Judge David Hale is not a man of few words, especially on the issues of abortion and free speech. In a 30-page ruling, the federal judge struck down a Kentucky law that would require doctors to take an ultrasound of the fetus and describe it to a patient before performing an abortion. He said the law, HB 2, violates doctors’ First Amendment rights and “appears to inflict psychological harm on abortion patients....
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court ruling involving a witness who lied on the stand and the prosecutorial misconduct involved. The lower court ruled that the federal prosecutors knew that a star witness was committing perjury during the course of a five week long drug conspiracy trial, reports the Chicago Tribune. The criminal trial was in 2009, against a drug ring known as the Gangster Disciples. Gang members Rondell Freeman, Brian Wilbourn, Daniel Hill and Adam Sanders as well as 12 others were charged on several counts, including conspiracy, in 2007....
In an action challenging the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s request for permanent resident status, summary judgment for petitioner is affirmed where a “surviving alien-spouse” is a “spouse” within the meaning of the “immediate relative” provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. section 1151(b)(2)(A)(i). Read Lockhart v. Napolitano, 08-3321 Appellate Information Argued: January 20, 2009 Decided and Filed: July 20, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Cole Counsel For Appellants:...
Notable Supreme Court Beards First Beard: Samuel Nelson Most WTF Beard: Howell Edmunds Jackson Last Facial Hair: Thurgood Marshall (and arguably Clarence Thomas) Categorized Supreme Court Beards (Favorites in Italics) The Neck Tubes: Howell Edmunds Jackson, Noah Haynes Swayne, John Archibald Campbell, Samuel Nelson Poll: Pick the Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T.) Justices Say Case of Inmate’s Beard May Not Be the Best Test of Religious Liberty (The New York Times) This Week’s SCOTUS Oral Arguments: 3 Exciting, 3 Not So Much (FindLaw’s U....
We do not want mentally disturbed people in charge of nuclear power – and we’re not even talking about certain world leaders. In the case of McNelis v. Pennsylvania Power & Light Company, the court was talking about a security guard at a nuclear power plant. He sued for disability discrimination, but the court concluded he was not mentally fit for the job. It is a sad story for the individual in the case, but emphasizes the explosive potential for everybody from paranoia around nuclear power....
Reno’s SouthEast Connector was first proposed in the 1950s. Since then, it’s remained controversial – and unbuilt. The six-lane highway expansion between Reno and neighboring Sparks, Nevada, would follow along the local Steamboat Creek, potentially relieving traffic congestion, possibly spreading old mercury pollution, and unquestionably resulting in local wetland fill. Now, more than six decades after its proposal and halfway into its construction, a local environmental coalition is going before the Ninth Circuit in a last ditch attempt to stop the road expansion....
When you stream television content on your mobile devices, do you consider those private, or public, performances insofar as copyright law is concerned? That’s the basic question television broadcasters are petitioning the Supreme Court to decide. Aereo, is a company that charges subscribers $12/month to watch television programming (live or recorded) on their mobile devices, and interestingly, is backed by Barry Diller’s IAC/Interactive Corp., reports Reuters. Aereo service works by re-transmitting content to subscribers over the Internet....
Sometimes we think there is no issue too small for appellate court review. Take, for instance, Fisher v Dodson, an Ohio civil rights claim considered in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. John Fisher found himself in hot water after several witnesses informed Ohio state parks officials that Fisher was throwing tennis balls in a state park lake. The witnesses expressed concern that the tennis balls contained viruses or toxins....
In Hollywood, there’s a star on the Walk of Fame. In sports, there’s the immortality of a retired jersey. In law, bobbleheads are the benchmark of success. The Green Bag, an “entertaining” law journal, has produced fifteen Supreme Court bobbleheads since 2003. The latest justice to receive the honor? Clarence Thomas. The Clarence Thomas Annotated Bobblehead, which will be released in the fall to commemorate Justice Thomas’ 20 years on the Court, will feature the Justice wielding a flag and standing atop the pizza boxes of justice....
Taking a summer break is one of the greatest luxuries of being a student. Years from now, you will look back and realize how good you had really had it. They don’t call it those “lazy-hazy-crazy days of summer” for nothing. So, don’t let anybody tell you what to do with that free time because you won’t have much in the future. Like any good student of the law, however, you should also consider alternatives....
