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U.S. Supreme Court

By Debra Cassens Weiss

June 13, 2022, 12:13 pm CDT

Image from Shutterstock.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled against immigrants seeking bond hearings and injunctive relief through class actions. Both decision were based on statutory text.

In Johnson v. Arteaga-Martinez, the high court ruled that the Immigration and Nationality Act does not require the government to give bond hearings to detained citizens under deportation orders after six months of detention. The court interpreted a provision of the law that says a person may be detained or released under terms of supervision after a 90-day removal period.

In the second case, Garland v. Aleman Gonzalez, the Supreme Court held that district courts didnt have the power to consider classwide claims by noncitizens seeking an injunction requiring the kind of bond hearings sought in the first case.

The plaintiff in the first case, Mexican citizen Antonio Arteaga-Martinez, had sought withholding of removal because of a reasonable fear of persecution if he returned to Mexico. He had contended that the government was required to show by clear and convincing evidence in a bond hearing that he was a flight risk or a danger to the community.

The court rejected the claim in an opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

On its face, the statute says nothing about bond hearings before immigration judges or burdens of proof, nor does it provide any other indication that such procedures are required, Sotomayor wrote.

Arteaga-Martinez had argued that he was entitled to a bond hearing under Zadvydas v. Davis, a 2001 decision that found that immigrants can be held only long enough to accomplish the purpose of removal. The case involved a noncitizen who could find no country to accept him, making his removal not reasonably foreseeable, SCOTUSblog previously reported.

The court in Zadvydas read the statute in way to avoid Fifth Amendment concerns about indefinite detention and found that the period reasonably necessary to bring about removal was presumptively six months.

Sotomayor noted that Arteaga-Martinez had made a due process argument that was not addressed by the courts below because they ruled on statutory grounds. The constitutional claims must still be addressed by the lower courts, Sotomayor said.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurrence joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch. One of his arguments was that the court should overrule Zadvydas at the earliest opportunity.

Justice Stephen Breyer, the author of Zadvydas, partly concurred and partly dissented.

In my view, Zadvydas controls the outcome here, Breyer wrote.

Since the court remands this case for further proceedings, Breyer wrote, I would add that, in my view, Zadvydas applies (the court does not hold to the contrary), and the parties are free to argue about the proper way to implement Zadvydas standard in this context, and, if necessary, to consider the underlying constitutional question, a matter that this court has not decided.

The author of the majority opinion in the second case was Justice Samuel Alito.

Hat tip to SCOTUSblog.

Continue reading here:
Supreme Court rules against immigrants seeking bond hearings and injunctive relief - ABA Journal

If the future influenced the past, that would be retrocausality. As Victor Bhaura puts it,

Retrocausality means that, when an experimenter chooses the measurement setting with which to measure a particle, that decision can influence the properties of that particle (or another one) in the past, even before the experimenter made their choice. In other words, a decision made in the present can influence something in the past.

Bhaura reminds us of a limerick called Relativity from 1923:

There was a young lady named BrightWhose speed was far faster than light;She set out one dayIn a relative wayAnd returned on the previous night.

Now, if Bright was exceeding the speed of light, she was already violating the laws of physics for entities as large as ourselves and she could well end up going backward in time, according to philosopher of mathematics Sam Baron.

But, as Bhaura has noted, quantum particles do not follow such rules. In 2019, scientists showed that time travel is theoretically possible by sending a simulated particle back in time via a quantum computer. A quantum computer doesnt use 1s and 0s (bits) but rather qubits, which are simultaneously 1s and 0s. Thats much faster. Yes, quantum systems can do that. Its why Albert Einstein called them spooky.

Since quantum mechanics is about probability (not certainty), success was no guarantee. However, in a two-qubit quantum computer, the algorithm managed a time jump an impressive 85 percent of the time. When it was upped to three qubits, the success rate dropped to about 50 percent, which the authors attributed to imperfections in current quantum computers.

The particle was simulated because the amount of force required to send an actual particle back in time exceeded natural capabilities:

This experiment also shows us that sending even a simulated particle back in time requires serious outside manipulation. To create such an external force to manipulate even one physical particles quantum waves is well beyond our abilities.

We demonstrate that time-reversing even ONE quantum particle is an unsurmountable task for nature alone, study author Vinokur wrote to the New York Times in an email [emphasis original]. The system comprising two particles is even more irreversible, let alone the eggs comprising billions of particles we break to prepare an omelet.

