Courts

What Is The FCC Hiding? Court Orders Agency To Release Info About Who Submitted Fake Comments During Net Neutrality Repeal

September 20, 2018 Staff, Fightforthefuture.org Educate! Courts, FCC, Internet

Reports today show that a DC District Court judge has ordered the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to disclose previously-unreleased information that will assist the public in understanding how millions of fake comments were submitted to the FCC using stolen names and addresses during the agency’s 2017 proceeding to repeal net neutrality. Digital rights group Fight for the Future, who was among the first to launch an investigation into the fake comments and have long called for a full investigation into the fake comments submitted onto the agency’s net neutrality docket, welcomes the court’s decision as a positive step forward for those who had their names fraudulently placed onto the FCC’s record.

Judge Blocks Monsanto Subpoena To Collect Activists’ Personal Information

September 15, 2018 Julie Wilson, Organicconsumers.org Resist! Courts, Monsanto, Repression

Monsanto can’t catch a break, not that it deserves one. The $50-billion mega-corporation, now owned by Bayer, has taken a beating this year, both in the courts and in the public eye. On August 10, a jury ordered Monsanto to pay $289.2 million to a former groundskeeper who successfully argued that the company’s flagship weedkiller, Roundup, caused his cancer. A few days later, Monsanto lost its bid to keep glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, off of California’s Proposition 65 list of carcinogens. Now this: On September 6 (2018), a Manhattan judge threw out a subpoena filed by Monsanto against an activist group, going so far as to lecture Monsanto on the importance of free speech and democracy.

‘Victory For All Of Us’: Federal Court Of Appeal Quashes Approval Of $9.3-Billion Oil Pipeline Expansion

August 31, 2018 Gordon Hoekstra, Rob Shaw & Cheryl Chan, Vancouversun.com Educate! Courts, Pipelines

As First Nations and environmentalists celebrated Thursday’s Federal Court of Appeal decision to quash approval of the $9.3-billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion, one thing is clear: More delay and higher costs if the project does go ahead. In a unanimous decision, the court found that Canada had not adequately consulted each of six First Nations that had challenged the project’s approval. The three-judge court, in its 263-page decision written by judge Eleanor Dawson, also found the scope of the National Energy Board’s review “unjustifiably” did not include tanker traffic related to the project, which will have a negative effect on endangered killer whales, also known as orcas. The project has been hugely controversial in British Columbia, particularly in the Lower Mainland, where there have been years of protest, rallies and most recently arrests.

Federal Court Dismisses Pipeline Corporation’s Lawsuit Against The Earth First! Environmental Movement

August 28, 2018 Staff, Ccrjustice.org Resist! Courts, Environment, Lawsuit, Pipelines

August 23, 2018, North Dakota – Yesterday, a federal court dismissed the environmental movement Earth First! from a lawsuit by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the corporation behind the Dakota Access Pipeline. One year ago, ETP, represented by Kasowitz, Benson, Torres, the firm that represents President Trump, filed a sprawling lawsuit, claiming Earth First! funded a violent terrorist presence and criminal enterprise at the Standing Rock protests, with half a million dollars and proceeds from drug sales in a conspiracy with mainstream environmental groups. “Earth First! should have never been named in this far-fetched suit in the first place,” said Pamela Spees, senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Internet Groups Urge U.S. Court To Reinstate ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules

August 28, 2018 David Shepardson, Reuters.com Resist! Courts, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

In a legal filing Monday, the Internet Association, Entertainment Software Association, Computer & Communications Industry Association, and Writers Guild of America West urged the reversal of the Trump administration decision to overturn the rules in December. “Rules regulating the conduct of (internet providers) continue to be needed to protect and promote an open internet,” the groups wrote in a brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Last week, 22 states and the District of Columbia, asked the same appeals court to reinstate the prior rules after the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 in December along party lines to reverse rules that barred internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking or throttling traffic or offering paid fast lanes, also known as paid prioritization.

