Latest news with #ReedO'Connor's
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge denies undocumented students' attempt to challenge sudden loss of in-state tuition
A federal judge on Aug. 15 rejected a bid by undocumented students, immigrant rights advocates and Austin Community College to intervene in a case that ended access to in-state tuition for certain undocumented students, a setback for their effort to overturn the ruling. Students for Affordable Tuition filed notice on Aug. 16 that it would appeal U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor's decision, and a second group — including a University of North Texas student, La Unión del Pueblo Entero, and Austin Community College — filed its own notice of appeal on Aug. 18. O'Connor said the groups' request came too late and they did not have the legal authority to defend the law, which he said rests with the Texas Attorney General's Office. He said that office had adequately represented their position, even if it chose not to raise every constitutional argument they wanted. On June 4, just two days after the Legislature ended its regular session without repealing the law, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas for allowing certain undocumented Texans to qualify for lower tuition rates at public universities. Texas quickly agreed with the Trump administration's claim that the law was unconstitutional and asked a judge to find the law unenforceable. The quick turnaround — the whole lawsuit was resolved in less than six hours — represents a 'contrived legal challenge designed to prevent sufficient notice and robust consideration,' lawyers for these students argued in their motion to intervene. Students for Affordable Tuition asked to intervene on June 11, and a second group followed June 23: Oscar Silva, a 24-year-old University of North Texas student; La Unión del Pueblo Entero, an advocacy group in the Rio Grande Valley; and Austin Community College. The Justice Department and the Texas attorney general's office opposed the motion on the grounds that the matter has been resolved and the case is terminated, court documents say. O'Connor, the George W. Bush appointee who blocked the law, has long been a favored judge for the Texas attorney general's office and conservative litigants. The Justice Department filed its lawsuit in the Wichita Falls division of the Northern District of Texas, where O'Connor hears all cases. The people who are most impacted by a lawsuit typically have a right to have their voices heard on a case, said David Coale, a Dallas appellate attorney. Getting O'Connor to agree to reopen might be a tough sell, he said, but if they're denied, they could appeal that ruling and the rest of the case alongside it, to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 'The 5th Circuit's obviously a very conservative court, but part of that conservatism is a pretty limited view of the judicial role,' Coale said. 'So if they get a chance to argue their case there … they may have some luck.' The law, which had been in effect since 2001, granted in-state tuition to anyone who has been living in the state for three years and graduated from a Texas high school. All students who claimed this benefit were required to sign an affidavit saying they intended to apply for permanent legal residency as soon as they were able; many of them are here as part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The Students for Affordable Tuition's motion laid out the human impact of the law's sudden reversal — a man who is reconsidering his plans to go to medical school in Texas; a woman who will have to drop out of her masters program, where she was studying to become a counselor; a teacher-in-training who will have to delay her plans to graduate and begin working. They are represented by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which said in a press release that the abrupt overturning of the law has left students scrambling. Attorneys for the second group requesting to intervene wrote in their motion that Silva, who is seeking a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in accounting, cannot afford out-of-state tuition and will be unable to graduate next spring. At Austin Community College, they wrote, the ruling could affect more than 400 students, quadruple the tuition of some, lead others to drop out and deter potential students from enrolling. Disclosure: The University of North Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. Big news: 20 more speakers join the TribFest lineup! New additions include Margaret Spellings, former U.S. secretary of education and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center; Michael Curry, former presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church; Beto O'Rourke, former U.S. Representative, D-El Paso; Joe Lonsdale, entrepreneur, founder and managing partner at 8VC; and Katie Phang, journalist and trial lawyer. Get tickets. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. Solve the daily Crossword
RTHK
03-07-2025
- Business
- RTHK
US court pushed to back 737 Max non-prosecution deal
