Posts

Running a business can be costly. In addition to paying rent, insurance, taxes, vendors, and other operating expenses, you have to pay employees. And if you have good employment policies designed to retain your best talent, you might notice that those annual merit raises have added up over the years, and your most senior employees are now potentially dragging down your bottom line. Complicating matters, employers cannot simply fire their most senior employees just to cut costs without risking age discrimination claims....

Less than two weeks ago, the Kansas Supreme Court held that Chad Taylor, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, could drop out of the race over the objections of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican. Taylor, who filed his “I quit” paperwork at the deadline, did so in order to avoid splitting the anti-Republican vote with a popular independent candidate, Greg Orman. Kansas’ highest court, however, failed to address the issue of whether the Democratic Party could abandon the race altogether – the statute does say, after all, that the party “shall” replace the candidate....

This is an issue that the U.S. Supreme Court has been dodging for years: Whose speech is conveyed on a personalized license plate? In 1977, the Supreme Court decided Wooley v. Maynard, a case where the Court presumed that a license plate was private speech and held that citizens couldn’t be forced to display the motto “Live Free or Die.” Since then, the Court has turned away case after case dealing with personalized plate programs, most of which were states’ denials of pro-choice or pro-life license plates....

A notice of appeal isn’t the only way to challenge an issue in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. This week, the Denver-based court concluded that appellants who contested an attorney’s fees award in their opening brief on a related issue satisfied the requirements of Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure (FRAP) 3(c)(1). The plaintiffs in this case own surface estates in Oklahoma. They sued Flamingo Seismic Solutions, (a company engaged in geophysical data services for the oil and gas industry), in a trespass action for damages to their land caused by Flamingo’s seismic exploration activities....

A prison power outage is always a big deal these days where so much security-related tech relies on electricity. But when you couple the loss of heat and hot water with unseasonably cold winter temperatures, it’s a recipe for a humanitarian crisis. According to the plaintiffs bringing the action, the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center failed to take appropriate steps to take care of the detainees and inmates in their custody after the power outage and heating failure....

While lawyers are free to represent whomever they choose, a pair of Harvard professors are now dealing with fallout related to a decision by one of them to join Harvey Weinstein’s defense team. Two Harvard Faculty Deans at a dormitory have apparently been forced out of their roles, though they both remain active as professors. The professors are actually a married couple, and it seems the deeds, or perhaps the representation, of the husband also doomed the wife....

In a derivative action against a corporation’s majority shareholder claiming that defendant misappropriated the company’s assets and breached its fiduciary duties to the company and the other shareholders, dismissal of the action is affirmed in part where the action was subject to removal under the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act and removal was timely and procedurally proper. However, the order is reversed in part where the district court erroneously gave effect to a Delaware state court injunction....

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Consolidated Edison may proceed with its lawsuit claiming the diesel fuel tanks permitted by the Port Authority to be under the twin towers fueled the fire during the September 11th attacks. This Second Circuit opinion reversed the district court decision on the lease agreement between ConEd and the Port Authority. The appellate opinion said that the 43-year old lease agreement permitted ConEd to bring a reimbursement lawsuit against the Port Authority for the cost of rebuilding the substation, due to the negligence of the Port Authority in allowing the construction of the diesel tanks, reports Courthouse News....

Listen up, suspicious husbands, nosy wives, and exes who just can’t let go: unpermitted snooping into your partner’s email may be a violation of the federal Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act. That is, according to a recent decision from the Seventh Circuit. The case involves a contentious divorce between Paula and Barry Epstein. Paula accused Barry of “serial infidelity.” Barry demanded proof. Much to his surprise, Paula handed over Barry’s own, purloined emails....

‘Test cases,’ or legal challenges meant to set precedent and change the law, were pioneered by civil rights activists. Test cases brought us some of the Supreme Court’s greatest civil rights victories, and some of its greatest failures. But in the past few years, test cases have also become a powerful force in undoing civil rights laws, with test cases directed at everything from the Voting Rights Act to college admissions....