Thats the reason that time travel into the past, as in H. G. Wellss The Time Machine, is impractical. It may also be futile if the object is to change anything because that is unlikely to be possible.

Meanwhile, in 2021, another team of physicists offered calculations proposing that quantum particles can move forward as well as backward in time again because of quantum superposition:

According to the principle of quantum superposition, individual units ( for instance, of light) can exist in two states at once, both as waves and particles, manifesting as one or the other depending on what youre testing. Rubinos team looked at a quantum superposition with a state that evolves both backward and forward in time. Measurements showed that more often than not, the system ended up moving forward in time. But for small entropy changes, the system could actually continue to evolve both forward and backward in time.

The paper is open access.

Team leader Giulia Rubio stresses, that still wouldnt move us. But there may be another way, as we shall see Christian apologist C.S. Lewis (18981963), who read and wrote science fiction, pointed out that the present and future can change the past. If we assume that God exists and God is not in time, an action taken now could influence an event in the past. He offers an illustration:

When we are praying about the result, say, of a battle or a medical consultation the thought will often cross our minds that (if only we knew it) the event is already decided one way or the other. I believe this to be no good reason for ceasing our prayers. The event certainly has been decided in a sense it was decided before all worlds. But one of the things taken into account in deciding it, and therefore one of the things that really cause it to happen, may be this very prayer that we are now offering.

Thus, shocking as it may sound, I conclude that we can at noon become part causes of an event occurring at ten oclock. (Some scientists would find this easier than popular thought does.) The imagination will, no doubt, try to play all sorts of tricks on us at this point. It will ask, Then if I stop praying can God go back and alter what has already happened? No. The event has already happened and one of its causes has been the fact that you are asking such questions instead of praying. It will ask, Then if I begin to pray can God go back and alter what has already happened? No. The event has already happened and one of its causes is your present prayer. Thus something does really depend on my choice. My free act contributes to the cosmic shape. That contribution is made in eternity or before all worlds; but my consciousness of contributing reaches me at a particular point in the time-series.

There is another way in which the present can change the past. Suppose a woman has made rather a mess of her life and reaches a crisis point. Two possibilities: 1. She gives up and sinks further into misery and despair. 2. She decides to seek help and, on getting it, turns her life around becoming, in time, a support to others.

As she looks back on her life in the first scenario, she will see a bleak, grim born to lose picture, punctuated by disasters, the worst of which was perhaps that crisis point, after which she just gave up

In the second scenario, looking back from some years distance, she sees a very different past: That crisis point is the moment I decided, I to do whatever it takes to free myself! All the other events of note are now remembered as steps, forward or backward, on a journey to a more meaningful life.

Perhaps thats one of the roles that free will plays in our lives. It changes the past not by changing the events but by making them mean different things. And after all, the main reason we care about the past is its meaning. So there is a sense this sense in which we can really travel back and change the past, by changing its meaning.

You may also wish to read:

A form of time travel that might be possible In world of entropy, time runs in one direction and reversing it would create impossible contradictions, physicists say. The time travel that is likely to be possible would be like having a very good four-dimensional memory it recreates events but it doesnt change them.

See the rest here:
Can the Future Reach Back and Affect the Past? - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence

NEW YORK, June 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, reminds investors that class actions have been commenced on behalf of stockholders of IonQ, Inc. (: IONQ), Energy Transfer LP (: ET), Digital Turbine, Inc. ( APPS), and Teladoc Health, Inc. (: TDOC). Stockholders have until the deadlines below to petition the court to serve as lead plaintiff. Additional information about each case can be found at the link provided.

IonQ, Inc. (: IONQ)

Class Period: March 20, 2021 May 2, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 1, 2022

On May 3, 2022, Scorpion Capital released a research report alleging, among other things, that IonQ is a scam built on phony statements about nearly all key aspects of the technology and business. It further claimed that the Company reported [f]ictitious revenue via sham transactions and related-party round-tripping.

On this news, the Companys stock fell $0.71, or 9%, to close at $7.15 per share on May 3, 2022, on unusually heavy trading volume.

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Companys business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that IonQ had not yet developed a 32-qubit quantum computer; (2) that the Companys 11-qubit quantum computer suffered from significant error rates, rendering it useless; (3) that IonQs quantum computer is not sufficiently reliable, so it is not accessible despite being available through major cloud providers; (4) that a significant portion of IonQs revenue was derived from improper round-tripping transactions with related parties; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants positive statements about the Companys business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.