US court pushed to back 737 Max non-prosecution deal Boeing 737 Max aircraft are assembled at the company's plant in Renton, Washington. File photo: Reuters Boeing and the US Justice Department have asked a judge to approve an agreement that allows the company to avoid prosecution despite objections from relatives of some of the 346 people killed in two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019. The deal enables Boeing to avoid being branded a convicted felon and to escape oversight from an independent monitor for three years that was part of a plea deal struck in 2024 to a criminal fraud charge that it misled US regulators about a crucial flight control system on the 737 Max, its best-selling jet. Boeing argued the executive branch solely has the power to decide whether to bring or maintain a prosecution. "Because it is entirely within the government's discretion whether to pursue a criminal prosecution, an agreement not-to-prosecute does not require court approval," Boeing said, asking a judge to reject objections filed by the families and grant the government's motion to dismiss the charge. "Disputing the government's considered assessment of litigation risk, the calculation of the maximum fine, or the appropriate mechanism for compliance oversight, do not demonstrate – even remotely – that the government was clearly motivated by considerations contrary to the public interest." The Justice Department said in a court filing it acted in good faith and in accordance with the law, agreeing to dismiss the case for an agreement "that secures a significant fine, compliance improvements, and a substantial victim compensation fund". The families cited Judge Reed O'Connor's statement in 2023 that "Boeing's crime may properly be considered the deadliest corporate crime in US history". They argue dismissal is not in the public interest and obligations imposed on Boeing are not enforceable. If the government declined to move forward with the prosecution even if the court rejected the deal, O'Connor should appoint a special prosecutor, the families said. Under the deal, Boeing agreed to pay an additional US$444.5 million into a crash victims fund to be divided evenly per crash victim, on top of a new US$243.6 million fine. Boeing agreed last July to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after the two fatal 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Under the non-prosecution agreement, Boeing will pay US$1.1 billion in total, including the fine, compensation to families and more than US$455 million to strengthen the company's compliance, safety and quality programs. The vast majority of the families have settled civil suits with Boeing and collectively have been "paid several billion dollars", the Justice Department said. (AFP)
Business Times
03-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Boeing and Justice Department seek judge's approval for deal opposed by crash victims' families
BOEING and the Justice Department on Wednesday asked a US judge to approve an agreement that allows the company to avoid prosecution despite objections from relatives of some of the 346 people killed in two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. The deal enables Boeing to avoid being branded a convicted felon and to escape oversight from an independent monitor for three years that was part of a plea deal struck in 2024 to a criminal fraud charge that it misled US regulators about a crucial flight control system on the 737 MAX, its best-selling jet. Boeing argued the executive branch solely has the power to decide whether to bring or maintain a prosecution. 'Because it is entirely within the government's discretion whether to pursue a criminal prosecution, an agreement not-to-prosecute does not require court approval,' Boeing said, asking a judge to reject objections filed by the families and grant the government's motion to dismiss the charge. 'Disputing the government's considered assessment of litigation risk, the calculation of the maximum fine, or the appropriate mechanism for compliance oversight, do not demonstrate - even remotely - that the government was clearly motivated by considerations contrary to the public interest.' The Justice Department said in a court filing it acted in good faith and in accordance with the law, agreeing to dismiss the case for an agreement 'that secures a significant fine, compliance improvements, and a substantial victim compensation fund.' BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The families cited Judge Reed O'Connor's statement in 2023 that 'Boeing's crime may properly be considered the deadliest corporate crime in US history.' They argue dismissal is not in the public interest and obligations imposed on Boeing are not enforceable. If the government declined to move forward with the prosecution even if the court rejected the deal, O'Connor should appoint a special prosecutor, the families said. Boeing and the Justice Department both asked O'Connor to reject appointing a special prosecutor. Under the deal, Boeing agreed to pay an additional US$444.5 million into a crash victims fund to be divided evenly per crash victim, on top of a new US$243.6 million fine. Boeing in July 2024 agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after the two fatal 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Under the non-prosecution agreement, Boeing will pay US$1.1 billion in total, including the fine, compensation to families and more than US$455 million to strengthen the company's compliance, safety and quality programmes. The vast majority of the families have settled civil suits with Boeing and collectively have been 'paid several billion dollars,' the Justice Department said. REUTERS
Straits Times
03-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Boeing and Justice Department seek judge's approval for deal opposed by crash victims' families
