Announcements, information and updates from CWAG Members and Associates
August 9, 2018
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ANNUAL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
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Fireside Chats
Special guests for one-on-one discussions included the Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, JUUL CEO Kevin Burns, and Microsoft Corporate Vice President Tom Burt.
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Ryan Zinke with Moderator Wayne Stenehjem, North Dakota AG
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Kevin Burns with Moderator Tom Miller, Iowa AG
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Tom Burt with Moderator Mark Brnovich, Arizona AG
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Lunch Speakers
Each day's luncheon benefited from a powerful and touching presentation, including Clark Flatt discussing Youth Suicide Prevention; UC Berkeley Earl Warren Professor of Public Law (Emeritus) Jesse Choper recapping significant developments at the Supreme Court this year; and former Tennessee Attorney General Mike Cody recounting his experience with Dr. Martin Luther King's last days in Memphis.
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International Partners
CWAG was honored to have representatives from
Canada, Ireland and the Navajo Nation at our annual meeting. We are grateful for the opportunity to continually
expand our sphere of influence, and we look forward to future cooperative projects.
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The Honorable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada on Multi-Jurisdictional Attorney General Issues
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Senator Alice Mary Higgins, Senator from Ireland on Cyber Issues including GDPR and Safe Harbor
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Ethel Branch, Navajo Nation Attorney General on Multi-Jurisdictional Attorney General Issues
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Hot Topics Discussed At The 2018 CWAG Annual Meeting
Check out the latest articles on topics that were addressed during the Annual Meeting in New Mexico! (
Note: Subscription may be required for access
.)
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Attorney General Coffman Issues Formal Opinion on Sports Betting
August 2, 2018
Colorado Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman issued a formal opinion at the request of the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Revenue. The formal opinion provided an analysis of state constitutional and statutory provisions to determine whether current law authorizes commercial sports betting in the State of Colorado. The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for states to legalize sports betting in
Murphy v. NCAA
which struck down a federal law from 1992 that had prohibited most states from authorizing sports betting. The Department of Revenue asked the Attorney General for an opinion on whether sports betting is now authorized in Colorado due to the Supreme Court’s decision or if a constitutional or statutory change would be necessary.
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Arizona Launches FinTech Sandbox Friday – Let the Building Begin
August 3, 2018
The
Arizona Attorney General’s Office will launch the first FinTech Sandbox in the United States, which eases regulatory burdens for entrepreneurs to test innovative FinTech products and services while remaining subject to Arizona’s consumer protection laws.
FinTech is an abbreviated term for “financial technology.” It encompasses new ways of providing traditional financial services, such as banking, payment systems, or investment advice. Accessing a bank account and making transfers via a smartphone app (commonly called mobile banking) is one example of a FinTech product.
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Utah Joins California on Federalism Issue
Eighteen states urge U.S. Supreme Court to follow 1985 precedent
August 7, 2018
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes announced Utah has joined California and sixteen other states asking the Supreme Court of the United States to uphold a Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision stating land use regulation and state property law cases should be heard in state courts before moving into the federal court system.
The case involves Rose Mary Knick, owner of 90 acres of rural land in eastern Pennsylvania, and the Township of Scott, Pennsylvania. Knick alleged the violation of her Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights and appealed the Third Circuit Court of Appeals before exhausting state-law remedies. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments of Knick v. Township of Scott in their next session.
Utah joined the California-led brief along with attorneys general from Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia.
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AG Schimel Announces Meth Lab Clean Up Program to Reduce Lab Clean Up Costs by 90%
August 6, 2018
Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel announced that six methamphetamine chemical storage containers will be placed across Wisconsin to assist local law enforcement with meth lab clean up. These special containers provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will save local law enforcement time, money, and increase the safety and security during a clandestine lab response. It is estimated these containers will on average help reduce cleanup costs by approximately 90 percent.
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Attorney General Hunter Supports Chickasaw, Choctaw Lawsuits Against Opioid Manufacturers
August 3, 2018
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter joined Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby and Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton in support of lawsuits separately filed by the two tribes against the nation’s leading manufacturers of opioids.
In similar filings in state court, the tribes claim the decades of deceptive marketing by the companies led to the ongoing public health crisis that continues to claim the lives of men and women across the state and tribal nations.
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Attorney General Hunter Announces State’s Opioid Lawsuit Returned to State Court to be Tried in Cleveland County
Hunter: We want to prove our case in front of Oklahomans
August 3, 2018
Attorney General Mike Hunter announced United States District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange granted the state’s motion to remand, returning the state’s lawsuit against the nation’s leading manufacturers of opioids back to Cleveland County.
