Thursday, February 26, 2015

Kansas v. Nebraska

<> Kansas v. Nebraska - 2/24/15. In the U.S. Supreme Court, Docket No. 126, Orig. The case involves an agreement between Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado to apportion the "virgin water originating in" the Republican River Basin.
     In a split decision involving concurring in part and dissenting in part by various Justices, the High Court referred the case to a Special Master and now accepted his recommendations as to appropriate equitable remedies: for Kansas, partial disgorgement but no injunction; and for Nebraska, reform of the appendix.

Yates v. US

<> Yates v. US - 2/25/15. In the U.S. Supreme Court. Docket No. 13-7451. The case involves a commercial fishing vessel in the Gulf of Mexico caught with undersized red grouper, in violation of federal conservation regulations. Subsequently the
the undersized fish were thrown overboard, destroying evidence and also in violation of federal law.
     In a 5-4 decision that reversed and remanded the decision of the district and appeals court the Majority concludes that "trapped" fish are not within the term "tangible object," as that term is used in section 1519 and a "tangible object" within the meaning of section 1519 is one used to record or preserve information, and fish do not meet such criteria.