Judiciary 'ill-equipped’ to run courthouses?

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

By Caitlin Tremblay

Good morning. The Trump administration called the federal judiciary "ill-equipped" to manage its courthouses. Plus, the D.C. Circuit will weigh the Trump administration's "expedited removal" policies; jury selection will begin in the trial of former U.S. Congressman David Rivera, who is accused of acting as an agent for Venezuela; and nearly 30 U.S. appeals court judges condemned a Trump-appointed judge's "vulgar bathroom talk" in a transgender bias case. We've circled back to Monday. Here are some unusual images to kick off the week.

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

The Trump administration is fighting the federal judiciary's effort to secure independent control over its courthouses and end the executive branch's management of its buildings, saying the court system ‌is "ill-equipped for the real estate job." Edward Forst, the head of the General Services Administration, made the statement in a letter, deepening strains between the judiciary and the administration of President Trump, who has repeatedly attacked judges and U.S. Supreme Court justices who rule against him. Nate Raymond has more here.

Last year, the GSA demanded the judiciary justify why the administration should not cancel leases for space it utilizes at 160 locations nationally and also eyed 443 court properties for potential sale.

In other judiciary news, last week the federal judiciary approved a new office focused on improving the quality of representation of indigent criminal defendants at the U.S. Supreme Court, with the goal of creating a counterweight to the U.S. Solicitor General's Office. Policymakers also outlined plans to accelerate the development of a new, more secure electronic case management system, saying a major hack of the system last year made clear the need to upgrade the aging system.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

That's how much in legal fees U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn awarded to lawyers who sued Kimberly-Clark over the labeling of its "flushable" wipes, dismissing objections that the lawyers would earn more than class members in the case.

—9th Circuit Judges John Owens and Danielle Forrest in a single-sentence opinion. Nearly 30 U.S. appeals court judges have rebuked 9th Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, appointed by President Trump, over his coarsely-worded dissent in a case involving a nude spa for women that refused service to a transgender woman. Read more here.

Carter Ledyard & Milburn's Alexander Malyshev and Sarah Ganley examine a circuit split on whether the Dormant Commerce Clause applies to cannabis. Read today's Attorney Analysis.

Additional writing by Shruthi Krishnamurthy.