32-536: The All Writs Act is a United States federal statute , codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1651 , which authorizes the United States federal courts to "issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law". The act in its original form was part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 . The current form of the act was first passed in 1911, and
64-787: A U.S. District Court in New York authorized a writ directing a mobile phone manufacturer, whose identity was not disclosed, to assist an investigation of credit card fraud by bypassing a phone's password screen. On November 3, 2014, the Oakland Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office named Apple Inc. in papers invoking the Act, which were filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California . Federal law enforcement sought to require Apple to extract data from
96-644: A slip law and in the United States Statutes at Large after receiving the act. Thereafter, the changes are published in the United States Code . Through the process of judicial review , an act of Congress that violates the Constitution may be declared unconstitutional by the courts. A judicial declaration that an act of Congress is unconstitutional does not remove the act from the Statutes at Large or
128-468: A court which has jurisdiction. Application of the All Writs Act requires the fulfillment of four conditions: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal administrative agencies can invoke the All Writs Act to preserve the status quo when a party within the agency's jurisdiction is about to take action that will prevent or impair the agency from carrying out its functions. In FTC v. Dean Foods Co. ,
160-608: A later case involving an agency's dismissal of an employee. The reason was that judicial review would not be defeated as in Dean Foods . In 1984, the D.C. Circuit relied on Dean Foods as authority for issuance of an All Writs order to compel the FCC to act on a petition that it had allegedly delayed for almost five years without acting on it. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in United States v. New York Telephone Co. 434 U.S. 159 (1977) that
192-463: A locked iPhone 5S as part of a criminal case. On February 16, 2016, the Act was invoked again in an order that Apple Inc. create a special version of its iOS operating system, with certain security features removed, for Federal law enforcement officers to use as part of an investigation into the 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack . The head of the FBI stated that what was requested was that Apple disable
224-492: A viable independent company if the merger were subsequently ruled illegal. This would prevent a meaningful order from being entered in the case. The Court held that the All Writs Act extends to the potential jurisdiction of an appellate court where an appeal is not then pending, but may later be perfected. In a later similar case, the Second Circuit denied relief, because an All Writs preliminary injunction should issue only if
256-546: Is a statute enacted by the United States Congress . Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws ), or to the general public ( public laws ). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both houses with a majority, then be either signed into law by the president of the United States , be left unsigned for ten days (excluding Sundays) while Congress remains in session, or, if vetoed by
288-770: Is headquartered in San Francisco. Cases from the Northern District of California are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit . Because it covers San Francisco and Silicon Valley , the Northern District of California has become the presumptive destination for major federal lawsuits (such as large class actions and multi-district litigation ) involving " Big Tech " defendants. These cases usually involve patent law and intellectual property law (such as copyright law and DMCA issues as well as trademark law and trade secret law ) - especially in
320-564: Is made by the third method, the presiding officer of the house that last reconsidered the act promulgates it. Under the United States Constitution , if the president does not return a bill or resolution to Congress with objections before the time limit expires, then the bill automatically becomes an act; however, if the Congress is adjourned at the end of this period, then the bill dies and cannot be reconsidered (see pocket veto ). If
352-410: Is sometimes used in informal speech to indicate something for which getting permission is burdensome. For example, "It takes an act of Congress to get a building permit in this town." An act adopted by simple majorities in both houses of Congress is promulgated , or given the force of law, in one of the following ways: The president promulgates acts of Congress made by the first two methods. If an act
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#1732877008799384-453: Is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California : Alameda , Contra Costa , Del Norte , Humboldt , Lake , Marin , Mendocino , Monterey , Napa , San Benito , San Francisco , San Mateo , Santa Clara , Santa Cruz , and Sonoma . The court hears cases in its courtrooms in Eureka , Oakland , San Francisco , and San Jose . It
416-654: The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1992 (CALEA). The DOJ has argued, both in October in Brooklyn and in filings on February 19, 2016, against Apple that CALEA does not apply to these cases, which involve "data at rest rather than in transit", an important distinction for determining whether CALEA applies, nor does it alter the authority granted the courts under the All Writs Act. On February 29, 2016, Magistrate Judge James Orenstein issued an order denying
448-576: The semiconductor , telecommunications and software industries and other high technology areas, antitrust law , securities law , and technology law in general ( e.g. , cybersecurity , Internet law , computer law and cases involving software ). California was admitted as a state on September 9, 1850, and was initially divided into two districts, the Northern and the Southern , by Act of Congress approved September 28, 1850, 9 Stat. 521. The boundary line
480-536: The All Writs Act since at least 2008 to force various companies to provide assistance in cracking their customers' phones. The American Civil Liberties Union has confirmed at least 76 cases in 22 states where the government applied for an order under the All Writs Act. In addition, Apple has identified 12 pending cases in its court documents, and the ACLU has found one additional case in Massachusetts . On October 31, 2014,