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The deal would allow Boeing to escape oversight from an independent monitor for three years. Boeing and the US Justice Department on July 2 asked a US judge to approve an agreement that allows the company to avoid prosecution despite objections from relatives of some of the 346 people killed in two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019. The deal enables Boeing to avoid being branded a convicted felon and to escape oversight from an independent monitor for three years that was part of a plea deal struck in 2024 to a criminal fraud charge that it misled US regulators about a crucial flight control system on the 737 Max, its best-selling jet. Boeing argued the executive branch solely has the power to decide whether to bring or maintain a prosecution. 'Because it is entirely within the government's discretion whether to pursue a criminal prosecution, an agreement not-to-prosecute does not require court approval,' Boeing said, asking a judge to reject objections filed by the families and grant the government's motion to dismiss the charge. 'Disputing the government's considered assessment of litigation risk, the calculation of the maximum fine, or the appropriate mechanism for compliance oversight, do not demonstrate - even remotely - that the government was clearly motivated by considerations contrary to the public interest.' The Justice Department said in a court filing it acted in good faith and in accordance with the law, agreeing to dismiss the case for an agreement 'that secures a significant fine, compliance improvements, and a substantial victim compensation fund.' The families cited Judge Reed O'Connor's statement in 2023 that 'Boeing's crime may properly be considered the deadliest corporate crime in US history.' They argue dismissal is not in the public interest and obligations imposed on Boeing are not enforceable. If the government declined to move forward with the prosecution even if the court rejected the deal, Judge O'Connor should appoint a special prosecutor, the families said. Boeing and the Justice Department both asked Judge O'Connor to reject appointing a special prosecutor. Under the deal, Boeing agreed to pay an additional US$444.5 million (S$566.1 million) into a crash victims fund to be divided evenly per crash victim, on top of a new US$243.6 million fine. Boeing in July 2024 agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after the two fatal 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Under the non-prosecution agreement, Boeing will pay US$1.1 billion in total, including the fine, compensation to families and more than US$455 million to strengthen the company's compliance, safety and quality programs. The vast majority of the families have settled civil suits with Boeing and collectively have been 'paid several billion dollars,' the Justice Department said. REUTERS
CNBC
18-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Boeing 737 MAX victims' relatives ask judge to reject deal ending criminal case
Relatives of some of the 346 people killed in two Boeing MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 asked a federal judge on Wednesday to reject a deal between the Justice Department and the plane maker that allows the company to avoid prosecution in a criminal fraud case. The agreement enables Boeing to avoid being branded a convicted felon and to escape oversight from an independent monitor for three years that was part of a plea deal struck in 2024. The families cited Judge Reed O'Connor's statement in 2023 that "Boeing's crime may properly be considered the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history." They argue dismissal of the case is not in the public interest and the obligations imposed on Boeing are not enforceable. They said the Justice Department has opted not to wait for a ruling but "has already contractually obligated itself not to further prosecute Boeing, regardless of how the court rules." If the government declined to move forward with the prosecution even if the court rejected the deal, O'Connor should appoint a special prosecutor, the families told the judge. Under the deal, Boeing agreed to pay an additional $444.5 million into a crash victims fund to be divided evenly per crash victim, on top of a $243.6-million fine. Boeing in July agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after the two fatal 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Boeing will pay $1.1 billion in total, including the fine, compensation to families and over $455 million to strengthen the company's compliance, safety, and quality programs. The Justice Department said in late May the deal "secures meaningful accountability, delivers substantial and immediate public benefits, and brings finality to a difficult and complex case whose outcome would otherwise be uncertain." The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The vast majority of the families have settled civil suits with Boeing and collectively have been "paid several billion dollars," the Justice Department said. Boeing, which did not immediately comment on Wednesday, will no longer face oversight by an independent monitor under the agreement, but will hire a compliance consultant. Boeing had previously been set to go on trial June 23 on a charge it misled U.S. regulators about a crucial flight control system on the 737 MAX, its best-selling jet.
