Supreme Court hears cases on DACA, claims against federal officials, race discrimination, and bankruptcy
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WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND! 

We have the top stories from the world of federal news on tap for you this weekend. For a complete review of the week, click the button below.

Don’t forget to join us for our next Ballotpedia Insights webinar on November 19th as we talk with the authors of _One Nation, Two Realities: Dueling Facts in American Democracy_ about their new book. Register today! ([link removed])

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**
BIDEN LEADS DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN BALLOTPEDIA PAGEVIEWS FOR THIRD STRAIGHT WEEK
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*
Joe Biden's campaign page on Ballotpedia received 3,996 views for the week of November 3-9. Biden's pageview figure represents 10.8% of the pageviews for the week. Elizabeth Warren had 9.7% of the pageviews for the week, followed by Bernie Sanders with 9.1%. This is Biden's third straight week with the most pageviews.

*
Each week, we report ([link removed]) the number of pageviews received by 2020 presidential campaigns on Ballotpedia. These numbers show which candidates are getting our readers' attention.

*
Every Democratic candidate had more pageviews last week than the week before. The three candidates with the largest week-over-week increases were Kamala Harris (61.7%), Joe Biden (51.4%), and Bernie Sanders (50.9%).

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Andrew Yang remains the leader in overall pageviews this year with 139,064. He is followed by Pete Buttigieg with 131,612 and Joe Biden with 124,371.
 
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** REP. KING (R-N.Y.) ANNOUNCES HE'S NOT RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION IN 2020
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Rep. Peter King ([link removed]) (R-N.Y.) announced that he would not seek re-election ([link removed]) to Congress in 2020. He did not give a reason for his retirement. King was first elected to the U.S. House in 1992 representing New York's 3rd Congressional District. He has represented New York's 2nd Congressional District since 2012.

*
King is the 20th Republican member of the U.S. House to announce he would not be seeking re-election in 2020. There are also eight Democratic members of the U.S. House to announce 2020 retirements so far. In the 2018 election cycle, 52 members of the U.S. House—18 Democrats and 34 Republicans—did not seek re-election.

*
Currently, Democrats hold a 234-197 majority in the U.S. House with one independent member of the chamber. In November 2020, all 435 seats will be up for election. Ballotpedia has identified 72 U.S. House races as general election battlegrounds. Of the 72 seats, 42 are held by Democrats and 30 are held by Republicans heading into the election.

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** TEN DEMOCRATS TO PARTICIPATE IN PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY DEBATE IN ATLANTA
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Ten candidates have qualified for the fifth Democratic presidential primary debate ([link removed]) : former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Cory Booker, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Bernie Sanders, investor Tom Steyer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

*
The debate will take place at the newly opened Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. MSNBC and _The Washington Post_ are hosting the event with Andrea Mitchell, Rachel Maddow, Kristen Welker, and Ashley Parker moderating.

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One more Democratic presidential primary debate will be held this year on Dec. 19 in Los Angeles.

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** SANFORD ENDS REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
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*
Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) ended his presidential run. “I don’t think on the Republican side there is any appetite for a nuanced conversation on issues when there’s an impeachment overhead,” Sanford said. His campaign had been focused on bringing attention to the national deficit.

* Four notable Republicans ([link removed]) remain in the race: incumbent President Donald Trump and challengers Roque De La Fuente, Joe Walsh, and Bill Weld.

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PUBLIC HEARINGS BEGIN IN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY INTO TRUMP
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Public hearings began in the impeachment inquiry ([link removed]) into President Donald Trump (R) with testimony from U.S. diplomat William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent. Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified on Friday.

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Additional hearings are scheduled next week from Nov. 19 to 21.
 
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** SENATE CONFIRMS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS NOMINEE
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* The U.S. Senate confirmed one nominee to a U.S. Appeals Court judgeship. Overall, the Senate has confirmed 162 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 46 appellate court judges, 112 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017. At the end of the 115th Congress in January 2019, the Senate had confirmed 85 of the president’s judicial nominees.

* The confirmed nominee was:

* Steven Menashi ([link removed]) , confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. After he receives his judicial commission and takes his oath, the court will have no vacancies, seven Republican-appointed judges, and six Democrat-appointed judges.

* Menashi was confirmed with the Senate voting 51-41. 
* There are 13 U.S. Courts of Appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal court system.

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** SUPREME COURT HEARS CASES ON DACA, CLAIMS AGAINST FEDERAL OFFICIALS, RACE DISCRIMINATION, AND BANKRUPTCY
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* The U.S. Supreme Court heard four cases this week. Click here ([link removed]) to read more about SCOTUS' current term.

NOVEMBER 12

* _Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California ([link removed]) _ involves whether the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lawfully ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
 
* The case is consolidated with _Trump v. NAACP_ and _McAleenan v. Vidal_.
 
* In 2017, DHS decided to end the DACA program. The Regents of the University of California sued DHS in the Northern District of California, alleging the decision violated the Administrative Procedure Act and denied respondents' right to equal protection and due process. The district court issued a preliminary injunction barring the government from rescinding DACA. The government filed an appeal with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard oral argument on May 15, 2018, but had not issued an opinion as of November 5, 2018, when the government asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. In its appeal, the government defended its decision to end DACA as a lawful wind-down of a discretionary policy because of the program's dubious legal status.
 
* THE ISSUE: (1) Whether DHS's decision to wind down the DACA policy is judicially reviewable and (2) whether DHS's decision to wind down the DACA policy is lawful.
 
