Cultivated Compendium

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 to disclose that information to the public.

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.

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 broadcast television.’ I want to see that happen. They’re just making noise.”'

Diller also said he thinks the chances of the Supreme Court granting certiorari in the case against Aereo is 50/50.

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 information you receive so you're only getting information that is legal for you to take into account."'

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.

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.

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 nominations an up-or-down majority vote, then how does the Constitution resolve disputes between the president and the Senate over the Senate’s failure to vote on nominations?" White asks. "Simply put, the Constitution doesn’t resolve those disputes."

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 Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Act and limit electronic discovery of electronic health records, the web site also reported.

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. Those additional restrictions, which are in the second sentence of the proposed amendment, have drawn increasing concern from lawmakers."

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 the settlement includes $4 billion in aid for distressed homeowners, the WSJ also reports.