“Our defense is not in our armaments, nor in science, nor in going underground. Our defense is in law and order.” -- Albert Einstein

“The Constitution of the United States is not a mere lawyers’ document; it is a vehicle of life, and its spirit is always the spirit of the age.” -- Nadia Boulanger

“Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it …” -- Learned Hand

DECISIONS OF INTEREST

SUPREME COURT

Illinois Tool Works Inc. v. Indep. Ink, Inc., No. 04–1329 (U.S.S.C. March 01, 2006)
In the context of antitrust claims, since a patent does not necessarily confer market power upon a patentee, in all cases involving a "tying" arrangement, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant has market power in the tying product.
http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/us/000/041329.html
 

Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal (02/21/06 - No. 04–1084)
Grant of a preliminary injunction under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in favor of plaintiff, a church, against the government involving the church's use for communion of a tea containing a hallucinogen regulated by the Controlled Substances Act, is affirmed where there was no error in a determination that the government failed to demonstrate, at the preliminary injunction stage, a compelling interest in barring the church's sacramental use of the tea.
http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/us/000/041084.html
 

Scheidler v. Nat'l Org. for Women, Inc. (02/28/06 - No. 04–1244)
Physical violence unrelated to robbery or extortion falls outside the scope of the Hobbs Act. A judgment for respondents, a nonprofit organization supporting the availability of abortions and clinics that perform abortions, is reversed in a case brought under the Hobbs Act, RICO, and other extortion-related laws against individuals and organizations opposing legal abortion.
http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/us/000/041244.html
 

Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic & Institutional Rights, Inc., No. 04–1152 (U.S.S.C. March 06, 2006)
Because Congress could require law schools to provide equal access to military recruiters without violating the schools' freedoms of speech or association, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals erred in holding that the Solomon Amendment likely violates the First Amendment.
http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/us/000/041152.htm
 

2nd CIRCUIT

Ferraro v. Kellwood Co., No. 04-6413 (2d Cir. March 07, 2006)
Summary judgment for defendant-employer in an employment-discrimination lawsuit is affirmed where plaintiff failed to rebut defendant's proffered nondiscriminatory reason for demoting her and reducing her salary, and no genuine issue of fact precluded defendant from successfully asserting the Faragher/Ellerth affirmative defense.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/2nd/046413p.pdf
 

NEW YORK COURT OF APPEALS

Balbuena v. IDR Realty LLC, No. 19, 2 No. 49 SSM 1 (N.Y. February 21, 2006)
The Immigration Reform and Control Act does not bar maintenance of claims for lost wages under the state Labor Law by undocumented aliens under the circumstances of their case and in the absence of proof that plaintiffs tendered false work authorization documents to obtain employment. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/ny/cases/app/19-49SSM1opn06.pdf
 

DELAWARE SUPREME COURT

James & Jackson, LLC v. Willie Gary, LLC 59, 2006 - 03/17/06
Where an arbitration clause provides that an arbitration will be conducted in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA), that statement constitutes clear and unmistakable evidence of the parties' intent to have an arbitrator determine substantive arbitrability.
For copy of opinion contact RESEARCH ASSOCIATES jmf@researchassociates.net
 

D.C. CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS

Chappell-Johnson v. Powell 04-5426 - 03/17/06
Summary judgment for defendant-employer, an agency, in a race and age employment discrimination case brought under Title VII and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) is reversed where the district court erred in finding that plaintiff's claim necessarily failed because she did not contest an assertion that the position she sought to be promoted to was never filled.
For copy of opinion contact RESEARCH ASSOCIATES jmf@researchassociates.net
 

MATTERS OF INTEREST

The National Law Journal
Marking the first time a federal circuit has held that a debt-collection lawyer's affidavit is not protected by absolute immunity, the 6th Circuit has ruled that lawyers who file affidavits in garnishment proceedings may be sued in federal court under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1141812311924
 

New York Law Journal
Watch your behavior, you rich people. A New York judge has ruled that the state does not have separate, more flexible criminal laws governing the actions of the wealthy. The judge's ruling came in an assault case involving a brokerage firm vice president whose central argument was that a conviction would "seriously harm his career in finance."

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1141812310589
 

BRIEF RELIEF - MATTERS IN PROGRESS

1. New York – workers’ compensation remedy if employer does not provide forms for claim and fires employee.
2. New York – right to resubmit summary judgment application second time if discovery reveals new material.
3. New York – declaratory judgment and coverage dispute between insurer and insured.
4. New York – difference between types of invitees and liability; damages in infant swimming pool death.
5. Bankruptcy law revisions.
6. Florida – special equity in solely owned property in divorce.