Congressional Research Service Reports - 27 Matching Results

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The Alabama School Prayer Case: Chandler v. Siegelman

Description: This report considers the events of Chandler v. James in 1997. The case was a federal district court ruling in Alabama holding up a statute to violate the establishment of religion of the First amendment. The Governor attempted to appeal the court's position to both the Supreme Court and the circuit court but was denied.
Date: June 25, 2001
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Enjoined from Transferring American ISIS Suspect to Foreign Country--at Least for Now

Description: This report discusses the case of Doe v. Mattis, a case with potential ramifications regarding the authority to conduct military operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit) upheld 2-1 the district court's injunctions temporarily protecting "John Doe" from forcible transfer to another country from Iraq, where he is currently being held by the U.S. military as a suspected ISIS combatant.
Date: June 20, 2018
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Supreme Court Drives Home Its Concern for Privacy in Collins v. Virginia

Description: This report discusses the Collins decision and its potential implications for Fourth Amendment law. Facing a clash between two well-established Fourth Amendment doctrines--the primacy of the home in Fourth Amendment case law versus the "automobile exception" to the Amendment's warrant requirement--the Supreme Court in Collins v. Virginia ultimately came down on the side of protecting privacy within the home and its adjoining property.
Date: June 26, 2018
Creator: Hanna, Jillian C.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: 109th Congress Proposed Refinements

Description: Among the recommendations made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) in its final report was the creation of a board within the executive branch to oversee adherence to guidelines on, and the commitment to defend, civil liberties by the federal government. This report examines the realization of this recommendation with the creation of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and efforts in the 109th Congress to refine the mandate and t… more
Date: June 14, 2005
Creator: Relyea, Harold C.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Detainees at Guantànamo Bay

Description: After the U.S. Supreme Court held that U.S. courts have jurisdiction to hear legal challenges on behalf of more than 500 persons detained at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in connection with the war against terrorism, the Pentagon established administrative hearings, called “Combatant Status Review Tribunals” (CSRTs), to allow the detainees to contest their status as enemy combatants. This report provides an overview of the CSRT procedures and summarizes court cases related to t… more
Date: June 22, 2005
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The United Nations Human Rights Council: Issues for Congress

Description: On March 15, 2006, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution replacing the Commission on Human Rights with a new Human Rights Council (the Council). The Council was designed to be an improvement over the Commission, which was widely criticized for the composition of its membership when perceived human rights abusers were elected as members. This report discusses the history of the Council, the previous participation of the Bush Administration, the current participation of the Obama Administ… more
Date: June 1, 2009
Creator: Blanchfield, Luisa
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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"Property Rights" Bills Take a Process Approach: H.R. 992 and H.R. 1534

Description: In the 105th Congress, the property rights agenda has shifted from "compensation" to "process" bills. While the former would ease the standards for when property owners harmed by government action are compensated, the new approach simply streamlines how federal courts handle such claims. This report examines the three leading process bills -- H.R. 992, House-passed H.R. 1534, and Senate-reported H.R. 1534. The bills embody two process approaches: allowing property owners suing the United States… more
Date: June 24, 1998
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Religious Persecution Abroad: Congressional Concerns and Actions

Description: The 105 Congress has sought to raise the priority of combating religious persecution worldwide among U.S. foreign policy objectives. The difficulty has been in agreeing on legislation that would effectively deal with religious persecution without adversely affecting other important U.S. interests. On May 14, 1998, the House passed H.R. 2431 (the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act of 1998) establishing in the State Department a Director of the Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring who i… more
Date: June 25, 1998
Creator: Bite, Vita
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration-Related Provisions of Selected Bills on Religious Persecution

Description: This report analyzes immigration-related provisions of H.R. 2431, the “Freedom from Religious Persecution Act,” as passed by the House on May 14, 1998, and S. 1868, the “International Religious Freedom Act,” as introduced in the Senate.
Date: June 4, 1998
Creator: Eig, Larry M. & Vialet, Joyce
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Medical Records Privacy: Questions and Answers on the HIPAA Final Rule

Description: This report discusses the issue facing Congress on whether to continue to support the executive branch’s prosecution of medical marijuana patients and their providers, in accordance with marijuana’s status as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, or whether to relax federal marijuana prohibition enough to permit the medical use of botanical cannabis products by seriously ill persons, especially in states that have created medical marijuana programs under state law.
Date: June 11, 2003
Creator: Redhead, C. Stephen
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Religious Freedom Restoration Act: Its Rise, Fall, and Current Status

Description: This report briefly summarizes Employment Division, Oregon Department of Human Resources v. Smith, the legislative history of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), the Supreme Court's decision in City of Boerne, Texas v. Flores, and RFRA's current legal status, and notes the introduction of the Religious Liberty Protection Act (RLPA).
Date: June 25, 1998
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Satellite Surveillance: Domestic Issues

Description: This report provides background on the development of intelligence satellites and identifies the roles various agencies play in their management and use. Issues surrounding the current policy and proposed changes are discussed, including the findings of an Independent Study Group (ISG) with respect to the increased sharing of satellite intelligence data. There follows a discussion of legal considerations, including whether satellite reconnaissance might constitute a "search" within the meaning … more
Date: June 27, 2008
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr. & Elsea, Jennifer K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment

Description: The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. . . .” This language restricts government both more and less than it would if it were applied literally. It restricts government more in that it applies not only to Congress, but to all branches of the federal government, and to all branches of state and local government. It restricts government less in that it provides no protection to some typ… more
Date: June 26, 2003
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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