In Tides v. Boeing Co., Matthew Neumann and Nicholas Tides were employed by the company’s SOX audit group. The employees allege that they were pressured by supervisors to provide reports giving favorable reviews to internal controls despite their concerns that said controls were vulnerable to manipulation by unauthorized users. Notwithstanding a published company policy prohibiting employees from speaking to the press, both employees provided information about what occurred to a newspaper reporter who incorporated the information in a published article. The Ninth Circuit held that the plaintiffs could not avail themselves to retaliation remedies in the SOX because “[l]eaks to the media are not protected.” The court articulated that SOX …show more content…
In Department of Homeland Security v. MacLean, the primary issue presented to the Court was whether the WPA definition of “law” should be construed narrowly or broadly. The narrow interpretation is if law is limited to legislative law only, and the broad interpretation is if includes law created by an agency. The Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) promulgated rules that place limitations disclosing “sensitive security information.” In Maclean, a federal air marshal publicly disclosed that the TSA decided to cut costs by scaling back the number of federal air marshals on long-distance flights. The federal air marshal revealed this to a reporter who subsequently published a story about it.
Basing its decision on the text of the statute, the Court held that the numerous references to “law, rule, or regulation” in § 2302 manifest that a reference only to “law” should be interpreted to exclude “rule” or “regulation.” Further, the Court elucidated that the Congress frequently mentions the phrase “law, rule, or regulation” throughout the statute. The text at issue refers only to “law” and the Court adduced a fundamental concept of statutory interpretation, which is that when the Congress includes certain language in one part of a statute, but excludes it from another part of the statute, it is
The role of the Judicial Branch of the United States has been the most dynamic throughout the Nation’s history. By adopting the power of judicial review in Marbury v. Madison in 1803, the Supreme Court established its position as being arguably the most powerful branch of Federal Government. However, this also made the Judiciary’s role the most controversial. Should the Court be required to interpret the constitution strictly through the language it contains? Does the Court have the right to overturn morals legislation? Through analyzing court cases like Lawrence v. Texas, one can gain insight on the role of the Supreme Court and how it fits within the confines of the United States Government.
Since the founding of the United States of America, freedom has been the basis of the governmental and ruling systems in place. Individual freedoms are protected in both the Bill of Rights and the rest of the Constitution, and Schwartz (2009) explains that ‘public liberty ultimately enhances collective rationality—it is a path to heightening our wisdom by increasing access to pertinent information and improving decision making’ (p. 409). However, there have been many times in history when the true freedom of citizens is called into question. There has always been controversy about how much power the government should have, who is keeping the government in check, and if citizens are properly informed about what their elected governed are doing. The passing of the Patriot Act in 2001 was no exception to this controversy. The
Statutory interpretation is the legal process whereby a judge applies a statute to a case and must give meaning to the words in the statute in order to decide what they mean and how it should be applied to a particular case. When interpreting statutes, the judges’ role is to put into effect the Parliaments wishes. Conflicts may arise when deciding if the intention of Parliament can be found in the words of the statute itself or whether judges should acquire into the purpose of the Act then interpret the words themselves. In order to interpret these
This case mainly deals with the interpretation of our Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which protects us from unlawful search and seizures. What we can learn from this case are: the differences in court systems, the elements that comprise the Fourth Amendment, and the controversies surrounding it. The text relevant to this case can be found within the first six chapters of our textbook, with an emphasis on Chapter 6 “Criminal Law and Business”.
In the mist of America ending its wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan here in the homeland we are still be proactive in trying to alleviate terrorist threats and opportunities for terroristic activity in our backyards. When looking at the USA PATRIOT ACT that was enacted to help battle this ongoing pandemic it has come into question whether the laws of the USA PATRIOT ACT extremely broad, narrow, and overarching that they leave too much room for interpretation which in the end has led to violations of a person’s rights that they are guaranteed by the US Constitution.
In this case, Chief Justice Roberts determines the role of the Court in his opinion. Roberts argues that the point of the Court is not to say whether a law is good or bad, if the people do not like the bill, it is their fault. Roberts says, “the responsibility of this Court is to enforce the limits on federal power by striking down the acts of Congress that transgress those limits” (Roberts, pg 6). He also says, “we must determine whether the Constitution grants Congress powers it now asserts, but which many States and individuals believe it does not possess” (Roberts, pg 2). To do so, the Court must examine the limits on the Government’s power and their own limited role in “policing those boundaries” (2). In this case, Roberts says the Court must uphold its constitutionality and the fundamental will of the people.
