My occasional take on important, cutting-edge or interesting legal news:
Legal News
Legal News
November 24th, 2013
In 2009, the Montana Supreme Court rejected a civil liberties lawsuit seeking full marital rights for same-sex couples as too broad and without enough specificity on discrimination laws, the Billings Gazette reports. Now the ACLU has filed a lawsuit which "cites specific statutes that prevent gay couples from receiving equal rights and protections medically, financially and over crucial end-of-life decisions," the Billings Gazette... Continue Reading
November 24th, 2013
A lawsuit in Texas is challenging that state's ban on same-sex marriage, according to Lez Get Real. Along with the many other lawsuits in the country challenging state-level Defense of Marriage Acts or constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, the couples in this lawsuit also argue that their equal-protection and due-process rights are being violated by being barred from matrimony. Continue Reading
November 23rd, 2013
Both Brazil and German, which have been the subjct of American surveillance, are seeking to "apply the right to privacy, which is enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to online communications," Foreign Policy reports. The United States, however, is pushing back, "to kill a provision of the Brazilian and German draft which states that 'extraterritorial surveillance' and mass... Continue Reading
November 23rd, 2013
The West Virginia Attorney General is seeking to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging West Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage in order to defend the constitutionality of the state law, The Herald-Dispatch of Huntington, West Virginia, reports. The plaintiffs allege that their constitutional rights to equal protection and due process are being violated by the ban. Continue Reading
November 23rd, 2013
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a brief in a federal court siding with "Benjamin Lawsky, New York’s top financial regulator, against a lawsuit from two western Native American tribes," The Daily Caller reported. The tribes sued over cease-and-desist letters sent by Lawsky over the online payday loan businesses. Lawsky contend that the interest rates charged by the businesses for their loans... Continue Reading
November 21st, 2013
The Wyoming Supreme Court heard arguments this week on whether "a trade secrets exemption in the state's open records law shields many of the chemicals the petroleum industry uses during hydraulic fracturing from public disclosure," according to the Associated Press. Companies do have to disclose the makeup of the chemical products to the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, but environmentalists want the commission... Continue Reading
November 21st, 2013
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau entered a $19 million settlement with payday lender Cash America, the Washington Post reported. Among other faulty practices, Cash America used robosigned a lawyer's signature on court documents, helping "the company improperly squeeze money out of at least 14,397 Americans, who are entitled to millions of dollars in restitution," The Post further reported. Continue Reading
November 21st, 2013
The NFL and the Major Baseball League recently argued in the U.S. Supreme Court that sports programming could shift from free broadcast TV to pay platforms if Aereo's Internet streaming service isn't stopped. But Barry Diller, a major investor in Aereo, is skeptical. Mediabistro reports Diller as commenting: '“The chances of the NFL going off broadcast television, this is ‘the Super Bowl is not going to be on free... Continue Reading
November 21st, 2013
The Wall Street Journal reports on research that shows employers are using social media to look up job candidates and then discriminating against them. One lawyer advised that could be illegal. The WSJ reports: '"I advise employers that it's not a good idea to use social media as a screening tool," said James McDonald, a partner at Fisher & Phillips LLP who specializes in employment law. "You need to control the... Continue Reading
November 21st, 2013
Four same-sex couples are seeking a preliminary injunction against Tennessee's ban on same-sex marriage and recognizing same-sex unions from other states, according to the Associated Press. The couples argue the ban violates their constitutinal rights to due process and equal protection, the AP also reported. Continue Reading
November 21st, 2013
Illinois has become the 16th state in the country--and the largest state in America's heartland-- to authorize same-sex matrimoney, according to the Associated Press. Governor Pat Quinn signed the legislation on a desk once used by President Abraham Lincoln and at a ceremony attended by an estimated 2,300, the AP reported. The law goes into effect June 1. Continue Reading
November 20th, 2013
Lawyer Adam White writes in the Des Moines Register that federal judicial nominees aren't entitled to get a vote in the Senate. This has been a Democratic-party complaint after Republican senators once again blocked some of President Obama's judicial nominees. White points out, however, that the federal constitution doesn't require action by the Senate on judical nominees. "So if the Senate does not 'owe' all judicial... Continue Reading
November 20th, 2013
Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate (and which mirrors legislation introduced in the House of Representatives) would expand the federal incentives for the adoption of electronic health records to "psychiatric hospitals, substance abuse facilities and psychologists," according to FierceEMR. Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio's bill also would ensure that electronic health records are not medical devices to be regulated under the... Continue Reading
November 20th, 2013
The Associated Press reports on an effort in Indiana to amend the state constitution to bar same-sex marriage, including blocking any future efforts to change the constitution to permit same-sex marriage. The AP reports: "The proposed amendment, if passed, would restrict marriage to being between a man and woman. But it would also further restrict the rights of same-sex couples and ban lawmakers from reconsidering the issue in the future... Continue Reading
November 19th, 2013
JPMorgan Chase and federal govermental officials have finalized a $13 billion settlement, which is the largest settlement with the goverment on record, The Wall Street Journal reports. The settlement resolves much of the legal liability JPMorgan faces for its role, or the role played by companies it bought up, in the economic crisis after mortgage-backed securities went south despite promises of their strength as an investment vehicle. Part of... Continue Reading
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