"Over the last 20 years, the homicide rate in states with the death penalty has been 50 to 100 percent higher than the rate in states without it." New York Times Study

BRIEF RELIEF MATTERS IN PROGRESS
1. New York-negligence, injury on softball field and "warning track."
2. Florida-good faith and fair dealing in insurance policy and ineffective attorney.
3. New York-incarceration for failure to pay support and requirements for release.
4. Juvenile-requirements for order for psychiatric examination.
5. Research regarding establishment of trust.
6. New York-effect of failure to notify insurer of possible negligence claim.
7. California-motion in Federal Court in support of Summary Judgment.
8. Federal Court-New York effect of Rule 41(b) and new action in State Court.
9. Federal Rooker doctrine and its effect.

MATTERS OF INTEREST

SUPREME COURT
Immigration Law (Detention after 90-day removal period limited to reasonable time) The Supreme Court held 5-4 (opinion by Breyer; dessents by Scalia and Kennedy) that 8 U.S.C. s1231(a)(6) authorizes further detention of an alien beyond the statutory 90-day "removal period" subject to a "reasonable time" limitation.

Penry v. Texas, the jury instruction was "ineffective and illogical" and did not allow jurors to consider mitigating evidence of Penry's mental retardation and childhood abuse. The court also unanimously held that admission into evidence of statements from a psychiatric report based on an interview with Penry did not violate his constitutional right against self-incrimination.

NY COURT OF APPEALS
Parties' Settlement Concerning Support of Child Doesn't Insulate Father from Increase Years later if Court did not Determine Adequacy. A settlement in a paternity suit, in which the alleged father did not admit paternity but in which he agreed to a set figure of $275 monthly support for the child until age 21, fails to insulate the father from an application years later for an increase in support based on the child's present needs. The family court cursorily approved the settlement without determining whether it was adequate. Clara C. v. William L., N.Y.2d N.Y.S.2d (May 3, 2001).

People v. Rawle Mcintosh, "the sole reason for boarding the bus, confronting passengers and conducting this random suspicionless search was that the bus was coming from New York City, a locale where drugs and 8 million people live." If the court approved such conduct, "any person leaving New York City on a bus or train would be subject to being stopped by the police." (June 29, 2001)

Arnav Indus., Inc. Retirement Trust v. Brown, Raysman, Millstein, Feider & Steiner, LLP, 1 No. 91 (N.Y. June 5, 2001) A client has a cause of action for legal malpractice where that client signed a revised settlement stipulation without reading it, relying on its attorney's misstatement that the stipulation was changed to correct only one typographical error.

D.C. Circuit
Landlords can't prevent tenants from putting satellite dishes on their property, says the D.C. Circuit. Building Owners and Managers Association International v. Federal Communications Commission. Having ceded…possession of the property, a landlord thereby submits to the Commission's rightful regulation of a term of that occupation.

2nd Circuit
Dalton v. Ashcroft. Even though a non-citizen was convicted of his third drunk offense and sentenced to up to 4 ½ years in prison, he isn't subject to deportation. Court said that drunk driving wasn't an "aggravated felony" includes a "crime of violence…for which the term of imprisonment is at least one year." (8 U.S.C. 1101 (1)(42)(f)).

Mugalli v. Ashcroft, No 00-4063 (2d Cir. July 10, 2001) A conviction for the New York equivalent of "statutory rape" under New York Penal Law 130.25-2 constitutes an "aggravated felony" and 1101 (a)(iii) and 1101 (a)(43).

Florida Supreme
Havoco of AM., Ltd. V. Hill, No. sc99-98 (Fla. June 21, 2001) Article X section 4 of the Florida Constitution exempts a homestead even if the debtor used non-exempt funds to purchase it with the express intent of defrauding creditors in violation of Fla. State 726.105, 333.39 and 222.30.

PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

"Supreme Injustice: How the high Court hijacked Election 2000. By: Alan M. Dershowitz.

Breaking the Deadlock: The 2000 Election, the Constitution, and the Courts. By: Richard A. Posner.

The Fifth Amendment Rights of the Innocent: A recent Supreme Court case challenges the popular notion that criminal procedure protects only the guilty. By: Sherry F. Colb (Findlaw 4/01)

Examining the Constitutionality of No-Citation Rules, By: Salem M. Katsh & Alex V. Chachkes, New York Law Journal-April 2, 2001.

Correction: Cyberspace, International Shoe, and the changing Context for Personal Jurisdiction, 32 Conn. L. Rev. 653 (1999).