Today’s hearing focuses on federal diversity jurisdiction whereby federal courts may hear otherwise purely state law cases if the plaintiff and the defendant are citizens of different states. For more than 2 centuries, Congress has imposed, and the Supreme Court has upheld, the requirement of “complete” diversity, which mandates that every plaintiff must be a citizen of a different state than ever... Read more »
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 11:00 a.m. Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice Hearing on: Exploring Federal Diversity Jurisdiction Witnesses: Mr. Charles Cooper, Partner, Cooper & Kirk, PLLC Ms. Joanna Shepherd, Professor of Law, Emory Law School Mr. Ronald Weich, Professor of Law, University of Baltimore 2237 Rayburn House Office Building 1:00 p.m. Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Prope... Read more »
H.R. 3438, the “Require Evaluation before Implementing Executive Wishlists Act of 2016,” would stay the enforcement of any rule imposing an annual cost to the economy in excess of $1 billion pending judicial review. Notwithstanding the bill’s colorful short title, H.R. 3438 would have a pernicious impact on rulemaking and the ability of agencies to respond to critical health and safety issues. In ... Read more »
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) released the following statements after the White House announced the commutation of the sentences of 111 individuals earlier this week: “We are grateful for having worked with President Obama to make reforms to our criminal justice system. Without his p... Read more »
Last week, Ranking Members Bobby Scott (VA-03) and John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) of the Committees on Education and the Workforce and Judiciary, respectively, sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting data on the disparities in school discipline practices and student absenteeism. Recent studies show a large increase in the use of disciplinary actions and chronic absenteeis... Read more »
Today, 65 House Democrats, led by Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services; John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Committee on the Judiciary; and Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau expressing strong sup... Read more »
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) released the following statements after the White House announced the commutation of the sentences of 214 individuals: “I commend President Obama and Attorney General Lynch for their continued commitment to commuting sentences in appropriate cases... Read more »
Today, Reps. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Jason Chaffetz, Chairman of the Oversight Committee, John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Committee on Judiciary, Stephen F. Lynch, and Hakeem Jeffries, introduced H. R. 5920, the Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act, to expand whistleblower protections to additional federa... Read more »
The bipartisan working group on policing strategies – announced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) – met to discuss the issues of the use of excessive force by police, aggression towards law enforcement, and public safety concerns related to these issues. Also attending the working group meeting were Reverend Doctor DeForest B... Read more »
Watch Here House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) joined members of the Congressional Black Caucus at a press conference today to denounce the slayings of police officers in Dallas, and the slayings of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota. Below are Congressman Conyers’ remarks as prepared for delivery: “I stand here today with a heavy heart. Fro... Read more »
