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January 2, 2013
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Government Affairs & Public Policy
ICMA signed onto an amicus curiae brief filed by State and Local Legal Center (SLLC) in a U.S. Supreme Court case involving the constitutionality of Maryland’s DNA arrest law. In Maryland v. King the Supreme Court will decide whether the Fourth Amendment allows states to collect and analyze DNA, without a warrant, from people arrested and charged with serious crimes. Alonzo King was arrested on first and second degree assault charges. Maryland’s DNA Collection Act allows state and local law enforcement authorities to collect DNA samples from those arrested for crimes or attempted
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December 28, 2012
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Government Affairs & Public Policy
ICMA signed onto an amicus curiae brief filed by State and Local Legal Center (SLLC) in the U.S. Supreme Court in a takings case. The Supreme Court will decide two issues in Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District . First, whether the “essential nexus” and “rough proportionality” tests apply to conditioning receipt of a land-use permit on paying money. Second, whether a “taking” can occur if the government does not issue a land-use permit. The SLLC’s amicus brief argues the answer to both questions should be no. This case
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December 11, 2012
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Government Affairs & Public Policy
The issue the Supreme Court will decide in City of Arlington & Cable, Telecommunications, and Technology Committee v. FCC is whether courts should defer to a federal agency’s determination that it has authority to interpret a statute. If this issue seems a bit esoteric, the facts of the case help illustrate what is at stake for local government. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires state and local governments to respond to requests to place, construct, or modify personal wireless service facilities within a “reasonable period of time.” The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) interpreted a “reasonable period
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December 6, 2012
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Government Affairs & Public Policy
For the third time in two Supreme Court terms, the Court will decide a Medicaid case. While Delia v. E.M.A. isn’t nearly as big of a deal as the Affordable Care Act case, from the perspective of local government, it is significant for at least two reasons. First, local governments in general have an interest in the sustainability of the Medicaid system. Second, in about half of the states, counties pay for at least part of the Medicaid costs of someone injured by the fault of another person. Medicaid allows states to collect
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September 6, 2012
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Local governments (and/or local government employees) were directly involved in at least seven Supreme Court cases from the Court’s October 2011 term. Considering the Court decided less than 70 cases, about 10 percent directly involved local governments. Even more cases impact local governments, even if local governments weren’t a named party. While a number of these cases will have a big impact on local governments, all were outshined by the two most prominent cases of the term—the Affordable Care Act case and the Arizona immigration case. So what were these other cases about? Well, the Court issued
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August 29, 2012
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So far the most controversial case the U.S. Supreme Court has accepted for its October 2012 term involves the University of Texas-Austin’s affirmative action plan. Will it take a gay marriage case is the big question. If the Court’s objective is to lie low after deciding two particularly controversial cases—the Affordable Care Act cases and Arizona immigration case—stormwater runoff might be a safe subject matter to take up. This perhaps explains why the Court has accepted not one but two stormwater runoff cases! While the general public may find stormwater runoff (and therefore these cases) to be
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August 23, 2012
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The Ninth Circuit (AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA) has a reputation for listening to the beat of its own drummer. And the Supreme Court has a reputation of taking the drum back and correcting the beat. Will this happen in Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council ? The State and Local Legal Center (SLLC) has filed an amicus brief in this case, which ICMA has signed onto, and thinks (and hopes!) so. The controversy in Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources
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August 16, 2012
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If you did, you may view and listen to a recording of the webinar here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/599978554 . On July 19, 2012, the SLLC offered a Supreme Court webinar on the significant cases from the Supreme Court’s October 2011 term affecting state and local government. Speakers were Paul Clement , who argued the Affordable Care Act case on behalf of the states before the Supreme Court, and Patricia Millett , who argued three cases before the Court this term impacting state or local government. The Affordable Care Act case and the Arizona
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June 20, 2012
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While all attention focuses on the U.S. Supreme Court’s imminent rulings in the Affordable Care Act cases and the Arizona immigration case, the Supreme Court has been issuing rulings in a number of lower profile cases, one of which affects local government. This week the U.S. Supreme Court held in Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Patchak that the United States can be sued for acquiring land per the Indian Reorganization Act. And a private citizen who lives near the acquired land has “standing” to bring the lawsuit. Section 465 of the Indian Reorganization Act
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June 8, 2012
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The last week of June likely will be big even for Americans who generally don’t give a second thought to the U.S. Supreme Court because the Affordable Care Act cases and the Arizona immigration case will be decided then. But for at least local government and the State and Local Legal Center (SLLC) this week has been exciting! The Supreme Court issued opinions in two cases where the SLLC filed an amicus brief: Armour v. Indianapolis and Reichle v. Howards . Remarkably, the SLLC’s brief was cited in
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April 26, 2012
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The Supreme Court heard oral argument in Arizona v. United States where the Court must decide whether federal law preempts four provisions of Arizona’s immigration law. Supreme Court reporters and watchers seem to agree the Supreme Court will uphold the portion of Arizona’s law requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone stopped or arrested when there is “reasonable suspicion” the person is here unlawfully. As Justice Roberts pointed out, if the federal government does not want to pursue deporting someone, it does not have to. But a number of Justices seemed concerned about
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April 19, 2012
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On Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Filarsky v. Delia that law firm attorneys temporarily hired by the government may receive immunity from a lawsuit for violating someone’s constitutional rights. ICMA signed onto the State and Local Legal Center’s amicus brief in this case which argued that local governments frequently hire outside counsel, and outside attorneys are likely to raise their rates or even refuse to represent government altogether if they can never receive qualified immunity. The Supreme Court concluded that outside attorneys may receive
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