In her 10-page order, Judge Miles-LaGrange concluded the federal court had no jurisdiction over the state’s case. The lawsuit, filed in June 2017, claims the decades of deceptive marketing by opioid manufacturers created the ongoing public health crisis that continues to devastate the lives of men, women and children across the state and country.
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Rutledge Leads States in Amicus Brief in Execution Drug Case
Says, ‘The families of these victims deserve justice’
August 7, 2018
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge led a coalition of fifteen states in filing an amicus brief in support of the State of Nevada, arguing the lawsuits continuing to be brought by pharmaceutical companies in order to prevent their drugs from being used to carry out the lawful sentences of execution are meritless.
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Arizona Victims of Las Vegas Mass Shooting Encouraged to Apply to Nevada Victims of Crime Program
Crime Program Application Deadline Quickly Approaching
August 1, 2018
Hundreds of Arizona survivors of the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting are being encouraged to apply to the Nevada Victims of Crime Program to help pay for current or future out-of-pocket expenses resulting from the tragedy. The deadline to apply is October 1, 2018.
According to Nevada officials, 595 Arizonans bought tickets to the Route 91 Harvest Festival last year. So far, only 82 people from Arizona have applied for victim’s benefits, the majority from Maricopa and Mohave counties. The State of Nevada is continuing their national outreach effort to ensure that everyone in attendance knows how to apply to the Nevada Victims of Crime Program to help pay for expenses.
Funds from the program may help reimburse survivors for medical bills or counseling co-pays not covered by insurance. Even if survivors don’t have any eligible expenses now, they’re encouraged to apply for the program before the deadline in case they incur future expenses.
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AG Schimel Wins $4.5 Million Judgment Against Milwaukee County Synthetic Cannabinoid Retailer
August 7, 2018
Attorney General Brad Schimel announced the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) has won a judgment against Atomic Glass and its owner, David Kelly, relating to sales of synthetic cannabinoids (“fake weed”) from the Atomic Glass store in Milwaukee from 2011 until December 2016.
In July 2018, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Witkowiak found Atomic Glass and Kelly liable for selling synthetic cannabinoid products in violation of Wisconsin’s fraudulent drug advertising statute.
“Spice” and “K2,” sometimes labelled as “herbal incense” or “potpourri,” are synthetic cannabinoids, are known to be unpredictable and dangerous, and are one type of designer drugs. They are similar to THC, the main psychotropic compound in marijuana, but have slightly different chemical compositions. Manufactured in clandestine laboratories using an ever-changing number of new chemical formulae, synthetic cannabinoid use can be highly addictive and has been linked to cases of organ failure, acute psychotic episodes, delirium, and death.
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The Pot Breathalyzer Is Here. Maybe
August 4, 2018
As legalization of recreational and medical marijuana continues to expand, police across the country are more concerned than ever about stoned drivers taking to the nation's roads and freeways, endangering lives.
With few accurate roadside tools to detect pot impairment, police have to rely largely on field sobriety tests developed to fight drunk driving or old-fashioned observation, which can be foiled with Visine or breath mints.
That has left police, courts, public health advocates and recreational marijuana users themselves frustrated. Nine states and the District of Columbia
have legalized recreational marijuana
and 30 states and D.C. have legalized medical pot. Now one California company claims it has made a major breakthrough in creating what some thought of as a unicorn: a marijuana breathalyzer.
There's still no agreement on what amount or level of THC in breath, blood or saliva constitutes functional impairment. So far only seven states, including Washington and Montana, have set legal guidelines as to how much THC in the system makes you dangerous behind the wheel. Yet some scientists are skeptical, saying those limits aren't really backed by hard science.
In the rest of the country, courts, police and scientists haven't been able to agree on which THC level constitutes functional impairment.
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ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE CASE
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Attorney General Kilmartin Joins Bipartisan Fight to Protect Veterans Memorial
July 30, 2018
Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin joined a bipartisan group of 28 states in fighting to protect a historic cross honoring World War I veterans as part of a case with much broader implications for the First Amendment.
The case at hand involves a nearly century-old memorial cross in Bladensburg, Maryland, started by community members and mothers whose sons died in World War I, and finished by the American Legion. The initial lawsuit seeks to force the state of Maryland to tear down the historic cross.
The 28-state coalition urges the U.S. Supreme Court to consider and ultimately protect veterans' memorials that include religious symbolism. The coalition's friend of the court brief seeks to overturn a lower court's ruling that one such memorial violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
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WGA-led Coalition Urges Congress to Reject Efforts Diminishing States’ Ability to Manage Water Quality Under Section 401 of Clean Water Act
August 9, 2018
CWAG has joined the Western Governors’ Association and eight other leading associations of state officials urge Congressional leadership to reject current legislative and administrative efforts to diminish states’ authority to manage water quality within their boundaries under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). The August 9, 2018 letter to House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Sen. Charles Schumer asserts “To implement the CWA, Congress purposefully designated states as co-regulators under a system of cooperative federalism that recognizes state authority. […] We implore you to ensure that the CWA continues to effectively protect water quality while maintaining the proper balance between state and federal authorities.
