Cultivated Compendium is my personal website with the occasional link to my reporting and to important, cutting-edge or interesting legal news.
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April 29th, 2014
Several U.S. Supreme Court justices appear to be open to putting limits on police officers searching cellphones, Politico reports. Oral argument were heard in two criminal cases today involving warrantless searches of smartphones: "The arguments in both cases centered around whether cellphones and personal technology have created a fundamentally different world for police, and whether that means that warrants should be required for... Continue Reading
April 29th, 2014
The U.S. Supreme Court, 6-2, has upheld the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to limit interstate pollution, the Washington Post reports. Richard Lazarus, an environmental law professor, told the Post the rule allowing the EPA to regulate pollution sent into downwind states from upwind states is "one of the most significant rules ever" promulgated by the EPA. Continue Reading
April 29th, 2014
The New York Times' Adam Liptak is predicting a split decision in the case of a public employee fired in retaliation for his testimony in a public corruption case. While a majority of justices seemed ready during oral argument to protect Lane, Liptak reports that a ruling might not help him because he might not be able to show that his First Amendment rights were clearly established at the time he was fired. Continue Reading
April 29th, 2014
The federal government is opposing New York Times reporter James Risen's request for the U.S. Supreme Court to consider his case, which could have profound impact on media law and the amount of protection reporters have for their confidential sources, Politico reports. The Fourth Circuit ordered Risen to testify about his confidential sources in the federal prosecution of an alleged leaker. Risen was subpoenaed regarding his... Continue Reading
April 28th, 2014
The U.S. Supreme Court, 5-4, reversed a $3.4 million restitution award granted against a man who viewed child pornography porn, The New York Times' Adam Liptak reports. The award was granted to a victim whose uncle recording his raping of her. The majority adopted a "vague" standard, Liptak reports, which will require trial courts to only order “reasonable and circumscribed” restitution “in an amount... Continue Reading
April 28th, 2014
Three same-sex couples in Tennessee had legal recognition of their out-of-state marriages stayed after the Sixth Circuit entered a temporary order while the case is on appeal, The Tennessean reports. The plaintiffs argue Tennessee's statutory and constitutional bans on same-sex marriages harms them. Continue Reading
April 28th, 2014
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled that tax exemptions available to married couples must be provided to same-sex spouses even though the state bans gay marriage, Reuters reports. The tax exemption is for senior citizens and disabled veterans that sometimes take martial status into account, Reuters further reports.
'"For purposes of analyzing the effects of the exemption program, we hold that committed same-sex domestic partners who... Continue Reading
April 27th, 2014
The New York Times' Campbell Robertson and John Schwartz report today on why BP is now attacking a settlement process for economic-damage legal claims arising out of the Gulf oil spill. The energy firm, however, has not been able to unwind the settlement it agreed to: "While BP has won some arguments in court, its fundamental point — that the settlement has been brazenly misinterpreted to pay claims with no evidence linking them... Continue Reading
April 27th, 2014
General Motors, embroiled in litigation and regulatory scrutiny because of a defective ignition switch in millions of cars, moved last week in bankruptcy court to be shielded from liability for incidents that took place before July 10, 2009, which is when the company emerged from bankruptcy restructuring, The New York Times reported. The protection already exists in the restructuring agreement, but a coalition of eight class-action... Continue Reading
April 25th, 2014
The Marshall Islands, a tiny nation in the Pacific, is suing the United States and eight other nuclear-armed countries in the International Court of Justice, the Associated Press reports: "The Marshall Islands claims the nine countries are modernizing their nuclear arsenals instead of negotiating disarmament, and it estimates that they will spend $1 trillion on those arsenals over the next decade."
The lawsuit is "... Continue Reading
April 22nd, 2014
The Second Circuit has ruled that the federal government must release a redacted version of the legal guidance for the targeted killings of American citizens by drones, the New York Law Journal reports. The plaintiffs, including the New York Times, wanted information about the justifications for killing U.S. citizens Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman, and Samir Khan by drone strike in Yemen. The appellate court reasoned that... Continue Reading
April 22nd, 2014
The U.S. Supreme Court appeared to be concerned about the fate of cloud computing but not so much with the fate of Internet startup Aereo in oral arguments today, Re/code reports: "As attorneys for the Web TV service and the TV networks who are suing it argued their case today, justices repeatedly asked about ways they could write a judgment that protected the rights of other cloud computing services, such as Dropbox, to continue... Continue Reading
April 22nd, 2014
With Internet start-up Aereo and broadcast TV companies slated to go to the U.S. Supreme Court today, the case "could have important implications for Internet streaming, cloud computing, and the future of the TV industry itself," Time reports. Aereo retransmits free broadcast TV over the Internet through individual antennas dedicated to each customer. Aereo says it designed its system with those one-to-one antennas to... Continue Reading
April 20th, 2014
I'm writing several times a week about products liability for Law.com/The National Law Journal. Occasionally I cross-post a blog I find particularly interesting.
A judge who found widespread misrepresentation by plaintiffs in a gasketmaker’s bankruptcy has granted Ford Motor Co. access to the statements that parties must file to disclose their economic interests in bankruptcies.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge George Hodges of... Continue Reading
April 17th, 2014
The Fourth Circuit ruled that 'Company Doe' should not have been able to litigate in secret its dispute with the Consumer Product Safety Commission about whether a safety complaint--that a lower-court judge said was "materially inaccurate"--can be posted online, the Wall Street Journal reports. The appellate court held "'that the district court’s sealing order violates the public... Continue Reading
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