Richard Trumka, a commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), announced in April 2024 that major retailers, including Target and Walmart, would stop selling weighted baby swaddles. Trumka had sent letters to companies using his official CPSC letterhead, falsely insinuating that the Commission had determined the product to be unsafe and associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Dreamland Baby, a popular…

The Trump administration on Friday moved to revive a Biden-era U.S. Department of Labor regulation that would have extended mandatory overtime pay to 4 million salaried workers but has been struck down by two judges. The Labor Department filed a notice of appeal in Lubbock, Texas, federal court of U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings’ December ruling…

Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman has said the court’s other judges have undermined their claims about why they suspended her, by retaining experts who questioned reports from her own doctors finding her fit to serve as a judge…

By Paul Cassell I’ve previously blogged about the “stealth impeachment” of Judge Pauline Newman of the Federal Circuit. This post reviews Judge Newman’s recently filed reply brief and the Federal Circuit’s recent hiring of adversarial experts against Judge Newman. The whole process continues to raise troubling constitutional questions. Some quick background: Judge Newman has been “temporarily” suspended…

An attorney representing individuals who settled U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges but want to criticize the agency told the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Thursday that its policy violates the First Amendment. Margaret A. Little, a senior litigation counsel with the New Civil Liberties Alliance, told the panel that the commission’s…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit will hear oral arguments regarding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) gag rule on Thursday. The rule flagrantly violates the First Amendment by prohibiting all defendants who settle with the SEC from publicly pleading their innocence in perpetuity. Thomas Powell alleges that he was the victim…