African-American paramedic’s civil rights suit against employer and county Thompson v. Mem’l Hosp. of Carbondale, 07-2249, concerned a challenge to the jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff on his Title VII and section 1981 claim and an award of $500,000 in damages, in an African-American paramedic’s suit against his former employer and a county ambulance service, alleging racial discrimination in violation of Title VII and section 42 U.S.C. section 1981, hostile work environment, and constructive discharge claims....

Christian Legal Soc. v. Martinez, No. 08-1371, involved an action against Hastings College of Law, a public law school, alleging that Hastings’ refusal to grant a Christian group “Registered Student Organization” status violated its First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to free speech, expressive association, and free exercise of religion. The Court affirmed summary judgment for defendant, holding that 1) the Court considered only whether a public institution’s conditioning access to a student organization forum on compliance with an all-comers policy violated the Constitution; and 2) the all-comers policy was a reasonable, viewpoint-neutral condition on access to the RSO forum....

Judgment of the district court, granting defendant’s motion to suppress evidence on the ground that the evidence of one-month subscription to child pornography was stale, is reversed and remanded where: 1) under the factors set forth in US v. Abboud, 438 F.3d 554 (6th Cir. 2006), the information presented to the magistrate judge was not stale; 2) the magistrate judge had a substantial basis to conclude that probable cause existed from the affidavit that the defendant, a registered sex offender, paid $79....

Defendant’s conviction for failure to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act (SORNA) is affirmed where an individual’s obligation to register is not dependent on a state’s implementation of SORNA, and thus the fact that Washington had not implemented SORNA at the time of defendant’s sexual abuse of a minor conviction was irrelevant. Read US v. George, No. 08-30339 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted June 2, 2009...

If you are hoping for a decision on same sex marriage, DOMA, or the Voting Rights Act, we’ll save you some time – none were released today. Today’s rulings were more than mere brush-clearing, however. These holdings have major impacts on state voting laws, fundamental criminal procedure at all levels, and our oft-criticized pharmaceutical industry. Interested in proof-of-citizenship voting laws, the right to a jury, or cheaper drugs? Read on....

President Trump has signed an executive order temporarily suspending certain immigrant visas as a measure to protect American jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This order comes after a staggering 26 million people have already applied for unemployment benefits. What Will Be the Effects of the Executive Order? The order, which was issued April 22 and will be effective for 60 days, bans people seeking immigrant visas from entering the country. This order applies to people who:...

When criminal activity happens at your apartment building or rental home, it’s natural to wonder whether anything could have been done to prevent it from happening. While your landlord probably doesn’t live in the building and wasn’t involved in the crime, it’s still their responsibility. A recent lawsuit in the news tragically illustrates the need for landlords to take security at their properties seriously. Family Killed After No Locks Changed Ruth Esther Reyes de Severino and her 5- and 2-year-old children were murdered by her husband, who subsequently committed suicide, in February 2020 in Penns Grove, New Jersey....

The Supreme Court has upheld Arizona’s use of independent commissions in drawing legislative districts. In order to prevent gerrymandering, the state elected, through public referendum, to establish an independent commission to draw congressional districts. The state legislature challenged this practice, arguing that it violated the constitution’s Elections Clause, which declares that the time, place and manner of Congressional elections should be determined “in each State by the Legislature therefor,” though Congress can alter those regulations....

Timothy Tymkovich became the new Chief Judge of the Tenth Circuit last week, replacing Judge Mary Beck Briscoe, whose five year term as chief ended in September. As a judge and former Colorado solicitor general, Tymkovich has been involved in a number of notable cases, dealing with everything from gay rights to gun rights, freedom of speech to freedom of religion. But his first week as chief hasn’t brought any headline making decisions just yet....

It was in Sidney Brown’s house where officers found cocaine, a Beretta pistol, and $4,700 in cash. An anonymous informant notified the police of seeing cocaine at Brown’s house and a search warrant was subsequently issued. Brown was convicted of drug related crimes. He appealed. Sixth circuit criminal law attorneys should be aware of a recent court of appeals opinion clarifying what is sufficient informant information to create probable cause for a search warrant application....