Win! Landmark Seventh Circuit Decision Says Fourth Amendment Applies To Smart Meter Data

August 24, 2018 By Jamie Williams, Eff.org Educate! Courts, Fourth Amendment

The Seventh Circuit just handed down a landmark opinion, ruling 3-0 that the Fourth Amendment protects energy-consumption data collected by smart meters. Smart meters collect energy usage data at high frequencies—typically every 5, 15, or 30 minutes—and therefore know exactly how much electricity is being used, and when, in any given household. The court recognized that data from these devices reveals intimate details about what’s going on inside the home that would otherwise be unavailable to the government without a physical search. The court held that residents have a reasonable expectation of privacy in this data and that the government’s access of it constitutes a “search.” This case, Naperville Smart Meter Awareness v. City of Naperville, is the first case addressing whether the Fourth Amendment protects smart meter data.

22 States Ask Court To Restore Net Neutrality

August 22, 2018 By Jacob Kastrenakes, Theverge.com Resist! Courts, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

Attorneys general representing 22 states and the District of Columbia asked a federal court to reinstate net neutrality, saying the Federal Communications Commission failed to properly consider the issues when removing the policy in 2017. In a brief filed last night, the attorneys general argue that the FCC’s decision “will cause [inevitable harms] to consumers, public safety, and existing regulatory schemes” and that the commission “entirely ignored many of these issues” when overturning net neutrality. In particular, the attorneys general say that the commission failed to consider public safety concerns that could come from the loss of net neutrality. That’s a critical problem, they say, because public safety is part of the agency’s forming statute.

Federal Court Overrules Trump And Calls For Full Environmental Review Of Keystone XL In Nebraska

August 17, 2018 Staff, Nokxlpromise.org Resist! Courts, Keystone XL, Nebraska, Pipelines, Trump Administration

Lower Brule, SD — Today, a federal court ruled the State Department must conduct an environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline route in Nebraska. Last November, the Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a “Mainline Alternative” route for the pipeline through the state. Tribes and landowners have since challenged the PSC decision. The federal court ruling is a strong affirmation of their claims and an impediment to the TransCanada corporation pipeline. In one of his first acts in office, President Trump revived the Keystone XL pipeline, previously scrapped by President Obama due to serious environmental, climate and legal concerns. Communities across the country have taken to the streets to protest the decision, and more than 17,000 people have signed the “Promise to Protect,” committing to action along the proposed route for Keystone XL if called upon by Indigenous leaders.

The World Reacts To The Roundup Cancer Trial Guilty Verdict

August 16, 2018 Staff, Sustainablepulse.com Resist! Cancer, Courts, glyphosate, Monsanto

Following the guilty verdict handed out on Friday to Monsanto in the landmark legal case in San Francisco, which judged that the glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup causes cancer, the pressure has mounted on Monsanto’s new owner Bayer from all over the world. Sustainable Pulse has put a review together of some of the most important global reactions to the verdict, which is set to see Monsanto pay out $289 Million in total damages to Mr. Dewayne Johnson, in the first of over 5000 legal cases that have been filed.

Monsanto’s Loss Is Our Gain—Let’s Make The Most Of It

August 15, 2018 Katherine Paul, Organicconsumers.org Organize! Cancer, Corruption, Courts, Monsanto

Thank you to the 12 jurors who listened attentively and critically, during long days of testimony, then deliberated with care, and ultimately did the right thing. Thank you to the lawyers who invested countless hours in investigative work and trial preparation, and who argued rationally and intelligently on behalf of the plaintiff, science and ethics. Thank you to those media outlets and advocacy organizations who covered the case, pored over the “Monsanto Papers” and took seriously their obligation to inform the public. But most of all, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, the plaintiff in the Dewayne Johnson v. Monsanto case. For his persistence in getting to the bottom of what caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Court Bans Harmful Pesticide That Trump EPA Tried To Keep On The Market

August 13, 2018 By Whitney Webb, Mintpressnews.com Resist! Ban, Courts, EPA, Pesticides, Trump Administration

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the harmful pesticide chlorpyrifos within 60 days. The court’s ruling is being seen as a major victory for environmentalists and public health activists, who have been fighting to ban the agro-chemical for well over a decade, and comes a few months after Hawaii passed the country’s first state-wide ban of the substance. The chemical, which numerous studies have shown causes significant damage to the nervous systems of children and infants, was banned for household use by the EPA in 2000, but the regulatory agency has largely resisted banning its use in agriculture. Yet efforts to ban the chemical had seemed to pay off when the EPA under the Obama administration proposed banning the substance for agricultural use in 2015.

