My occasional take on important, cutting-edge or interesting legal news:
Legal News
Legal News
May 12th, 2014
The Pascua Yaqui is going to be the first American Indian tribe to prosecute a non-American Indian for domestic violence after the Violence Against Women Act was expanded to allow American Indian tribes to have that enforcement authority, the Washington Post reports. While the law is meant to address violent crimes inflicted on Native women by non-Native men, the law does not address every such circumstance: "While it covers... Continue Reading
May 12th, 2014
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has been the author of key gay rights opinions. He wrote the opinions in Romer v. Evans, holding that a Colorado constitutional amendment barring providing any special legal protection to gays and lesbians lacked a rational relationship to any legitimate governmental purpose, Lawrence v. Texas, holding that Texas' law against sodomy violated substantive due process protection for... Continue Reading
May 10th, 2014
Vox reports on three significant changes pending this summer that could change the media and the Internet forever:
One, will the U.S. Supreme Court let Aereo stream free broadcast television over the Internet?
Two, can Comcast buy Time Warner Cable?
Three, will the Federal Communications Commission vote to approve Internet "fast lanes" for companies that pay more?
"It is entirely possible that 2014 will end with... Continue Reading
May 10th, 2014
The FBI and the Justice Department are seeking to change criminal rules to make it easier for law enforcement to hack into suspects' computer "for evidence when the "computer’s physical location is unknown — a problem that officials say is increasing as more and more crime is conducted online with tools to conceal identity," The Washington Post's Ellen Nakashima reports.
Here's the ... Continue Reading
May 10th, 2014
The third state in the South has had its ban on same-sex marriage struck down, the Associated Press reports. The state judge ruled that, even under rational basis review, there is no reason gay couples can't marry and that the voter-approved amendment to the state constitution violates their rights, according to the AP. Oklahoma and Virginia are the other southern state that has had its same-sex marriage ban struck... Continue Reading
May 9th, 2014
Philadelphia Traffic Court judges facing federal charges for allegedly fixing tickets argue that an internal investigation influenced federal investigators in building their criminal case, the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeremy Roebuck reports. Defense lawyers contend that their clients were promised that their statements to Investigator William G. Chadwick, who was commissioned to do the internal investigation, would remain confidential... Continue Reading
May 9th, 2014
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will take up the first case in the country in which a Catholic Church was convicted of endangering children abused by other priests, The Legal Intelligencer's Zack Needles reports. The Pennsylvania Superior Court overturned Monsignor William Lynn's conviction because "the trial judge had refused to address the defense argument that a pre-amended version of Pennsylvania's law criminalizing... Continue Reading
May 8th, 2014
Even though Indiana bans same-sex marriage, a federal judge ordered the recognition of the marriage of a same-sex couple who wedded in Massachusetts and now reside in Indiana, the Lafayette Journal & Courier, of Lafayette, Indiana, reports. Niki Quasney has terminal ovarian cancer, and she and her wife, Amy Sandler, now are the only same-sex couple to have their marriage legally recognized in Indiana. The judge, however, has not yet... Continue Reading
May 8th, 2014
Ergobaby, a manufacturer of baby carriers, has revealed itself as the company that fought to keep its court fight over a consumer product safety report secret, Legal Times reports. The Fourth Circuit ruled that the district court should not have let the company shield its name from the public as it fought to keep the Consumer Product Safety Commission from publishing an incident report about an infant's death--allegedly from one of... Continue Reading
May 8th, 2014
Patton Boggs ended its role in the environmental litigation Ecuadorian plaintiffs brought against Chevron, agreeing to pay $15 million to the energy firm and expressing regret for its role in the case, the New York Law Journal reports. An Ecuadorian court rendered a $9.5 billion verdict against Chevron for pollution left in the Amazon, but an American federal judge ruled that plaintiffs attorney Steven Donziger corrupted the Ecuadorian... Continue Reading
May 8th, 2014
The FBI is looking into the problems that led Oregon to scrap its problematic health insurance exchange, the Wall Street Journal reports. The exchange was never fully functional, WSJ adds. Oregon is joining the federal exchange instead: "The state will going forward join roughly three dozen other states and use the federal exchange, which itself suffered multiple setbacks in 2013 but has since mostly recovered," WSJ reports. Continue Reading
May 7th, 2014
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard oral argument this week on the constitutionality of a $500,000 damages cap for plaintiffs injured by municipal defendants, The Legal Intelligencer's Max Mitchell reports. Plaintiffs attorney Tom Kline urged the justices to overturn prior precedent that allowed a statutory cap on damages against political subdivisions. Continue Reading
May 7th, 2014
Outside spending has been increasing in judicial campaigns, including in a primary race for the North Carolina Supreme Court, the New York Times reports. The race for the seat of North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Robin Hudson has drawn more than $1 million, the Times further reports: "The costly and fierce primary shows how the revolution in financing political campaigns, with the surging role of 'super PACs' and... Continue Reading
May 7th, 2014
Media outlets have filed an amicus brief in support of a drone hobbyist facing a $10,000 fine for using a drone to make a promotional video, Gigaom reports. The media companies argue that the Federal Aviation Administration is violating the First Amendment by banning the use of unmanned aircraft for news photography.
Read the full brief here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/222414475/NYT-Et-Al-Amicus-for-Drones Continue Reading
May 6th, 2014
A study shows that U.S. Supreme Court justices back freedom of speech when the speakers share a similar political world view, the New York Times' Adam Liptak reports. For example, Justice Antonin Scalia voted to uphold the free speech rights of conservative speakers 65 percent of the time and liberal ones 21 percent. Continue Reading
Lawyer and Legal Journalist
