Cultivated Compendium is my personal website with the occasional link to my reporting and to important, cutting-edge or interesting legal news.
Welcome
News and Reporting
October 9th, 2013
The Washington Post has a piece that begins: "Courts from Moscow to Murmansk sent out a broad and uncompromising message Tuesday: Russian authorities will not tolerate protest, not from the weak or the powerful, not on land or at sea." A photojournalist and Greenpeace activists detained after a protest of Arctic drilling were denied bail in one case. In another case, a man with disabilities was confined to indefinite psychiatric... Continue Reading
October 9th, 2013
A British study found 1/3 of "British people in their 50s and above said they had experienced age discrimination, researchers reported in the journal Age and Ageing. That included being treated with less courtesy or getting poorer service at restaurants and hospitals," Reuters Health reported. The impact? One researcher said "frequent perceived discrimination may be a chronic source of stress and build up over time, leading to... Continue Reading
October 8th, 2013
The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report on a judge ordering a new trial in a Pennsylvania Innocence Project case: "Calling the original trial evidence 'extremely weak' and newly uncovered evidence compelling, a Philadelphia judge has granted a new trial for two men serving life for the 1995 robbery-murder of a North Philadelphia business owner." Continue Reading
October 8th, 2013
The First Amendment Center has this report from Tony Mauro on six First Amendment cases on the U.S. Supreme Court's docket this year, including a case in which media groups are worried that news organizations could be left exposed to defamation lawsuits involving true news reports. That case regards a Colorado Supreme Court decision upholding a defamation judgment against an airline whose report about a "disgruntled employee was... Continue Reading
October 8th, 2013
Nonprofit Quarterly reports that many American Indian legal practitioners are finding that “'basically any issue headed for the Supreme Court is probably not going to be decided in favor of the tribes.”' Their advice? Avoid going to the U.S. Supreme Court if at all possible. The other strategy is make the cases as strong as possible: the Native American Rights Fund and the National Congress of American Indians have created... Continue Reading
October 8th, 2013
Marathon swimmer Diana Nyad made her record-breaking swim from Cuba to Florida just recently. This morning, she started a 48-hour charitable swim to raise funds for Hurricane Sandy survivors. But, as her coach said, “I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose everything — everything you’ve worked for and strived for in your life, gone. It’s not easy. These are the people who become heroes. These are the people... Continue Reading
October 8th, 2013
When former Pennsylvania Justice Joan Orie Melvin was sentenced for politicial corruption, the judge fashioned an unusual sentence:
* three years of house arrest;
* orders to send a picture of herself with an apology written on it to every member of the Pennsylvania judiciary;
* orders to send letters of apology to every member of the staff of her sister, a former state senator also convicted of using taxpayer resources on political... Continue Reading
October 8th, 2013
The Hollywood Reporter has this story: the broadcasters who allege Aereo's retransmission over the Internet of their free broadcast TV programmising is "copyright infringement want to find out why Aereo's patent applications state there is no simple way to access TV programming on digital devices." As a result, a judge is "allowing TV broadcasters to spend an hour deposing Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia and CTO Joseph Lipowski... Continue Reading
October 8th, 2013
While the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled FDA approval of medical devices preempts tort lawsuits over medical-device injuries, plaintiff "Arizonan Richard Stengel says federal law regulating medical devices does not trump his claims under state law because Medtronic Inc failed to alert the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to known risks associated with the pain medication pump and catheter that was implanted in his abdomen,... Continue Reading
October 8th, 2013
Genectically modified crops have been adapted to climatic conditions in Africa that can otherwise cause crop failure and then famine, The Washington Post reports. But under Tanzania's "'strict liability' rule, anyone associated with importing, moving, storing or using GM products is liable if someone makes a claim of harm, injury or loss caused by the products. Such a claim could reach beyond personal loss or injury to... Continue Reading
October 7th, 2013
Several witnesses during a Philadelphia City Council hearing Monday morning questioned how a for-profit law firm could provide adequate representation to poor Philadelphians whose constitutional rights are at stake in criminal and family cases.
The city of Philadelphia is preparing to contract with one law firm to handle the cases in which the Defender Association of Philadelphia has a conflict.
Attorney Jeffrey Lindy, who is involved... Continue Reading
October 7th, 2013
The New York Times' Adam Liptak reports on the U.S. Supreme Court's momentous docket this fall: the "court’s new term, which starts Monday, will feature an extraordinary series of cases on consequential constitutional issues, including campaign contributions, abortion rights, affirmative action, public prayer and presidential power." Continue Reading
October 6th, 2013
The federal government shutdown will affect the housing market in several ways, The Washington Post reports:
1. Buyers won't be able to get approvals for their mortgages, including those backed by the Federal Housing Administration;
2. Lenders will be less willing to make loans or even unable to make loans without paperwork from the IRS, FHA and the Social Security Administration.
"The approval of mortgage... Continue Reading
October 6th, 2013
Connecticut is only one of nine states restricting the public disclosure of crime scene photos, Connecticut News Junkie reports on a survey conducted by the Connecticut Office of Legislative Research. Connecticut also is only one of 11 states restricting the public disclosure of 911 calls.
"Over the past few weeks the legislature’s research staff has been compiling reports for a task force convened by lawmakers to weigh the... Continue Reading
October 6th, 2013
After the tizzy caused by President Obama's suggestion that law schools should be two years, not three years, for full-time students, what will come of the president's suggestion that the Washington Redskins football team should perhaps get a less controversial moniker? Obama made that suggestion in an interview with the Associated Press, The Washington Post reports.
There has been long-running litigation by several... Continue Reading
Pages
Lawyer and Legal Journalist