Since the passing of FISA came after a widespread finding of warrantless wiretapping by a number of different government entities, Congress along with the Carter administration, needed to carefully craft a bill that not only reconciled national security needs to conduct domestic surveillance, but also continued to protect individual liberties such as that of the first and fourth amendments. The once top-secret Carter administration memos regarding FISA offer a first-hand glimpse at the thinking that went into
The case New York Times Co. Vs United States in summary was a first amendment battle between the United States government and the prominent newspaper cooperation New York Times in 1971. The premises of this legal battle was based on the New York Times reporter Daniel Ellsberg publishing in excerpts illegally leaked, classified documents containing the United States involvement in the Vietnam War specifically on the anticipated death counts (Institution, 2015, p. n .p). However, The United States government finding out about leakage placed a prior restraint also known as “government action that prohibits speech or other expression before it can take place” on New York Times cooperation based on National Security grounds (Prior Restraint, 2015). The case, despite the over powering strength of the nation and the accusations against the New York Times Cooperation the case was ruled in favor of the New York Times by the Supreme Court (Curry, Riley, & Battistoni, 2015, p. 458).
Under the "plain-meaning" rule, if the intention of the legislature is "so apparent from the face of the statute that there can be no question as to its meaning, there is no need for the court to apply canons of construction" Overseas Education Ass'n v. Federal Labor Relations Authority, 876 F.2d 960 (D.C. Cir. 1989). A statute must be construed according to its plain meaning except in extraordinary conditions, which are not present here. Dept. of Housing & Urban Dev. v. Pucker, 122 S. Ct. 1230, 1233 (2002). Silence in a statute regarding a particular topic does not render the statute unclear or ambiguous unless the statute is susceptible of more than one reasonable interpretation. In re Welfare of R.S., 805 N.W.2d 44 (Minn. 2011). Before considering whether the canon of statutory construction should be applied, the district court would first need to determine whether the statute in question is ambiguous. Courts have generally held that a statute is ambiguous when reasonably well-informed persons could understand the language in either of two or more senses State ex rel. Neelen v. Lucas, 24 Wis. 2d 262, 128 N.W.2d 425 (1964). The district court does not indicate that it is applying the canon of statutory construction nor does it state that any portion of the Act is ambiguous such that it promulgated an additional category of private
agencies today are increasingly reliant on the third type of rulemaking due to both the cumbersome nature of the formal rulemaking process and the ease with which information can be disseminated to the public through the Internet. Generally, there are two categories of deference that courts grant an administrative agency’s interpretation of law, depending on the categorization of the administrative action in question. If agency action amounts to formal rulemaking, it is analyzed using a two-part test established in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc. If the agency action does not constitute formal rulemaking, courts use the factors established in Skidmore v. Swift & Co. to determine if deference should be granted.
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 impacted the American people without many of them realizing it. The act called for increased monitoring of computer networks, phone lines, and online history inside the United States and allowed the government to deport suspects (ACLU). What was created by the act has snaked its way into all aspects of our lives, creating a sense of order and restricting some freedom. However, some say that this imposition into our daily lives limits our freedoms and actions allowed us by the Constitution. Many interest groups voice strong resentment for the act while others try to demonstrate the strengths and triumphs of the Homeland Security Act. This paper will show the differing viewpoints of those that feel that the
The No Fly List is possibly one of the most contested and tumultuous topics among top officials and heads of states in the executive and judicial branch, in addition, to the public's budding interest in the topic. It might be surprising, but the debates surrounding the No Fly List are not new to politicians or judicial officials. The No Fly list was created to protect national security interests, and the debates surrounding the list represent the constant struggle to find balance between national security interests and protection of civil rights. This debate has been on going since the formation of the United States with punctuated periods of sparked interest and periods of subdued interest (coupled with periods of casual indifference.
This report reviews and analyzes individual rights afforded by the constitution and their applicability to the suit for wrongful termination in the case of Korb versus Raytheon. The specific constitutional rights under review are the freedom of speech, freedom of information and challenges associated with employment law. Lawrence Korb, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense and current employee of Raytheon, a large equipment manufacturing company for the U.S. military was terminated after making public statements criticizing defense spending and calling for a reduction of Navy’s fleet. Raytheon, a manufacturer of
The Freedom of Information Act was enforced when our government realized the importance of the relationship between access to information and government accountability. This act enables citizens to view a plethora of different files and records from government agencies. This act proved to be “a principal instrument for breaking down bureaucratic secrecy in American public administration” (p. 62).
The attacks on American soil that solemn day of September 11, 2001, ignited a quarrel that the grade of singular privacy, need not be given away in the hunt of grander security. The security measures in place were planned to protect our democracy and its liberties yet, they are merely eroding the very existence with the start of a socialistic paradigm. Benjamin Franklin (1759), warned more than two centuries ago: “they that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Implementing security measures comes at a cost both economically and socially. Government bureaucrats can and will utilize information for personal political objectives. The Supreme Court is the final arbitrator