• Wisconsin Central Ltd. v. United States0

    Justia Opinion Summary and Annotations Congress adopted the Railroad Retirement Tax Act of 1937 in response to the Great Depression, federalizing private railroad pension plans. Private railroads and their employees pay a tax based on employees’ incomes; the federal government provides employees a pension often more generous than the social security system supplies employees in

    READ MORE
  • Lucia v. Securities and Exchange Commission0

    Justia Opinion Summary and Annotations The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has authority to enforce securities laws by instituting an administrative proceeding against an alleged wrongdoer, typically overseen by an administrative law judge (ALJ). Other staff members, rather than the Commission, selected all of the five current ALJs, who have “authority to do all things

    READ MORE
  • Pereira v. Sessions0

    Justia Opinion Summary and Annotations Under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, nonpermanent residents who are subject to removal may be eligible for cancellation of removal if they have “been physically present” in the U.S. for a continuous period of not less than 10 years, 8 U.S.C. 1229(b)(1)(A). Continuous presence is deemed to

    READ MORE
  • Gill v. Whitford0

    Justia Opinion Summary and Annotations Members of the Wisconsin Legislature are elected from single-member legislative districts. The legislature redraws district boundaries following each census. After the 2010 census, the legislature passed Act 43. Democratic voters alleged that Act 43 harms the Democratic Party’s ability to convert Democratic votes into Democratic legislative seats by “cracking” certain

    READ MORE
  • Chavez-Meza v. United States0

    Justia Opinion Summary and Annotations Petitioner pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The judge determined the Guidelines range to be 135-168 months and imposed a 135-month sentence. The Sentencing Commission later lowered the relevant range to 108-135 months. Petitioner sought a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2). The same judge reduced his

    READ MORE
  • Benisek v. Lamone0

    Justia Opinion Summary and Annotations Republican voters alleged that Maryland’s Sixth Congressional District was gerrymandered in 2011 in retaliation for their political views. Six years after the General Assembly redrew the District, plaintiffs sought to enjoin election officials from holding congressional elections under the 2011 map. The district court denied the motion and stayed further

    READ MORE