My occasional take on important, cutting-edge or interesting legal news:
Legal News
Legal News
January 5th, 2015
A member of the grand jury that decided against indicting Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown is seeking to have the gag order on talking about the grand jury process lifted, alleging that the prosecutor Robert McCulloch handled the case differently than hundreds of other cases presented to the grand jury, The Huffington Post's Ryan J. Reilly reports. ACLU of Missouri Legal Director said in a statement... Continue Reading
January 5th, 2015
The New York Times' Jack Healy reports about how Longmont, Colorado, and several other local governments that passed bans on fracking for natural gas are being sued: "state officials, energy companies and industry groups are taking Longmont and other municipalities to court, forcing local governments into what critics say are expensive, long-shot efforts to defend the measures." The bans in Longmont, Lafayette and in Fort Collins... Continue Reading
January 3rd, 2015
Legislators in Montana have proposed a limited expansion of Medicaid that would cover 15,000 to 18,000 people earning less than 100 percent of the federal poverty level, the Independent Record reports, but the plan would not allow Montana to take a federal subsidy that would expand coverage to 70,000 more people. Democratic Governor Steve Bullock wants to accept the money. The federal government would pay the entire cost in 2016 and... Continue Reading
January 3rd, 2015
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled against lifetime registration for juvenile sex offenders, ruling a state law is unconstitutional because the juveniles have no ability to challenge an irrebuttable presumption they are likely to reoffend, the Associated Press reports: "'We agree with the juveniles that (the law)'s registration requirements improperly brand all juvenile offenders' reputations with an indelible mark... Continue Reading
January 3rd, 2015
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf, writing in a column in Justia, notes how Nebraska and Oklahoma, two of Colorado's neighboring states, are challenging Colorado's law legalizing marijuana in the U.S. Supreme Court. The basis for the Supreme Court's jurisdiction is the part of the federal constitution covering cases in "which a state shall be a party," Dorf notes.
Nebraska and Oklahoma's attorneys general argue... Continue Reading
January 2nd, 2015
A pro se plaintiff who got the U.S. Supreme Court to take his case over the razing of his property in Baltimore still can't be found, the Associated Press' Jessica Gresko reports. Bobby Chen has missed the December 22 deadline to mail his main legal brief. At issue in Chen's case is whether he was properly given an extension to notify the people he was suing that he had filed his lawsuit. Lawyers familiar with the case said... Continue Reading
January 2nd, 2015
A British photojournalist was arrested by police as he used a drone above the scene of a fatal fire, The Guardian's Ben Quinn reports. Even though Eddie Mitchell had permission from the landowner to use his drone and is one of the few journalists authorized by the Civil Aviation Authority (the UK equivalent to the Federal Aviation Administration) to fly drones, he was held in police custody for more than 5 hours and had the controller... Continue Reading
January 1st, 2015
The U.S. government missed a deadline at the end of 2014 to issue rules on drones, Reuters' Alwyn Scott and Robert Rampton reports. While the Federal Aviation Administration has given a draft of the rules to the White House, the Office of Management and Budget has not finished reviewing them yet.
Reuters also reports that the Motion Picture Association of America and other industry groups want the FAA rules to preempt state or city... Continue Reading
January 1st, 2015
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle has clarified that marriage licenses should be issued throughout Florida, not just in the county in which he ruled that it was unconstitutional not to give a same-sex couple permission to get married, BuzzFeed's Chris Geidner reports. The judge, however, said his current injunction applies only to couples who sued to have the right to marry, but he warned court clerks that "'the constitution... Continue Reading
January 1st, 2015
Cyrus Farivar, writing for Ars Technica, features five cases that the U.S. Supreme Court could grant certiorari in and take on privacy and surveillance issues involving the National Security Agency: Klayman v. Obama, First Unitarian Church v. National Security Agency, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) v. Clapper, United States v. Moalin, and United States v. Muhtorov. Farivar notes the Supreme Court held in United... Continue Reading
December 31st, 2014
The number of Americans in state prison or on parole or probation has fallen to the lowest level in a decade, while the number of people in federal prison has fallen for the first time in more than 30 years, the Washington Post's Reid Wilson reports. "The total incarceration rate has fallen ... from about one in every 100 adults to one in every 110 adults," Wilson further reports. However, the number of people incarcerated... Continue Reading
December 30th, 2014
A conservative group called Florida Family Action is asking a judge to prevent Orlando's mayor, a county clerk of courts and other officials from officiating over same-sex nuptials or issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples when Florida's ban on same-sex marriage is set to expire next week, the Associated Press reports. Those officials are the only ones who have publicly said they plan to issue same-sex marriage licenses or... Continue Reading
December 29th, 2014
Charles Koch, one of the wealthiest Americans and a prodigious supporter of conservative causes, told his hometown newspaper, the Wichita Eagle, that he thinks the American justice system has "been over-criminalized with too many laws and too many prosecutions of nonviolent offenders, not only for him but for everybody." Koch said his family and he are going to expand on the money they give to the National Association of... Continue Reading
December 29th, 2014
When Richard Bernstein joins the Michigan Supreme Court in a few days, he will make history as the first blind justice in that state and one of the few judges with visual impairments in the country, Associated Press reports. Bernstein is having briefs for mid-January arguments read to him by an aide and memorizing the key points. He told the AP he internalizes "'the cases word for word, pretty much commit them primarily... Continue Reading
December 29th, 2014
Finally, the Federal Aviation Administration is close to releasing rules to integrate drones into the American airspace by early 2015, the Associated Press' Joan Lowy reports. But Congress will likely make key decisions. One of the priorities of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee "is writing legislation to reauthorize FAA programs and overhaul aviation policy. The bill is expected to include directions from... Continue Reading
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