Rick Davis & Associates

06/06/2025

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the government of Mexico against several U.S. gun manufacturers and a gun distributor. The lawsuit alleges that these companies facilitated illegal gun trafficking into Mexico, causing...

05/05/2025

15th year of Atticus Finch Day in Brazos County, May 2, 2025

04/28/2025

The United States Constitution, Article VI, Clause 2 provides:

"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."

It is also called the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

In 1819 and in 1824, the U.S. Supreme Court, under Chief Justice John Marshall, decided McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819) and Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. 1 (1824), which made it clear that the Supremacy Clause means what is says.

McCulloch v. Maryland involved a Maryland state law that taxed the Second Bank of the United States. The Court ruled that state laws could not obstruct the Federal Government's implied powers, for example, to create a national bank.

Gibbons v. Ogden involved a New York state law that granted steamboat operators a monopoly on the Hudson River and conflicted with a Federal law that governed interstate commerce. The Court held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, granted to the federal government by the Constitution, was exclusive and preempted the state law.

The concept of the Federal Supremacy Clause was covered at length when I attended law school, yet I also remember learning these concepts in Government class in high school.

For years, it has puzzled me that some cities and some states have declared themselves sanctuaries and implied that they would ignore Federal law enforcement.

It is as if they want to scrap the Constitution and go back to the Articles of Confederation. A little over 160 years ago, we fought a civil war about this.

Our Bryan law firm handles criminal, personal injury, and family law cases. Call us today to schedule a free in-person or virtual consultation.

04/10/2025

Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran immigrant who is married to a U.S. citizen, was deported to a mega-prison despite a court ruling forbidding his removal.

04/09/2025

The Trump win in the U.S. Supreme Court is not the total and complete win that some have portrayed it as being. The Tren de Aragua petitioners are authorized to seek habeas corpus relief in the venue where they are being detained (in this case, Texas).

Here is a synopsis of the case (prepared by Justia):

U.S. Supreme Court Opinions
Trump v. J. G. G.
Docket: 24A931
Opinion Date: April 7, 2025

Areas of Law: Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Immigration Law

The case involves the detention and removal of Venezuelan nationals believed to be members of Tren de Aragua (TdA), a group designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department. The President issued a proclamation under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to detain and remove these individuals. Five detainees and a putative class sought injunctive and declaratory relief against their removal under the Proclamation, initially seeking relief in habeas but later dismissing those claims.

The District Court for the District of Columbia issued two temporary restraining orders (TROs) preventing the removal of the named plaintiffs and a provisionally certified class of noncitizens subject to the Proclamation. The court extended the TROs for an additional 14 days. The D.C. Circuit denied the Government’s emergency motion to stay the orders, leading the Government to seek vacatur from the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court of the United States construed the TROs as appealable injunctions and granted the Government's application to vacate the orders. The Court held that challenges to removal under the AEA must be brought in habeas corpus, as the claims necessarily imply the invalidity of the detainees' confinement and removal. The Court also determined that venue for such habeas petitions lies in the district of confinement, which in this case is Texas, making the District of Columbia an improper venue. The detainees are entitled to notice and an opportunity to seek habeas relief in the proper venue before removal. The application to vacate the District Court's orders was granted, and the TROs were vacated.

01/18/2025

The "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act" has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

TikTok, Inc. v. Garland: A law prohibiting U.S. companies from providing services to TikTok unless U.S. operation of the platform is severed from Chinese control did not violate the First Amendment.

10/23/2024

Vice President Kamala Harris rejected the idea of allowing religious exemptions if she becomes president in her push to codify Roe v. Wade. Harris — who has already indicated that she is willing to blow up the Senate filibuster to ram through her agenda — signaled support for an even more extrem...

10/22/2024

09/16/2024

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday ruled that a pot-smoking gun owner in Texas cannot be prosecuted for violating a federal ban on users of illegal drugs owning fi****ms, saying it is unconstitutional to disarm her based on her past drug habits.

09/15/2024

“Hemp manufacturers can sell h**p and other products that contain THC as long as the Delta 9 was .3% or less. Delta 8 was not addressed, delta 10 is not addressed and that sometimes causes a problem."

08/29/2024

The Israeli Antiquities Authority has extensively excavated the City of David park, which is the site of ancient Jerusalem and provides a peek into the Biblical-era past.

08/05/2024

A federal judge ruled that Google's search business broke antitrust law in a case that delivered the Justice Department its first win over a monopoly in over 20 years.