Announcements, information & updates from the Attorney General Alliance Members and Associates
July 1, 2022
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AGA-AFRICA ANNUAL CONFERENCE |
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AGA's Africa Alliance Partnership recently held the 3rd Annual AGA-Africa Annual Conference recently in Accra, Ghana June 28-29, 2022. This year's conference is being held under the theme, "Exploring new Frontiers for Cybersecurity and Africa’s Digital Future".
This year’s AGA-Africa Annual Conference was joined by Attorneys General Denise George from the US Virgin Islands and Sean Reyes from Utah.
The AGA-Africa is an international rule-of-law exchange established in 2016 for the purpose of collaborating with African stakeholders, contributing to the exchange of knowledge to support the rule of law, and leading to the reduction and prevention of transnational criminal activity. AGA-Africa aims to foster robust relationships with justice and law enforcement agencies and officials throughout Africa.
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In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion, and overruled the holdings in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. A 6-3 majority upheld the Mississippi law at issue in the case which sought to make abortions illegal if they occurred after 15 weeks of gestation. The Dobbs ruling purports to return “the authority to regulate abortion” to the states. State AGs in several states, including Mississippi, Texas, Missouri, Louisiana, and Georgia acted quickly to implement the ruling in their states. 22 other AGs, led by California and New York, issued a joint statement that they would protect abortion rights in their states.
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A coalition of twenty-two attorneys general, led by California and New York, issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to supporting and expanding access to abortion care. Despite the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, access to safe and legal abortion remains robustly protected in numerous states across the country. As highlighted by the multi-state coalition’s efforts in the amicus brief in Dobbs, the coalition of attorneys general will continue to fight to support the rights of pregnant people nationwide.
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and his counterparts in 18 other states urged U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, in a pointed letter, to take swift action in response to recent terrorist acts against pro-life judges and pro-life organizations, calling the lack of action intolerable.
Since the leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the attorneys general write, “charities that support pregnant mothers in need have been firebombed and pro-life organizations have been attacked almost daily and terrorized.”
In addition to Ohio, the letter was signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.
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In New York Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, a 6-3 majority of the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment includes an individual right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home. The ruling extended and clarified the holdings of the Court in Heller (2008) and McDonald (2010) and importantly established a new test for firearms regulation stating “Only if a firearm regulation is consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition may a court conclude that the individual’s conduct falls outside the Second Amendment’s unqualified command.” State firearm regulation is now subject to a new “text, history and tradition” test which replaces the "two-step" framework that had been used to determine 2nd Amendment challenges.
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A multistate coalition of 22 attorneys general is calling on the heads of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take swift action to eliminate toxic metals from baby food.
In a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, Deputy Commissioner Frank Yiannis, and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, the coalition outlines key strategies for the federal agencies that would allow them to take immediate and widespread action that would drive down the levels of dangerous toxic metals in food for babies and young children. This is the latest action in a series of efforts in response to increasing alarm regarding the health hazards posed by lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury in baby foods.
The coalition is joined in sending this letter to FDA and USDA leadership by the Attorneys General of New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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In West Virginia v. EPA, a 6-3 majority of the Supreme Court held that the EPA lacks authority to promulgate the Clean Power Plan, a rule designed to regulate and limit certain coal-fired power plants and other carbon emissions. The Court’s majority relied on “major question doctrine” jurisprudence, determining that the EPA’s program presented a major question that must be clearly addressed by Congress before an agency can assert authority through regulations. The Court held Congress has not delegated such significant authority to EPA and EPA cannot implement the Clean Power Plan until Congress acts.
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In Biden v. Texas, a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court held that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)(aka “remain in Mexico” policy) was discretionary and could be suspended and indeed is suspended, effectuated by an October 2021 DHS memorandum. The Court’s ruling reversed and remanded decisions by lower courts that sought to compel DHS to enforce the MPP.
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In Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court clarified and limited the scope of an earlier decision, McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020), by holding that state governments have jurisdiction to prosecute non-Indians even when the crime victim is Indian and the crime occurred in Indian country. We proudly note that the Court cited with approval to the American Indian Law Deskbook in its majority opinion.
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*Editions of the Deskbook are published annually by Thomson Reuters, and the 2022 Edition was issued during the week of May 23, 2021. It is available on Westlaw in the Secondary Sources/Texts & Treatises category, in hard copy, and in electronic format. |
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AGA Sponsor DLA Piper strives to be the leading global business law firm by delivering quality and value to their clients. DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning to help clients with their legal needs around the world.
DLA Piper is pleased to announce that Angela Agrusa, managing partner of the firm's Los Angeles offices, was named to the Los Angeles Business Journal's 2022 LA500 list honoring the most influential leaders and impactful executives in Los Angeles.
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Established in Denver more than 50 years ago, AGA sponsor Brownstein law firm has since expanded across the country to bring together legal knowledge, business acumen and policy expertise to clients. From their multidisciplinary perspective to the deep connections they cultivate across industries and communities, they have a unique ability to see the bigger picture.
A Brownstein team participated in the Denver PRIDE 5K in support of The Center on Colfax. The PRIDE 5K helps raise funds to support programs and services for Colorado’s LGBTQ+ community members, including Rainbow Alley, health services and support groups.
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Missed our live programs? No problem! Follow the button below to visit our Virtual Seminar Library for access to all recordings.
Do you have a webinar topic suggestion? We want to hear from you! Please email ideas to Patricia Salazar at PSalazar@AGAlliance.org.
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CWAG Executive Committee
AG Alliance Co-Chairs
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Attorney General Alliance 5050 | Laguna Blvd., Ste. 112-323 | Elk Grove, CA 95758
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