This Day in Legal History: Mexican-American War

On May 13, 1846, Congress approved President James K. Polk’s request for a declaration of war against Mexico, formally beginning the Mexican-American War. Polk had told Congress that Mexico had “invaded our territory and shed American blood on American soil,” after a clash between Mexican forces and American troops near the Rio Grande. The problem was that the land where the clash occurred was disputed: the United States claimed the Rio Grande as the border of Texas, while Mexico maintained that the border was farther north at the Nueces River. Congress accepted Polk’s framing and passed the war declaration, but the vote did not settle the legal question of whether the president had maneuvered the country into war. Many Whigs saw the conflict not as a defensive war, but as a war of expansion designed to seize Mexican territory.

One of the sharpest critics was a young Whig congressman from Illinois, then serving his only term in the House of Representatives. In December 1847, a one Abraham Lincoln introduced what became known as the Spot Resolutions, demanding that Polk identify the precise “spot” where American blood had supposedly been shed. Lincoln wanted to know whether that spot was truly American soil, or whether U.S. troops had been sent into disputed territory first. In one of the resolutions, he asked whether “the particular spot of soil on which the blood of our citizens was so shed” was actually American soil at the time. The challenge was simple but devastating: if Polk could not prove the location was within the United States, then his legal justification for war began to fall apart.

Lincoln’s attack did not stop the war, and it made him unpopular with many voters who thought he was undermining American soldiers in the field. Critics even mocked him as “Spotty Lincoln.” But the episode revealed an early version of the Lincoln who would later become president: a lawyer-politician who focused on the exact words used to justify government power. The May 13 declaration therefore stands not only as the beginning of a war, but as an early constitutional fight over presidential war-making, disputed borders, and whether Congress had been asked to approve a war on a false premise.

Texas has sued Netflix in state court, accusing the company of misleading subscribers about how it collects and uses viewing data. The lawsuit claims Netflix built its reputation by presenting itself as a paid, ad-free alternative to companies that rely heavily on user tracking and advertising. According to Texas, Netflix nevertheless collected large amounts of information about what users watched, how they browsed, and how they interacted with the platform.

The state alleges that Netflix profited from that data by using it for advertising and sharing or selling it to outside companies without proper consent. The petition also criticizes features such as autoplay, describing them as design choices that push users toward binge-watching by removing natural stopping points. Texas further claims that Netflix marketed itself as family-friendly while still tracking children’s viewing and browsing behavior, even if it has not yet targeted children with ads. Attorney General Ken Paxton said the company misrepresented itself as safer and more privacy-protective than it really was.

The lawsuit brings claims under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and seeks civil penalties, an injunction, and an order requiring Netflix to delete data allegedly collected through deceptive practices.

Texas Sues Netflix Over ‘Staggering’ Data Logging - Law360

Federal prosecutors have brought the first criminal charges against companies involved in operating the M/V Dali, the container ship that struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March 2024. The indictment names Singapore-based Synergy Marine, India-based Synergy Maritime, and Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, who served as technical superintendent for the ship. Prosecutors accuse them of recklessly operating the vessel, falsifying inspection records, failing to report a hazardous condition to the Coast Guard, obstructing agency proceedings, and lying to National Transportation Safety Board investigators. The crash killed six construction workers, destroyed the bridge, disrupted access to the Port of Baltimore, and allegedly caused billions of dollars in economic losses. According to prosecutors, the Dali had electrical and mechanical problems that made it vulnerable to blackouts, and Synergy employees improperly used a flushing pump as a regular fuel supply pump for generators.

The government claims that if the proper pumps had been used, the ship could have regained power in time to avoid the bridge. The indictment also includes environmental allegations tied to pollutants released into the Patapsco River, including oil, shipping containers, and bridge debris. Synergy denies wrongdoing and says the Justice Department is wrongly treating a tragic accident as a crime. The company argues that the crash was caused by a loose wire, consistent with the NTSB’s findings, and says the DOJ’s theory conflicts with maritime experts’ conclusions. Separate civil litigation over liability is still moving forward, including claims by Maryland, Baltimore, cargo interests, insurers, and others. Maryland also finalized a $2.25 billion settlement with Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, while continuing claims against the shipbuilder, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. Planning for the Key Bridge replacement is underway, with the new bridge expected to cost between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion and be completed by late 2030.

Ship Managers Indicted Over Baltimore Bridge Disaster - Law360

In my column for Bloomberg this week, I wrote about how Congress made the adoption tax credit partially refundable beginning in 2025, a change that could help families manage the high costs of adoption. The policy is meant to make the credit more useful when families actually need the money, since adoption can involve major expenses such as agency fees, legal bills, travel, and other costs that arrive long before any tax benefit is received. But refundable credits also raise fraud concerns for the IRS because they can result in direct payments from the government.

The column warns that the IRS may respond by delaying refunds, issuing broad documentation requests, and placing legitimate families through lengthy reviews. That concern is based on what happened in 2010 and 2011, when the adoption credit was fully refundable and the IRS subjected many claims to extra scrutiny. During the 2012 filing season, 90% of returns claiming the credit received additional review and 69% were selected for audit. Adoption claims are often complex, not suspicious, because they can involve international agencies, state courts, amended documents, failed placements, special-needs rules, and unusual expense records. The IRS should issue clear guidance before filing season so families know what documents they need to submit with Form 8839.

It should also create a standardized checklist or attachment and a dedicated review track staffed by employees trained on adoption-credit rules. Without better guidance and staffing, the refundable portion of the credit may become less useful because families could face audits, professional fees, delayed refunds, or fear of claiming the benefit at all. The broader point is that Congress cannot expand a benefit, demand fraud prevention, reduce administrative capacity, and then be surprised when taxpayers get stuck in delays.

Adoption Credit’s Refundability Makes It Valuable—and Vulnerable

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