Apology as Accountability in Transitional Justice

LESLEY WEXLER

Illinois law professor Lesley M. Wexler discusses the possibility of and criteria for amend making, amid calls for national unity and moving forward after the violence at the Capitol on January 6. Professor Wexler focuses on Oklahoma Senator James Lankford’s recent apology after his call for an electoral commission, applauding Senator Lankford for his willingness to apologize but pointing out that these actions alone do not undertake much of the hard work demanded by restorative and transitional justice.

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Why Georgia Should Take the Lead in Holding President Trump Accountable for His Crimes Against Democracy

AUSTIN SARAT, JOHN DEVILLE

Austin Sarat—Associate Provost and Associate Dean of the Faculty and William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence & Political Science at Amherst College—and history teacher John deVille argue that George should take the lead in holding Donald Trump accountable for crimes against democracy. Professor Sarat and Mr. deVille point out that a criminal trial with Trump in the dock would be both “a galvanizing national seminar on democratic values” and “a chance for officers of the court to question the President in a forum where he could neither obfuscate nor intimidate.”

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Trump’s Pardons Can and Must Be Challenged and Nullified

NEIL H. BUCHANAN

UF Levin College of Law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan argues that the President’s pardon power is not absolute or unreviewable, despite what many have suggested. Professor Buchanan observes that this conventional misreading of the clause is agrammatical because it treats an ambiguous provision as if it were unambiguous, and he points out that even self-styled textualists do not construct comparable provisions of the Constitution so absolutely.

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United States v. Abell

Docket: 20-1120

Opinion Date: January 15, 2021

Judge: Sandra Lea Lynch

Areas of Law: Criminal Law, Family Law, White Collar Crime

The First Circuit affirmed the district court's order granting the government's request to garnish Appellant's husband's 401(k) account and apply the proceeds to his nearly four million dollar criminal restitution obligations, holding that Appellant had no vested legal interest in her husband's account. Appellant's husband (Husband) pleaded guilty to eight counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and unlawful monetary transactions. The district court sentenced him to a term of incarceration and ordered him to pay $3,879,750 in restitution. The government later asked the district court for a writ of garnishment directed at Husband's 401(k) plan, which Husband held individually in his own name. The district court rejected Appellant's objections and issued a garnishment order. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) Massachusetts law did not give Appellant a vested legal interest in Husband's 401(k) account; and (2) it was not plain error for the district court to issue the writ of garnishment without compensating Appellant for her contingent death benefit under the policy.

United States v. Flores-Quinones

Dockets: 18-2029, 18-2030

Opinion Date: January 15, 2021

Judge: Sandra Lea Lynch

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentences imposed in connection with his guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm, holding that the sentences were procedurally and substantively reasonable. Defendant pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant was sentenced to sixty months' imprisonment for that offense and to eighteen months' imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release. Defendant appealed, challenging both the procedural and substantive reasonableness of his sentences, which were above the United States Sentencing Guidelines range. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Defendant's variant sentences were both procedurally and substantively reasonable.

Union de Trabajadores de la Industria Electrica y Riego v. Ortiz Vazquez

Docket: 20-1332

Opinion Date: January 15, 2021

Judge: Sandra Lea Lynch

Areas of Law: Labor & Employment Law

In this appeal from the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) Title III court in Puerto Rico the First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Petitioner's mandamus petition for failure to state a claim, holding that the Title III court correctly dismissed the petition for writ of mandamus. The petition at issue alleged that when the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) announced that it would increase some medical co-pays while decreasing others in order to comply with its certified fiscal plan PREPA violated two provisions of a Puerto Rican statute. Petitioner, which represented the employees of PREPA, sought to compel PREPA to comply with the savings and pre-existing conditions provisions of Act No. 26-2107, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 3, 9461 et seq. The Title III court denied mandamus relief, concluding that Petitioner did not meet its burden of showing that there were no adequate alternative remedies. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the petition was correctly dismissed because Petitioner did not demonstrate that there was no adequate alternative remedy available for its members to recover from PREPA.

Nandjou v. Marriott International, Inc.

Docket: 19-2189

Opinion Date: January 15, 2021

Judge: David J. Barron

Areas of Law: Personal Injury

In this appeal arising out of a lawsuit for damages that Plaintiff brought against three defendants in connection with the drowning deaths of her husband and son, the First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court dismissing the suit based on the doctrine of forum non conveniens, holding that dismissal was not warranted. Plaintiff named as defendants Marriott International, Inc.; Marriott Worldwide Corporation; and Reluxicorp, Inc., the Marriott franchisee in Montreal where the drowning occurred. The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts found personal jurisdiction over Defendants but dismissed it based on the doctrine of forum non conveniens, concluding that an adequate alternative forum was available in Canada. The First Circuit reversed in part, holding (1) the district court correctly denied Defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction; but (2) the district court erred in granting Defendant's motion to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds.

Porsche Automobile Holding SE v. John Hancock Life Insurance Co.

Dockets: 20-1239, 20-1241

Opinion Date: January 15, 2021

Judge: William Joseph Kayatta, Jr.

Areas of Law: Securities Law

The First Circuit affirmed the decisions of the district court in these appeals challenging the court's discretionary rulings in connection with a request under 28 U.S.C. 1782 to conduct court-ordered discovery for use in a foreign proceeding, holding that the district court did not err or abuse its discretion. The foreign proceeding at issue was one of approximately 200 separate securities fraud actions brought in 2016 against Porsche Automobile Holding SE in Germany. The actions stemmed from Porsche's alleged malfeasance in connection with "defeat devices" employed to circumvent emissions testing in certain diesel vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen AG. The district court granted in part Porsche's request for discovery in the United States from affiliates of John Hancock funds who were plaintiffs in the German actions. The First Circuit affirmed the district court's orders denying the Hancock plaintiffs' motion to intervene and denying in part the Hancock affiliates' motion to quash, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion.