Up in Arms Over the Keystone XL Pipeline In a move that’s shaping up to be yet another classic case of the tail wagging the dog, Republicans have proposed what many are calling ‘questionable’ legislation to get the nearly 1,700 mile Keystone XL pipeline approved, following President Obama’s rejection last week of TransCanada's application for the construction of said pipeline. (1 views)
Sick and Disabled Animals to Remain in Food Supply Last week the US Supreme Court unanimously struck down a California law requiring slaughterhouses to promptly and humanely euthanize any animals that could not walk, thus allowing sick and disabled animals to be processed for human consumption. According to the high court’s justices, the state law was in direct conflict with a federal law. (1 views)
New Jersey Senate Passes Gay Marriage Bill The state Senate of New Jersey passed a same-sex marriage bill on Monday, which is the first time lawmakers approved of the idea, even though Governor Chris Christie has vowed to veto the bill. The bill was voted in approval by a score of 24-16, which is a massive change from the 20-14 rejection vote back in January of 2010. (1 views)
Hispanic National Bar Association Celebrates Forty Years of Service In 2012, The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) celebrates its fortieth year as the National Voice of the Hispanic Legal Community®. Founded in 1972, the HNBA's mission has evolved to include building a legal profession that reflects diversity, fostering up and coming Hispanic law students and legal professionals, and to serve as an advocate for the Hispanic... (1 views)
Holder Delivers Administration on American Terrorist Killings to Law School Audience In recent days, Attorney General Eric Holder, in an address to an audience of nearly 800 law school students and professors at Northwestern University Law School, explained the government’s rationale behind the killing of American terrorists. (1 views)
Iowa Makes it a Crime to Reveal the Truth Iowa’s Governor Terry Branstad knows which side his bread is buttered on, so it should come as little surprise that he ignored animal rights groups and public sentiment last week and opted to side with his allies in the agricultural industry. On March 2, Brandstad signed legislation allowing Iowa to criminally prosecute those who attempt to gain employment at a farming... (1 views)
DC Judge Chides Police over ''Transparently False'' Statements In a case that involved the demand to receive certain police records by a civil rights group, the D.C. police was found blatantly misleading the court to an extent that led DC Superior Court Judge, Judith Macaluso to make comments severely criticizing the role of the police in the matter. Alluding an D.C. assistant D.C. police chief’s sworn statements that all his... (1 views)
New Law in Utah Extends Mandatory pre-Abortion Wait to 72 Hours While the current law in Utah mandated a pre-abortion wait of 24 hours, the state has decided that the mandatory 24 hours is too short a time to cool impulsive behavior and reach logical decisions over the important issue of terminating a nascent life. Governor Gary Herbert has signed the bill into law to come into effect from May 7. A similar law has already been blocked... (1 views)
Court Dismisses Law Students’ Suit over Law School Job Data Court dismisses law students’ suit against New York Law School over misleading job data. (1 views)
FTC Wants Internet Data Trading Regulated for Transparency The Federal Trade Commission has requested Congress to make laws on Internet privacy that will make it mandatory for data traders and brokers to reveal consumer information. (1 views)
Supreme Court to Determine True Length of the Long Arm of Copyright On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would hear a case on an issue it failed to determine in 2010, namely whether U.S. copyright law applies to copies made and acquired abroad and then imported into the country. (1 views)
How Does 2012 Measure Up for GCCs? I remember an article I read in 2007, where the vice president of Hughes & Sloan Inc had commented, ''For corporations looking for lawyers, it's a buyer's market, so they can be picky about who gets in-house legal jobs.'' 2007 was when the economy had suddenly realized and sullenly admitted that it was already in the depths of an acute recession. (1 views)
Drug Tests for State Workers Blocked in Florida On Wednesday, a federal judge in Miami blocked the order of Florida Governor Rick Scott that demanded random drug tests for all state employees and new recruits. U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro criticized the Governor's logic for the order as ''hardly transparent and frankly obscure.'' The court held that the executive order for blanket drug testing of state employees... (1 views)
The 2001 Golden Monkeys: Law-Related Television The Emmys, the Golden Globes, People's Choice, Humanitas, MTV, ALMA-everyone else has television awards. We figure lawyers and law students deserve some, too. As the 2000-2001 TV season fades to black, we present the first annual Golden Monkeys. (1 views)
Cancer-ridden New York Judge Supports Medical Marijuana On Thursday, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach wrote in a New York Times article that he had been using marijuana at “great personal risk” to fight the nausea, and other ill effects of his chemotherapy treatment for pancreatic cancer. The judge, raising his voice in favor of using medical marijuana wrote, “This is not a law-and-order issue; it is a... (1 views)
Court Blocks Part of Florida Voting Law On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, Tallahassee, granted a preliminary injunction blocking parts of Florida’s new voting law. Specifically blocked provisions include one that required groups conducting voter registrations to submit collected forms within 48 hours of collection or face a $1000 a-day penalty. (1 views)
Supreme Court: Cities Can Forgive Tax Payments On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a city does not breach constitutional rights by forgiving a part of future property tax obligations for certain taxpayers, but refusing to refund payments collected from other taxpayers in same or similar assessments. (1 views)
Some Courtroom Drama in the Apple/Samsung Trial On Friday, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh rejected Apple Inc’s request for severe sanctions against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. though Apple argued that the conduct of one attorney for Samsung risked tainting the jury, and the judge agreed. (1 views)
International Child Custody Dispute before the Supreme Court On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the challenge made to a lower court ruling by a U.S. Army sergeant over a child custody award that gave the custody of his 5-year old daughter to her mother in Scotland, following the terms of an international treaty. (1 views)
August 20 2007 Legal Blog Roundup Hello, folks. This might be old news, but I couldn't resist the temptation of sharing the July 31 post on The Practice titled ''Law Firm Funding.'' It reveals the name and address of someone who is looking to lend to law firms. If you are facing a resource crunch and would like to take out a loan to streamline your operations, you might want to take a look at what's... (1 views)
City Department of Consumer Affairs Cannot Regulate Lawyer Conduct On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Eric Vitaliano struck down part of a 2009 New York City law that allowed the New York City’s Department of Consumer Affairs to expand the agency’s oversight into debt collection activities, and effectively regulate the conduct of lawyers involved in the process. While passing the summary judgment, the judge observed, “With respect to... (1 views)
Hurricane Sandy Tests Digital Prowess of Law Firms With the depredations of Hurricane Sandy, and courts being closed from Virginia to New York, law firms, which are still not used to virtual workspaces faced larger than usual discomfiture as competitors with the ability to coordinate and work from remote locations forged ahead by keeping operations running. As reported by Reuters, on Monday, major law firms, which are used... (1 views)
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Jefferson’s Appeal On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal against his conviction by former Louisiana congressman William Jefferson. Jefferson who became famous for “cold cash” after FBI agents found $90,000 wrapped in foil and stored in the freezer at his residence was convicted in 2009 on multiple charges of bribery and money laundering. (1 views)
Thirty Tennessee Courthouses Evacuated after Bomb Hoax On Tuesday, at least 30 courthouses in Tennessee and other public and government building were evacuated following a spate of bomb hoax calls. A spokeswoman of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Dalya Qualls told he media that nine such bomb threats were reported in West Tennessee counties, seven in Middle Tennessee and 14 in East Tennessee. The... (1 views)
What a New Survey Says about Women in Law Equality in the workplace is perking up in the legal industry, according to the 2012 Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women. Though the people behind the survey are still hoping firms will meet "critical mass" they are pleased that the stats are heading in the right direction. (1 views)
Judge Admonished for Opining Rape Requires Proof of Resistance On Thursday, the California Commission on Judicial Performance voted 10-0 in favor of imposing a public admonishment upon Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson. The Commission held that Johnson’s comments breached judicial ethics and were inappropriate. Johnson is a staunch believer in the medieval age theory that ‘rape’ is impossible, because if someone did not desire... (1 views)
Court Rejects Planned Parenthood’s Bid to Continue State Contract in Oklahoma On Monday, U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot of the Western District of Oklahoma rejected Planned Parenthood’s bid to prevent Oklahoma from terminating its contract with the organization. The contract was related to providing food vouchers and other aid to poor mothers in Tulsa. According to court documents, the contract by the state of Oklahoma under the federal Women,... (1 views)
Why Should You Join A Law School? The prime intent of this article is to assist potential law students to make a knowledgeable decision whether or not to seek admission to law school. Students pursue legal careers for diverse reasons. Some see the law as a vehicle for social change. Others view law school training as a prerequisite to careers in politics and government. A few choose the law for its... (1 views)