louisiana held Act 620 was unconstitutional. On appeal, the 5th Circuit reversed the district court's ruling and denied an en banc rehearing.

    June Medical Services petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, arguing the 5th Circuit's ruling "conflicts with Whole Woman's Health in its result and its reasoning."

    The issue: Whether the 5th Circuit’s decision upholding Louisiana’s law requiring physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital conflicts with the U.S. Supreme Court’s binding precedent in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt (2016).

Candidate filing period for congressional races ends in Nebraska

• The candidate filing period for non-incumbents to run for office in Nebraska will pass on March 2. The filing deadline for incumbents was Feb. 18. The primary election is scheduled for May 12.
• The congressional offices up for election in Nebraska include the U.S. Senate seat held by Ben Sasse (R) and all three U.S. House districts. All four incumbents are running for re-election.

34% of Democratic presidential pledged delegates at stake on Super Tuesday

• Fourteen states and one territory are holding a presidential primary event on Super Tuesday:
  • Alabama
  • American Samoa
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • Minnesota
  • North Carolina
  • Oklahoma
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
• In total, 1,344 pledged delegates in the Democratic primary are at stake on Super Tuesday, representing 34% of all pledged delegates. In comparison, the four Democratic primaries and caucuses held in February accounted for just 4% of the pledged delegates.
• The Democrats Abroad, the political party affiliate for American citizens living outside of the United States, is also beginning its primary on Tuesday. This global primary will conclude on March 10.

Voters to decide 149 congressional primaries

• Five states are scheduled to hold statewide primaries on March 3, 2020: Alabama, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, and Texas. Arkansas’ congressional primaries were canceled for each of five seats after one or fewer Democratic or Republican party candidates filed for the primary.
• The remaining four states have 149 primaries on the ballot for a combined 113 seats up for election in 2020 (118 across all states, including Arkansas). California’s 25th Congressional District is up for regular and special election, and is counted twice in both figures.
  • 47 are Republican primaries, 48 are Democratic primaries, and 54 are top-two primaries
  • Alabama is holding six primaries
  • California is holding 54 primaries
  • North Carolina is holding 15 primaries
  • Texas is holding 74 primaries
• About 18% of the possible 182 primaries were canceled due to lack of opposition; 149 primaries made the ballot either because they are contested or because the state does not cancel unopposed races.

Candidate filing period for congressional races ends in Georgia

• The candidate filing period will pass for congressional offices in Georgia on March 6. Voters will elect both of the state’s members of the U.S. Senate in 2020. One seat is the regular election for the Senate seat held by David Perdue (R). Perdue was first elected in 2014 and is running for re-election.
• The other Senate race is a special election to fill the remaining two years of the six-year term that Johnny Isakson (R) was elected to in 2016. Isakson resigned on December 31, 2019, and Gov. Brian Kemp (R) appointed Kelly Loeffler (R) to serve until the special election. Loeffler will serve until the special election winner takes office in January 2021.
• Candidates will also file to run in all of the state’s 14 U.S. House districts.

Where was the president last week?

• On Monday, Trump participated in the Namaste Trump rally in Ahmedabad, India.
• On Tuesday, Trump met with officials and delivered a joint press statement with the Prime Minister of the Republic of India in New Delhi, India.
• On Wednesday, Trump and members of the Coronavirus Task Force held a news conference.
• On Thursday, Trump met with African-American leaders and participated in an African American History Month reception.
• On Friday, Trump spoke at a Keep America Great rally in Charleston, South Carolina.

The Federal Judiciary

• 78 federal judicial vacancies
• 36 pending nominations
• 8 future federal judicial vacancies

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