For more information on the IonQ class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/IONQ

Energy Transfer LP (: ET)

Class Period: April 13, 2017 December 20, 2021

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 2, 2022

Energy Transfer is a Delaware company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Energy Transfer is a company engaged in natural gas and propane pipeline transport. It was founded in 1996 and became a publicly traded partnership in 2006. The Partnership through its subsidiaries provides transportation, storage, and terminalling services for products like natural gas, crude oil, NGL, and refined products. The Partnership also constructs natural gas pipelines through its various subsidiaries.

On April 13, 2017, the horizontal directional drilling activities ("HDD") for the Rover Pipeline Project, one of the Partnership's natural gas pipeline construction projects, caused a large inadvertent release of drilling mud near the Tuscarawas River in Ohio. On August 8, 2019, Energy Transfer filed its quarterly report on Form 10-Q with the SEC, reporting the Partnership's financial and operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019. This quarterly report disclosed that two years earlier, in mid-2017 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC")'s Enforcement Staff began a formal investigation "regarding allegations that diesel fuel may have been included in the drilling mud at the Tuscarawas River HDD." On this news, the price of Energy Transfer stock declined $0.65, or 4.6% over two trading days, to close at $13.38 on August 12, 2019.

Then, on December 16, 2021, FERC publicly issued to Energy Transfer the Order To Show Cause and Notice of Proposed Penalty, which directed the Partnership to show cause why it should not be assessed a civil penalty in the amount of $40,000,000. The order presented the allegation by the Enforcement Staff that the HDD crews intentionally included diesel fuel and other toxic substances and unapproved additives in the drilling mud during its HDDs under the Tuscarawas River. On this news, the price of Energy Transfer shares declined $0.24, or 2.8% over the course of two trading days, to close at $8.25, on December 20, 2021.

The Complaint alleges Energy Transfer concealed and misrepresented that: (a) Energy Transfer had inadequate internal controls and procedures to prevent contractors from engaging in illegal conduct with regards to drilling activities, and/or failed to properly mitigate known issues related to such controls and procedures; (b) Energy Transfer through its subsidiary hired third-party contractors to conduct HDDs for the Rover Pipeline Project, whose conduct of adding illegal additives in the drilling mud caused severe pollution near the Tuscarawas River when the April 13 Release took place; and (c) Energy Transfer continually downplayed its potential civil liabilities when FERC was actively investigating the Partnership's wrongdoing related to the April 13 Release and consistently provided it with updated information about FERC's findings on this matter.

For more information on the Energy Transfer class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/ET

Digital Turbine, Inc. ( APPS)

Class Period: August 9, 2021 May 17, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 5, 2022

Digital Turbine is a software company that delivers products to assist third parties in monetizing through the utilization of mobile advertising. The Company completed the acquisitions of AdColony Holdings AS (AdColony) and Fyber N.V. (Fyber) on April 29 and May 25, 2021, respectively.

On May 17, 2022, Digital Turbine issued a press release revealing that it will restate its financial statements for the interim periods ended June 30, 2021, September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2021, following a review of the presentation of revenue net of license fees and revenue share for the Companys recently acquired businesses."

On this news, the Companys shares fell $1.93, or 7.1%, to close at $25.28 per share on May 18, 2022, on unusually heavy trading volume.

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Companys business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that the Companys recent acquisitions, AdColony and Fyber, act as agents in certain of their respective product lines; (2) that, as a result, revenues for those product lines must be reported net of license fees and revenue share, rather than on a gross basis; (3) that the Companys internal control over financial reporting as to revenue recognition was deficient; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Companys net revenues was overstated throughout fiscal 2022; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants positive statements about the Companys business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

For more information on the Digital Turbine class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/APPS

Teladoc Health, Inc. (: TDOC)

Class Period: October 28, 2021 April 27, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 5, 2022

Teladoc provides virtual healthcare services in the U.S. and internationally through Business-to-Business (B2B) and Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) distribution channels. The Company offers its customers various virtual products and services addressing, among other medical issues, mental health through its BetterHelp D2C product, and chronic conditions.

Teladoc touts itself as the first and only company to provide a comprehensive and integrated whole person virtual healthcare solution that both provides and enables care for a full spectrum of clinical conditions[.] Despite recent market concerns over new entrants to the telehealth field, such Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) and Walmart Inc. (Walmart), the Company has continued to assure investors of the Companys dominant market position in the industry.

