Federal Practice Section

This section was formed in 2005 to serve the needs of Tennessee attorneys whose primary practice is in the federal courts. Its purpose is to further the knowledge of its members and to act as an advocate for those attorneys.

Chair
Burch, Porter & Johnson PLLC
130 N. Court Ave
Memphis, TN 38103
(901)524-5000
Immediate Past Chair
Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens...
PO Box 171443
Memphis, TN 38119
(901)680-7324

Court Will Hear 6 New Cases in April

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear six cases during its April sitting, which begins April 15. The cases include questions of whether an individual who has not been arrested but is interviewed by police has the right to remain silent; whether federal funds can be withheld from anti-AIDS groups that do not actively oppose prostitution; whether federal law preempts port regulations that limit the operations of federally licensed truckers; whether state or federal law controls the right to receive death benefits from a federal employee’s life insurance policy; whether the federal anti-extortion act applies to a private individual fighting a government recommendation about a pension fund; and whether Congress has authority to make failure to register for a sex crime a federal offense long after the sentence imposed for the crime is completed. Learn more on SCOTUSBlog.

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U.S. Will Not Retry Whistleblower Case

The Department of Justice yesterday told U.S. District Judge John D. Bates that it will not try again to sue the watchdog group Project on Government Oversight for sharing $400,000 of a $1.2 million whistleblower settlement with Richard A . Bearman, a government economist at the time, for exposing oil companies’ underpayment of royalties to the government 14 years ago. The government argued the payment violated a federal ban on supplementing the salary of an executive branch employee, but the jurors split 7-1, causing the judge to declare a mistrial.

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