The Landmark Monsanto Verdict May Not Have Been Possible Without Activism And Alternative Media

August 13, 2018 By Matt Agorist, Activistpost.com Resist! Activism, Alternative media, Courts, Monsanto

On Friday, a landmark case against Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller concluded in San Francisco in which a jury awarded $289 million in damages to a former school groundskeeper, Dewayne Johnson, concluding that Roundup gave him terminal cancer. Naturally, Monsanto announced that they are going to appeal this case. However, what this case illustrates is a massive shift in the tide against the chemical behemoth. Had Johnson attempted this lawsuit just three years ago, he would’ve likely been laughed out of the courtroom. Thanks to the relentless independent investigations and independent media, however, this is all changing. If you get all of your news from mainstream media and cable TV infotainment, then you’re probably unaware that glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide) has been linked to cancer.

US Judge Authorizes Seizure Of Citgo For Debt Of Venezuela

August 11, 2018 Staff, Archyworldys.com Educate! Courts, Debt, Venezuela

A US federal judge authorized the seizure of Citgo Petroleum Corp., the subsidiary of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, to satisfy a debt of the Venezuelan government, reports the Wall Street Journal. The ruling could trigger a dispute between Venezuela's many unpaid creditors to wrest control of their only visibly unalienable US asset, the report said. Judge Leonard P. Stark of the United States District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, issued the ruling Thursday. However, his complete opinion, which could include conditions or impose more legal obstacles, was sealed. A redacted version is expected to be available at a later date, say journalists Andrew Scurria and Julie Wernau, who report the news. The ruling increases the likelihood that the Venezuelan state oil company will lose control of a valuable foreign asset in the midst of the country's economic and political crisis, although the decision could be appealed to a higher federal court, it said.

Lawsuit Confronts Extortion Of Prisoners By Electronic Monitoring Firm

August 8, 2018 By Emmett Sanders and James Kilgore, Truthout.org Educate! Corruption, Courts, Lawsuit, Prison Industrial Complex

Robert Jackson was four days into a 120-day sentence in an Alameda County, California, jail when his wife passed away unexpectedly, leaving their three young children without a parent in the home. He was compassionately released with the caveat that he submit to electronic monitoring by the for-profit Leaders in Community Alternatives (LCA) company. Though his weekly paycheck was $400-$500, his weekly monitoring fees to LCA came to $250 per week — 50-65 percent of his total income. He ultimately paid around $4,500 for 113 days of monitoring, while being repeatedly threatened with violation and jail if he didn’t pay — something that would have left his children without a parent and at the mercy of the state. Jackson was forced to sell his car and eventually had to give up his apartment — leaving him homeless — just so he could pay off LCA.

Monsanto Pays Harvard Wizard $100k To Perform Statistical Magic Show For Jury

August 8, 2018 Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Kevin Baum, Organicconsumers.org Educate! Corruption, Courts, Harvard, Monsanto

Despite its impressive name, the HSPH has earned an unsavory reputation for taking rich contributions from polluters in exchange for producing scientific “research” that fortifies corporate profit-taking. Big Tobacco, the chemical industry, Detroit automakers, corporate food processors, and industrial meat and grain barons have all turned to HSPH for corporate-friendly science anointed with the imprimatur of the Harvard name. HSPH’s iconic founder, Fredrick Stare, proudly bore the sobriquet “Mr. Sugar” for his adamant defense of a sugar-only diet. Stare’s sweet tooth garnered HSPH millions of dollars in research grants from Kellogg’s, General Mills and Coca-Cola. In exchange for soda industry lucre, Stare obligingly provided the scientific conclusion that a cold Coke was “a healthy between-meals snack.”

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