In fact, as recently as February 2022, Teladoc forecasted full year (FY) 2022 revenue of $2.55 - $2.65 billion, as well as adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $330 - $355 million, on anticipated continued growth through its competitive advantages.

Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Companys business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) increased competition, among other factors, was negatively impacting Teladocs BetterHelp and chronic care businesses; (ii) accordingly, the growth of those businesses was less sustainable than Defendants had led investors to believe; (iii) as a result, Teladocs revenue and adjusted EBITDA projections for FY 2022 were unrealistic; (iv) as a result of all the foregoing, Teladoc would be forced to recognize a significant non-cash goodwill impairment charge; and (v) as a result, the Companys public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On April 27, 2022, Teladoc announced its first quarter (Q1) 2022 financial results, including revenue of $565.4 million, which missed consensus estimates by $3.23 million, and [n]et loss per share of $41.58, primarily driven by [a] non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $6.6 billion or $41.11 per share[.] Additionally, the Company revised its FY 2022 revenue guidance to $2.4 - $2.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance to $240 - $265 million to reflect dynamics we are currently experiencing in the [D2C] mental health and chronic condition markets. On a conference call with investors and analysts that day to discuss Teladocs Q1 2022 results, Defendants largely attributed the Companys poor performance, revised FY 2022 guidance, and $6.6 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge to increased competition in its BetterHelp and chronic care businesses.

On this news, Teladocs stock price fell $22.48 per share, or 40.15%, to close at $33.51 per share on April 28, 2022.

For more information on the Teladoc class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/TDOC

About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit http://www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contact Information:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.Brandon Walker, Esq. Melissa Fortunato, Esq.(212) 355-4648[emailprotected]www.bespc.com

Read the rest here:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, PC Reminds Investors That Class Action Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against IonQ, Energy Transfer, Digital Turbine, and Teladoc...

Former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said in an interview with the Financial Times published Friday that the U.S. is on the precipice of losing our democracy.

We are standing on the precipice of losing our democracy, and everything that everybody else cares about then goes out the window, Clinton told interviewer Edward Luce.

Clinton emphasized her belief that the Democratic Party should focus on the issues that help you win rather than more controversial issues important primarily to minorities.

Look, the most important thing is to win the next election, she said. The alternative is so frightening that whatever does not help you win should not be a priority.

Luce brought up the transgender debate as an activist cause which he says is relevant only to a small minority.

What sense does it make to depict JK Rowling as a fascist? Luce asked, referring to the Harry Potter authors anti-transgender views.

Luce said that Clinton agreed with the premise of his question and pointed to progressives campaign to defund the police as a cause that hurt Democrats.

You need accountable measures. But you also need policing, Clinton said. It doesnt even pass the common-sense politics test not to believe that.

Clinton added, Some positions are so extreme on both the right and the left that they retreat to their corners. Politics should be the art of addition not subtraction.

Clinton predicted that current Democratic President Biden would run again in 2024, saying, He certainly intends to run.

However, she said that the idea that she would run for president after her 2016 loss is out of the question.

Democrats are debating whether Biden, 79, is their best candidate to run for president in 2024 considering his age.

I think its too soon to start that speculation, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said of the question on Thursday. I cant say at this point what I would recommend.

Democratic strategists, including David Axelrod, have said that Biden, who would be 81 at the time of the election, would present a major issue due to his age, while many lawmakers have expressed their support for whatever Biden chooses.

I look forward to working hard for Joe Bidens reelection in 2024, said Biden ally Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.).

The rest is here:
Clinton: US at the precipice of losing democracy - The Hill

No, this is not just about the protests over Agnipath and would-not-be Agniveers that are erupting all over the country. Well, not merely or entirely about them at any rate. We do not need experts or experienced India-watchers to tell us that there is more than meets the eye to these protests.

There are political forces, probably leading parties, not to mention the usual foreign hands at play. Though the evidence is not forthcoming yet, we can surmise that it will be released soon enough.

Because, let's face it, the country is at war. Not only with enemies outside or across its borders, but within too. We suffer from a divided and polarised polity. Given the slew of states announcing concessions, preferences and sops for future Agniveers, we also know that Indian democracy is characterised, more and more, by different shades and degrees of populism.

Protest and populism - these seem to have become the predominant markers of the nation. So too would the irony of terms such as "Agniveer" and "Agnipath" not be lost on the ordinary citizens of the country.

Leaving aside the fiery path to valour, our would-be shining heroes - at least a section of them - actually resemble an incendiary mob, torching trains and buses, destroying public and private property, trying to browbeat the state into giving in to their demands for permanent placement.