* In _Hernandez v. Mesa ([link removed]) _, 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 ([link removed]) 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 ([link removed]) _ (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).
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* 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.
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* THE ISSUE: Whether federal courts can and should recognize a damages claim under _Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics_ when plaintiffs plausibly allege that a federal law enforcement officer violated Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.​​​​​​​

NOVEMBER 13

* _Comcast v. National Association of African American-Owned Media ([link removed]) _ concerns race discrimination claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Entertainment Studios, an African American-owned television network operator, sued Comcast Corporation, alleging Comcast refused to contract with Entertainment Studios because of race. Entertainment Studios claimed Comcast violated 42 U.S.C. § 1981. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California dismissed Entertainment Studio's claims. On appeal, the 9th Circuit reversed and remanded the district court's ruling.
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* THE ISSUE (FROM _OYEZ ([link removed]) _): Does a claim of race discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 require the plaintiff to show but-for causation, or only show race is a motivating factor?
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* But-for causation indicates that but for an action, the result would not have happened.
 

* In _Ritzen Group v. Jackson Masonry ([link removed]) _, Ritzen Group and Jackson Masonry both claimed the other breached contract after a sale of property fell through. A lawsuit Ritzen filed against Jackson in Tennessee state court was stayed after Jackson filed for bankruptcy.
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* Ritzen filed a motion to lift the stay, which the bankruptcy court denied. Ritzen then filed a claim against Jackson in bankruptcy court. The bankruptcy court found Ritzen, not Jackson, breached the contract. On appeal, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee affirmed the bankruptcy court's ruling. On appeal again, the 6th Circuit affirmed the judgments of the district court and bankruptcy court.
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* In its petition for review, Ritzen argued the 6th Circuit diverted from SCOTUS precedent and was in conflict with the 1st and 3rd Circuit Courts of Appeal. Ritzen said the 6th Circuit held "that an order denying relief from the automatic stay is _always_ a final order. ... Guidance from [SCOTUS] is necessary to ensure that all bankruptcy litigants, regardless of forum, have a firm understanding of how to determine the finality of an order entered by a bankruptcy court."
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* THE ISSUE: Whether an order denying a motion for relief from the automatic stay is a final order under 28 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1).

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**
CANDIDATES FILE FOR STATE AND FEDERAL OFFICES IN ARKANSAS
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The filing deadline for candidates seeking election to state and federal offices in Arkansas ([link removed]) passed. The primary is March 3, 2020, and the general election is November 3. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, the top two vote-getters will compete in a primary runoff on March 31. Offices up for election in 2020 include one U.S. Senate seat, four U.S. House seats, 17 state senate seats, all 100 state house seats, one state supreme court seat, and four appellate court seats.

*
U.S. SENATE: Incumbent Tom Cotton (R) will face Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. (L) and Dan Whitfield (ind.) in the general election. Democrat Josh Mahony dropped out of the race hours after the filing deadline. According to Dr. Eric Ostermeier of _Smart Politics_, since 1913, only four states—Alabama, California, Mississippi, and Virginia—have failed to field both a Democratic and Republican candidate in a U.S. Senate general election. If Democrats fail to field a candidate, Arkansas will become the fifth state.

*
U.S. HOUSE: All four incumbent representatives have filed for re-election, and none will face a primary challenge.  

*
Incumbent Rick Crawford (R) is unopposed for the 1st Congressional District. In 2018, Crawford was re-elected with 68.9% of the vote.

*
Incumbent French Hill (R), state Sen. Joyce Elliott (D), and J. Glenn Smith (ind.) will face off in the general election for the 2nd Congressional District. In 2018, Hill was re-elected with 52.1% of the vote. 

*
Incumbent Steve Womack (R), Celeste Williams (D), and Michael Kalagias (L) are competing in the general election for the 3rd Congressional District. He won re-election in 2018 with 64.7% of the vote.

*
Incumbent Bruce Westerman (R), William Hanson (D), and Frank Gilbert (L) will face off in the general election. In 2018, Westerman was re-elected with 66.7% of the vote.

*
STATE SENATE: Of the 17 seats on the ballot in 2020, five primaries—three Republican and two Democratic—are set for March 3. Two Republican incumbents and one Democrat incumbent are facing primary challengers; the other two primaries are open-seat races.  

*
STATE HOUSE: Of the 100 seats on the ballot in 2020, nine Republicans and one Democrat are not running for re-election. One seat is currently vacant but was previously held by Republican Mickey Gates. In total, 16 primaries—three Democratic and 13 Republican—are set for March 3. One Democratic incumbent and five Republican incumbents are facing primary challengers.

* Arkansas is one of 22 Republican state government trifectas ([link removed]) . A state government trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers.
 
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** CONGRESS IS IN SESSION
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* The Senate and the House will be in session next week. Click here ([link removed]) to see the full calendar for the first session of the 116th Congress.
 
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** WHERE WAS THE PRESIDENT LAST WEEK?
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On Monday, Trump participated in a wreath laying and delivered remarks at the New York City Veterans Day Parade.

*
On Tuesday, Trump spoke at the Economic Club of New York and participated in a roundtable with supporters.

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On Wednesday, Trump met with the President of the Republic of Turkey.

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On Thursday, Trump spoke at a Keep America Great rally in Louisiana.

*
On Friday, Trump spoke about honesty and transparency in healthcare prices.

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** FEDERAL JUDICIARY
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*
99 federal judicial vacancies

*
45 pending nominations

*
18 future federal judicial vacancies

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