What is with UC Davis cops and pepper spray? Last year, you probably read about the UC Davis cop who pepper-sprayed a row of seated Occupy protesters. The YouTube footage of the incident went viral, and the cop, Lt. John Pike, even became a meme. But Lt. Pike wasn’t the first Davis cop to go wild pepper-spraying non-threatening students. Wednesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a former UC Davis football player, who suffered a permanent injury after police launched pepperball projectiles to disband a party, can sue the cops for using excessive force, the Metropolitan News-Enterprise reports....
After returning from his third military leave of absence, Douglas Milhauser learned that he had lost his job at Minco Products, Inc. Since federal law mandates that returning veterans be reemployed in an “appropriate position,” Milhauser sued. Minco argued at trial that Milhauser work performance had been poor, and it was forced to reduce its workforce after a bad year. The company asserted that changed circumstances had made reemploying him impossible or unreasonable....
Recent verdicts and settlements that have caught our eye include incidents involving a lesbian teacher who showed students a picture of her “future wife,” an Air Force vet and his dog who were refused service at a bar, a farmer who notched a nine-figure verdict against an agrochemical giant, and a 98-year-old clergyman who settled a sex-abuse lawsuit. Suspended Lesbian Teacher Gets $100,000 Settlement During a 2017 “Get to Know Your Teacher” presentation in Mansfield, Texas, elementary school art teacher Stacy Bailey, a two-time Teacher of the Year at the school, showed students a picture of her “future wife....
None of us want to think of our loved ones or ourselves being incapacitated or unable to make end-of-life decisions. But as we and our families age, these decisions become more important, and it becomes necessary to have a plan in place should the unthinkable happen. Living wills and durable powers of attorney are two types of plans that can ensure a person receives his or her preferred medical treatment, and they function slightly differently....
A former Pennsylvania judge convicted of sending juveniles to jail in exchange for monetary bribes will have his appeal paid for by taxpayers because he is considered impoverished. The irony abounds. In an outrageous example of judicial misconduct, former Luzerne County juvenile court judge Mark Ciavarella was convicted in 2010 on 12 charges, including racketeering, conspiracy and money laundering in connection with the “Kids for Cash” scandal. Prosecutors accused the 61-year-old judge of accepting nearly $1 million from the developer of a for-profit detention facility in exchange for sending thousands of juveniles to the center on questionable charges....
Two weeks into November, and the month is effectively over. Presidential election? Done. Supreme Court sitting? Done. The rest of the month is essentially a downward spiral to federal holidays, holiday parties, and 2013. And speaking of 2013, we have the argument calendar for the Supreme Court’s session beginning on January 7. Couldn’t wait for that, could you? Descamps v. U.S. Whether a federal court can enhance a federal sentence based on a state conviction for burglary if the state statute is missing an element of the generic crime....
In 2011, the United States engaged in a drone strike in Yemen that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an al Qaeda leader – and U.S. citizen. The strike also killed Samir Khan, another U.S. citizen. A month later, al-Awlaki’s son, also a U.S. citizen, was killed in a drone strike. These killings instigated protests against killing U.S. citizens without fair trials, reports The Guardian. As a result, two writers for The New York Times, along with the ACLU, each submitted Freedom of Information Act requests related to documents that authorized the killing of U....
The government may be in a partial shutdown, but the Second Circuit is alive and well, with two cases with big repercussions making moves in the judicial system. State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition v. Rowland On Friday, Connecticut officials submitted a petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court, asking it to review a Second Circuit decision that could have a national ripple effect on the relationship between state governments and their unionized work force, reports The Associated Press....
Dennis Chase appealed his case to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals after being convicted of three counts of transportation and three counts of possession of child pornography. The case revisits the “common sense” rules on probable cause for warrants to search homes when it comes to criminal activity like child pornography. The Nexus Rule for Search Warrants For a search warrant to be valid, there needs to be a nexus between the alleged criminal activity and the defendant’s residence....
Today’s the day that most Court-watchers have been anticipating since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law two years ago: The beginning of the healthcare law oral arguments. It’s been a long road to the Supreme Court, one that’s weaved through six federal appellate courts and countless hours of cable news broadcasts. Now that we’re finally here, the biggest news out of First Street today is that the justices seem unlikely to rule that the Anti-Injunction Act precludes a decision on the Obama healthcare law....
