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The Daily Docket

The Daily Docket

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

 

By Caitlin Tremblay

Good morning. Today we have a look at the legality of presidential use of the autopen. Plus, the 11th Circuit will weigh the constitutionality of a provision of the False Claims Act; the DOJ and the Commerce Department were hit with a FOIA lawsuit over law firm work; and is Big Law’s “pyramid” due for an AI makeover? Friday, at last. Here’s a photo of Santas surfing and other unusual pics from this week. Have a great weekend!

 

Can Trump invalidate Biden actions recorded by autopen?

 

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

President Trump has claimed that some actions by former President Biden, including Federal Reserve appointments, were invalid because Biden used an autopen to sign them. Are they?

First, what’s an autopen?
It’s a mechanical device that reproduces signatures, widely used by officials and business leaders. U.S. presidents have relied on it for decades, including President Obama who famously used it in 2011 to sign Patriot Act extensions while abroad.

Is it legal?
The U.S. Constitution requires a president to “sign” bills, but in 2005 the DOJ concluded that directing a signature via autopen satisfies this requirement if it reflects intent. Courts have upheld similar uses in past cases.

Can Trump undo Biden’s actions?
Legal experts say pardons and appointments remain valid unless it’s proven that the pen’s use was unauthorized or contrary to Biden’s intent. It’s a high bar to clear, especially for Fed governors who were confirmed by the U.S. Senate. 

Tom Hals has more here.

 

Coming up today

  • The D.C. Circuit will hear appeals in the case of Bowe Bergdahl, a former U.S. Army sergeant who walked off his post in 2009 only to be captured by the Taliban and spend five years as their prisoner. He was court-martialed for desertion in 2017. In 2023, a federal judge voided that conviction due to potential bias from the military judge, Col. Jeffery Nance, who sought a job with the Trump administration. The DOJ is appealing to overturn that ruling. Bergdahl also filed an appeal arguing the lower court correctly found bias but erred in not dismissing the charges entirely.
  • The 9th Circuit will hear an appeal of a preliminary injunction won by the Los Angeles Press Club preventing federal law enforcement agents from threatening journalists at protests. Read the PI.
  • The 11th Circuit will weigh the constitutionality of a provision of the federal False Claims Act that allows whistleblowers to pursue fraud claims on behalf of the United States. Last year, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Mizelle in Florida struck down the provisions, saying they improperly allow whistleblowers to exercise federal executive power without accountability to the president.
  • Luigi Mangione is due in state court again for a conference ahead of his trial on charges of murdering UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson.
  • The U.S. Sentencing Commission will hold a meeting to vote on whether to publish proposed amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

 

More top news

  • White House seeks to advance Lindsey Halligan's nomination as U.S. Attorney, but faces hurdles
  • DOJ again fails to revive case against NY Attorney General James
  • Reddit sues Australia over social media ban, citing free speech threat
 
 

Industry insight

  • A government accountability watchdog sued the U.S. Department of Commerce and the DOJ seeking records of any agreements those agencies made with the nine large law firms that struck deals with President Trump earlier this year.
  • A California clinic that specializes in stem cell therapy treatments is ending a $10 million lawsuit against Venable, which had represented the clinic for years in a legal dispute with the FDA.
 

132

That’s how many aspiring attorneys who failed the Washington bar exam over the past five years are now eligible to be licensed in the state. The Washington Supreme Court retroactively lowered the pass score as part of a larger scoring evaluation tied to the debut of the new national bar exam in July.

 

"I cannot see how the billable hour revenue model survives the arrival of gen AI."

—Bruce MacEwen, a law firm consultant at Adam Smith Esq on how firms are generally unprepared for how AI will shift their billing and staffing models. Is Big Law's “pyramid” due for an AI makeover? Read more in this week’s Billable Hours.

 

Craving more news? A Reuters subscription gives you unlimited access for $1 a week. Plus, no surprise price increases and you can cancel anytime. Sign up here.

 

In the courts

  • The 9th Circuit partly reversed sanctions against Apple in the Epic Games antitrust lawsuit. Read the ruling here.
  • A 6th Circuit panel suggested the NLRB strayed from U.S. Supreme Court precedent when it issued a major ruling requiring employers that violate labor laws during union organizing drives to bargain with unions even if they lost an election or never held one. Read more about the oral arguments.
  • OpenAI and its largest financial backer Microsoft were sued in California state court based on allegations that OpenAI's popular chatbot ChatGPT encouraged a mentally ill man to kill his mother and himself.