Where? In the Armed Forces, which are to defend the country and uphold the honour of their regiments, which represent a code of conduct that protects civilians and non-combatants from being targets of violence. Now, do these arsonists and lawbreakers, by virtue of such actions which ought to disqualify them forever from serving in uniform, seek to bully and intimidate their way into those very forces that are meant to protect the state and its citizens from such elements?

No, such ironies will not be lost on us for they are too obvious and painful to be missed. Instead, the rioters know that once their names get into the police records, they will be no good for the Armed Forces or any state employment. So, isn't it obvious that many of them are paid protesters and operatives rather than genuine "Agnipath" aspirants? Even their faces, as shown in the media, indicate that many are over the age of 23. Much more, as I hinted earlier, is going on behind the scenes, especially if one looks at earlier protests such as that of the farmers, which went on for over a year.

Who cares for the facts - or in this case - for the figures? The amount of money spent on pension exceeds the salary bill of the Armed Forces for the year 20202021. Nearly half the enormous defence budget of USD 77 billion or Rs 6 lakh crore - something in the range of Rs 3 lakh crore - is being spent on salaries and non-combat costs each year on serving or retired personnel, many of whom may have lived through their entire career only in peacetime duties.

That a large part of the present budget of the forces is "non-productive" by any standards is a sad truth that we do not like to face. Ours, which is the second-largest standing force in the world, with close to 1.5 million soldiers in uniform, will soon cease to be fighting fit and competitive if we carry on like this. We need to invest in equipment, technology, and upgrade weaponry, infrastructure, and so on. But no, the Armed Forces too must be turned into a gigantic employment agency to satisfy the needs of the agitators who seek permanent government jobs.

The starting salary of Agniveers will be over Rs 30,000 per month, rising to Rs 40,000 per month by the fourth year. Only 25 per cent will continue in the services while the others will get an exit package called Seva Nidhi to the tune of Rs 11.71 lakh each. Additionally, several states have also announced other employment possibilities for them. So what is wrong with the scheme? How is it not in the nation's interests or not beneficial to the youth?

The truth is that every reform in India hits the same roadblocks - a divided polity and the compulsions of populism. That is why I said at the outset that this column is not just about the Agniveer protests. Instead, it is about what I would call democracy's dark matter. Like dark matter, which hypothetically occupies 85 per cent of the universe although it lacks luminosity nor interacts with the electromagnetic field, India's divided polity and culture wars occupy so much space in our democracy.

This means that any opportunity to bring down the Narendra Modi-led BJP sarkar or to show India in poor light, whether domestically or internationally, will not be missed. This, in turn, also makes the members and supporters of the government more vehement, aggressive and unforgiving of the opposition. As with the farm bills, neither Parliament nor the opposition, let alone the young stakeholders, press and the broader thinking public, have been taken into confidence in matters of national importance such as the newly announced Agniveer scheme.

Unilateralism, rather than consultation or consensus, is the chosen methodology, with the instruments of state power commissioned to bludgeon through policy or manage the narrative afterwards. This is not how a government "of the people, by the people, for the people" ought to operate. But as the protests mount, more and more concessions and dilutions are likely to be announced, weakening the scheme. What, then, is a brute majority good for if it does not demonstrate moral strength and electoral resilience, but impose "reforms" followed by populist roll-backs and concessions?

What is the way forward? Reduce divisive issues and policies that alienate sections of the populace. Reach out to all sections of the citizenry. Rather than only blowing the trumpet of government schemes, apply the healing touch. Invite all sections of the political spectrum for discussions and consultation. Ensure a peaceful daily life for most Indians rather than simmering discord and constant conflict.

This government has achieved much for which it should be proud. Most importantly, it managed the economy in a way that kept the country afloat unlike other countries in the neighbourhood that have been reduced to a sorry state almost of disgraceful beggary. The Agniveer scheme, too, is meant to make our Armed Forces much more economically viable and globally competitive.

But with all these accomplishments, the legacy of Modi@8 is also a disturbing sense of a divided society and country at war with itself. It is this that must change before 2024. It is time to pay attention to, and even mitigate, democracy's dark matter. Especially if India@75 is really supposed to be an Amrit Mahotsav - the grand celebration of the elixir of liberty, instead of the dark age of a fractured polity and divided society.

(The writer is a professor of English at JNU and tweets @MakrandParanspe)

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Agnipath and the dark matter of democracy - The New Indian Express