Week in a Nutshell, 5/3/24

May 3, 2024

Week in a Nutshell, 5/3/24

Abortion rights advocates march and rally in support of the Yes On 4 campaign in downtown Orlando, Florida, against the six-week ban. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Here is some of the legal news making the headlines this week:

Florida’s six-week abortion ban went into effect on Wednesday.

The law bans abortions after six weeks of gestation and prohibits sending abortion medication by mail. The provision contains exceptions for medical emergencies, rape, and incest.
The restrictions took effect after the state’s highest court upheld a related 15-week abortion ban. The six-week ban was a “trigger law” set to take effect 30 days after “a decision by the Florida Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v. State…that allows the prohibition on abortions after 15 weeks.”
Florida voters, however, will soon have an opportunity to decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution. In a separate opinion, the Florida Supreme Court voted 4-3 to greenlight a vote on a constitutional amendment on abortion for November’s election ballot. The proposal states, “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s health care provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected former Trump aide Peter Navarro’s request to be released from prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction.

Navarro, Trump’s former Trade Advisor, was sentenced to four months in prison following his conviction on two counts of contempt of Congress for flouting House January 6 Committee subpoenas that compelled him to provide testimony and produce documents.
Navarro appealed the conviction and tried to evade prison during that process by invoking the Bail Reform Act, which permits individuals to remain free if their appeal is likely to succeed or “raises a substantial question of law,” among other reasons. After failing at the appellate level, on March 15, Navarro petitioned the Supreme Court. Three days later, Chief Justice John Roberts denied the request, writing that Navarro “forfeited” arguments relevant to his release. Navarro reported to prison the next day.
In a rare move, Navarro resubmitted his request to Justice Neil Gorsuch. Gorsuch then referred the matter to the full Court, which denied the request without explanation.