My occasional take on important, cutting-edge or interesting legal news:
Legal News
Legal News
August 16th, 2014
Earlier this month, a Tennessee state-court judge likely became the first in the country to uphold a state's ban on same-sex marriage since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional, according to Daily Kos. The ruling came in the case of a same-sex couple who got married in Iowa and seek to get divorced in Tennessee. The judge opined that the definition of marriage '“should be the prerogative of... Continue Reading
August 12th, 2014
Three justices on the Tennessee Supreme Court were retained last week during a heated judicial retention race, the Memphis Daily News reports. But while all three justices were retained, another clash is looming over the court's decision-making and "an effort by the Republican supermajorities in the Tennessee Legislature to exert political control over the court." In November, voters are being asked to amend the state... Continue Reading
August 7th, 2014
As Tennesseans go to the polls today to vote on whether to keep three Supreme Court justices on the court, The Washington Post reports that almost a million dollars have been spent on ad campaigns in the judicial retention race. For example, a political action committee set up by the Republican lieutenant governor has contributed $425,000 to seek to defeat the retention of three Democratic justices. The justices raised $1 million... Continue Reading
August 3rd, 2014
Law professor Josh Blackman, who developed a Supreme Court fantasy league, says colleagues and he have developed a computer model that can predict decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court with 70 percent accuracy, ABA Journal reports. The ninety variables included the party of the appointing president, a justice's ideological predilections and "the agreement level of the court." Blackman said the model could be used by lawyers... Continue Reading
August 3rd, 2014
According to the Associated Press, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruther Bader Ginsberg says the justices won't duck the issue of same-sex marriage after several courts around the country have found bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. She expects a case on the issue to be heard by June 2016. Continue Reading
August 2nd, 2014
I am really struck that, through public records, The Arizona Republic was able to learn that Arizona death row inmate Joseph Wood was injected 15 times with drugs midazolam and hydromorphone over a two-hour period before he was finally pronounced dead. It was supposed to just take two doses to kill him. The Associated Press reported he "gasped more than 600 times over the next hour and 40 minutes." But before Wood was... Continue Reading
August 1st, 2014
In a major landmark in the development of digital privacy, a federal judge has ordered Microsoft to turn over to the U.S. government a customer's emails and other account information stored in an Irish data center, Re/code reports. Microsoft unsuccessfully argued that a U.S. warrant couldn't extend to customer information held abroad.
Re/code said the case appears to be the first in which a U.S. warrant for data held overseas was... Continue Reading
July 31st, 2014
The California Court of Appeal has ruled that a healthcare provider did not violate that state's medical confidentiality law when a laptop containing four million patients' medical records was stolen, The Recorder reports. Sutter Medical Foundation could have faced $4 billion in statutory damages.
The court concluded there could not be liability without evidence that anyone actually looked at the records and the... Continue Reading
July 29th, 2014
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled last week that same-sex couples should be entitled to receive death benefits when one partner dies--despite a ban on same-sex marriage in Alaska, Reuters reports.
The Supreme Court also ruled earlier this spring that same-sex couples must be given the same treatment regarding tax exemptions for disabled veterans and senior citizens, Reuters also reports.
July 29th, 2014
Microsoft is fighting a U.S. warrant for data stored overseas in Ireland, Corporate Counsel reports. The outcome of the litigation could have big implications for cloud computing and data privacy.
Microsoft argues that the warrant doesn't extend to data stored on servers located overseas, while the U.S. government said that the pre-cloud computing-era Stored Communications Act gives it access, Corporate Counsel also reports.... Continue Reading
July 28th, 2014
The Fourth Circuit has become the second circuit court of appeals to uphold a state ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. The Tenth Circuit already ruled that Utah's ban and Oklahoma's bans are unconsitutional, and now the Fourth Circuit has ruled the same for Virginia's ban. The Fourth Circuit, 2-1, ruled today that "'denying same-sex couples this choice prohibits them from participating fully in our society... Continue Reading
July 26th, 2014
There has been a flurry of legal activity eroding Colorado's ban on same-sex marriage. Most recently, a federal judge rejected Colorado Attorney General John Suthers' request to halt proceedings after the judge's decision declaring Colorado's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, the Denver Post reports. Both state and federal judges have declared the ban unconstitutional, and "some attorneys and advocates... Continue Reading
July 24th, 2014
Politico reports that President Barack Obama plans to issue an executive order to develop privacy guidelines for commercial drones. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration would be put in charge of developing the guidelines.
The Federal Aviation Administration faces criticism for lagging in developing regulations about integrating commercial drones into U.S. airspace There is a September 2015 deadline for... Continue Reading
July 24th, 2014
At the conclusion of a judicial corruption trial, four Philadelphia Traffic Court judges were found guilty of perjury and giving false statements, but they were found not guilty of other charges, The Legal Intelligencer's P.J. D'Annunzio reports. All of the defendants were found not guilty of the wire and mail fraud, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy charges.
Continue Reading
July 23rd, 2014
Shawn DuBravac, chief economist of the Consumer Electronics Association, posits in Techdirt that the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings that warrants are needed before police may search criminal suspects' cellphones has struck the first blow to protect digital privacy in the era of the Internet of Things, or physical objects being connected to the Internet like smart thermostats, coffee pots and refrigerators: the decision "comes... Continue Reading
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