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California’s Attorney General and Air Resources Board, Los Angeles City Attorney, and County of Los Angeles File $119.5 Million Settlement before Court in Aliso Canyon Gas Leak Litigation
August 8, 2018
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, along with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer (City Attorney), and the County of Los Angeles (County) announced a $119.5 million settlement with the Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) over the unprecedented natural gas leak from a ruptured well at its Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility in Porter Ranch, California. Discovered on October 23, 2015, the leak caused natural gas to flow into the air for several months, releasing up to 109,000 metric tons of methane into the environment before the well was sealed in February 2016. The Attorney General, CARB, the City Attorney, and the County filed lawsuits against SoCalGas. This settlement is the result of lengthy settlement negotiations between the parties. The settlement is subject to approval by the Los Angeles Superior Court, and, if approved, will resolve all claims alleged in these lawsuits.
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Travis LeBlanc Nominated to Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board
August 7, 2018
Boies Schiller Flexner congratulates its partner
Travis LeBlanc
on his presidential nomination to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
LeBlanc, a former Chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau and a former senior advisor to California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, is a leading authority on cyber-security, privacy, telecommunications, and the regulation of emerging and disruptive technologies.
His nomination to the five-member PCLOB by President Donald J. Trump is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
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Welcome to the Sponsor Spotlight, where each week CWAG will celebrate one of our private sector partners.
DISH is a Fortune 200 company with more than $15 billion in annual revenue that continues to redefine the communications industry. Our legacy is innovation and a willingness to challenge the status quo, including reinventing ourselves. We disrupted the pay-TV industry in the mid-90s with the launch of the DISH satellite TV service, taking on some of the largest U.S. corporations in the process, and grew to be the fourth-largest pay-TV provider. We are doing it again with the first live, internet-delivered TV service – Sling TV – that bucks traditional pay-TV norms and gives consumers a truly new way to access and watch television. Now we have our sights set on upending the wireless industry and unseating the entrenched incumbent carriers. We are driven by curiosity, pride, adventure, and a desire to win – it’s in our DNA. We’re looking for people with boundless energy, intelligence, and an overwhelming need to achieve to join our team as we embark on the next chapter of our story.
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DIGITAL FORENSICS REPOSITORY
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CWAG and Cellebrite Update Digital Forensics Repository to Serve Legal and Law Enforcement Professionals Nationwide
The Resource Library supports creating legal policy and procedures around lawful access to evidence from public and private cloud sources.
July 23, 2018
CWAG and working group partner Cellebrite, a leading provider of digital intelligence solutions, announced the public launch of a comprehensive repository of digital procedural documents and educational assets designed to enhance the investigative process for the legal community. Previously only available to CWAG members, the library and its digital intelligence resources are now accessible to a new, broader and thoroughly vetted community – legal and public sector professionals who can access the documents by providing information such as a verifiable government email address.
Through partnerships with influencers and collectives in the law enforcement and investigative world, Cellebrite continues to work with the public to increase access to digital intelligence for a safer world.
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Digital Forensics | www.cwagweb.org
The digital insights and artifacts gathered over the course of an investigation create the essential building blocks for almost every case. Today, law enforcement professionals and prosecutors must navigate rapidly evolving digital forensic,...
Read more
www.cwagweb.org
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Updated
American Indian Law Deskbook
Is Now Available
The
American Indian Law Deskbook
is a concise, direct, and easy-to-understand handbook on Indian law. The chapter authors of this book are experienced state lawyers who have been involved in Indian law for many years.
American Indian Law Deskbook
addresses the areas of Indian law most relevant to the practitioner.
Topics include:
- Definitions of Indians and Indian tribes
- Indian lands
- Criminal, civil regulatory, and civil adjudicatory jurisdiction
- Civil rights
- Indian water rights
- Fish and wildlife
- Environmental regulation
- Taxation
- Gaming
- Indian Child Welfare Act and tribal-state cooperative agreements
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Follow the 31 AG Races in 2018 on this Interactive Website
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A significant number of states, 30 and the District of Columbia, have contests for the Office of Attorney General. Cozen O’Connor’s State Attorneys General Practice hosts an interactive map for those interested in following the races throughout the country. The State AG Election Tracker includes state-by-state AG candidate snapshots, filing deadlines and primary election dates; daily news, insights, polling and fundraising data; and the ability to sign up for real-time election-night updates via text and email. Access is free.
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