512-630: The Circuit Judgeship, when he was succeeded by Olin Wellborn . On March 18, 1966, the Eastern and Central Districts were created from portions of the Northern and Southern Districts by 80 Stat. 75. As of May 7, 2024: Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief,
544-446: The FTC can show that "an effective remedial order, once the merger was implemented, would otherwise be virtually impossible, thus rendering the enforcement of any final decree of divestiture futile." The Second Circuit opined that the merger probably violated the antitrust laws but did not believe that effective relief would be "virtually impossible." The Supreme Court reached a similar result in
576-489: The Supreme Court held that a court of appeals to which an appeal could be taken against an FTC order banning a merger could properly issue a preliminary injunction under the All Writs Act while the FTC determined the merger's legality, if the need for injunctive relief was "compelling". In that case the acquired company would cease to exist since the acquiring company was about to sell all acquired milk routes, its plants and equipment, and other assets, precluding its restoration as
608-462: The United States Code; rather, it prevents the act from being enforced. However, the act as published in annotated codes and legal databases is marked with annotations indicating that it is no longer good law. United States District Court for the Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations , N.D. Cal. )
640-419: The act has been amended several times since then; it has not changed significantly in substance since 1789. The text of the Act is: (a) The Supreme Court and all courts established by Act of Congress may issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law. (b) An alternative writ or rule nisi may be issued by a justice or judge of
672-522: The act provided authority for a U.S. District Court to order a telephone company to assist law enforcement officials in installing a device on a rotary phone in order to track the phone numbers dialed on that phone, which was reasonably believed to be used in furtherance of criminal activity. The U.S. Government has revived the All Writs Act in the 21st century, notably to gain access to password-protected mobile phones in domestic terrorism and narcotics investigations. The government has been trying to use
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#1732877008799704-491: The court would otherwise be qualified for the position. When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status , or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982. The United States Attorney for
736-574: The debate. On March 20, 2017, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit stated that a decryption order issued under the Act did not violate the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination if the contents of a hard drive were a "foregone conclusion." In court filings, Apple has argued that Congress has established guidelines for what is required of private entities in such circumstances in
768-553: The government's request in its effort to decrypt an iPhone for admission as evidence. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), a privacy advocate on the Senate Intelligence Committee , argued: "If the FBI can force Apple to build a key, you can be sure authoritarian regimes like China and Russia will turn around and force Apple to hand it over to them ... They will use that key to oppress their own people and steal U.S. trade secrets." Act of Congress An act of Congress
800-559: The iPhone's feature which erases encrypted data on the device after ten incorrect password attempts. Apple claimed that complying with the order would make brute force password attacks trivial for anyone with access to a phone using this software. Apple CEO Tim Cook in an open letter warned of the precedent that following the order would create. On the same day, the Electronic Frontier Foundation announced its support for Apple's position. Several public figures have joined
832-461: The office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge. A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of
864-445: The president rejects a bill or resolution while the Congress is in session, a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress is needed for reconsideration to be successful. Promulgation in the sense of publishing and proclaiming the law is accomplished by the president, or the relevant presiding officer in the case of an overridden veto, delivering the act to the archivist of the United States . The archivist provides for its publication as
896-416: The president, receive a congressional override from 2 ⁄ 3 of both houses. In the United States, acts of Congress are designated as either public laws , relating to the general public, or private laws , relating to specific institutions or individuals. Since 1957, all Acts of Congress have been designated as "Public Law X–Y" or "Private Law X–Y", where X is the number of the Congress and Y refers to
928-408: The sequential order of the bill (when it was enacted). For example, P. L. 111–5 ( American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ) was the fifth enacted public law of the 111th United States Congress . Public laws are also often abbreviated as Pub. L. No. X–Y. When the legislation of those two kinds are proposed, it is called public bill and private bill respectively. The word "act", as used in
960-483: The term "act of Congress", is a common, not a proper noun . The capitalization of the word "act" (especially when used standing alone to refer to an act mentioned earlier by its full name) is deprecated by some dictionaries and usage authorities. However, the Bluebook requires "Act" to be capitalized when referring to a specific legislative act. The United States Code capitalizes "act". The term "act of Congress"
992-559: Was abolished and the State made to constitute a single district – the United States District Court for the District of California – by Act of Congress approved July 27, 1866, 14 Stat. 300. Twenty years later, on August 5, 1886, Congress re-created the Southern District of California by 24 Stat. 308. Erskine M. Ross was appointed Judge of the new district and served until his promotion to
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1024-474: Was at the 37th parallel of North Latitude. The creating act provided that: The Act of August 31, 1852 made the Judge of the Northern District be Judge of the Southern District as well until otherwise provided, by 10 Stat. 76, 84, effectively creating a single District in all but name until an Act of January 18, 1854 provided for the appointment of a Judge for the Southern District. The Southern District of California
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