"The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedoms." --- William O. Douglas

"The critical point is that the Constitution places the right of silence beyond the reach of government." --- William O. Douglas

DECISIONS OF INTEREST

 U.S. SUPREME COURT US v. BANKS, No. 02-473 (U.S.S.C. 12/02/03) In a case in which the defendant challenges a search warrant, the Ninth Circuit's holding that there was no justification for forcible entry is reversed as the officers' 15-to-20-second wait before forcible entry satisfied the Fourth Amendment. http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/02-473.html

RAYTHEON CO. v. HERNANDEZ, No. 02-749 (U.S.S.C. December 02, 2003) The Ninth Circuit improperly applied a disparate-impact analysis to plaintiff's disparate-treatment claim and improperly focused on factors that pertain only to disparate-impact claims, and thus ignored the fact that defendant's no-hire policy is a quintessential legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for refusing to rehire an employee who was terminated for violating workplace conduct rules. http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/02-749.html

MCCONNELL v. FED. ELECTION COMM'N, No. 02-1674 (U.S.S.C December 10, 2003) The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002's two principal, complementary features - Congress's effort to plug the soft-money loophole and its regulation of electioneering communications - must be upheld in the main. http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/02-1674.html

MARYLAND v. PRINGLE, No. 02-809 (U.S.S.C. December 15, 2003) Finding cocaine in the back armrest when defendant was a front-seat passenger in a car being driven by its owner was sufficient to establish probable cause for an arrest for possession, thus defendant's arrest did not contravene the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/02-809.html

NEW YORK COURT OF APPEALS COUNTY OF NASSAU v. CANAVAN, 3 No. 137 (N.Y. November 24, 2003) In a civil forfeiture action, judgment to defendant is affirmed where due process requires that prompt post-seizure hearings be provided to all defendants whose vehicles are seized and hed for forfeiture, not merely those who request them. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data/ny/cases/app/137opn03.pdf

SECOND CIRCUIT US v. VONDETTE, No. 02-1528, 02-1529 (2d Cir. December 16, 2003) IRA accounts are subject to criminal forfeiture. Neither 26 U.S.C. section 408(a)(4) nor 29 U.S.C. section 1056(d)(1) protect IRAs from criminal forfeiture actions. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/2nd/021528p.pdf

PADILLA v. RUMSFELD, No. 03-2235, 03-2438 (2d Cir. December 18, 2003) District court is instructed to issue a writ of habeas corpus to the plaintiff, who has been detained based on his designation as an enemy combatant. The President lacks inherent constitutional power to detain, as an enemy combatant, an American citizen seized within the country away from a zone of combat, and Congress has not authorized such detentions. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/2nd/032235p.pdf

THIRD CIRCUIT MCCURDY v. DODD, No. 02-2708 (3d Cir. December 17, 2003) A parent's interest in the companionship of his independent adult child is not a cognizable constitutional right protected by the Due Process Clause. Court held that the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause does not protect the interest of a parent in the companionship of an adult child. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/3rd/022708p.pdf

NINTH CIRCUIT THE COMPANY v. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA The 9th Circuit ruled 2-1 that law enforcement bodies may not remotely activate dashboard computing systems. The court said that the eavesdropping would render the system inoperable during an emergency. Under current law, the court said companies may only be ordered to comply with wiretaps when the order would cause a minimum of interference. http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/7BD3F8D6A62D994588256DE2005C863B/$file/0215635.pdf?openelement

U.S. TAX COURT IN RE STRANGI Court recently issued a decision involving a family limited partnership that could have important ramifications for families that have created these entities for family, business and tax-planning purposes. For copy of article contact RESEARCH ASSOCIATES jmf@researchassociates.net

MATTERS OF INTEREST

President Bush signed into law on December 4, 2003 the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (H.R. 2622), which gives consumers more protections concerning the accuracy and privacy of credit information. For example, victims of identity theft may obtain records of the fraudulent transactions. http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills&docid=f:h2622enr.txt.pdf

PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

WARD LAZARUS "The Supreme Court Considers An Appalling Case Where Prosecutors Hid Evidence From the Death Row Defendant, and Knowingly Presented Perjured Testimony Against Him" Author discusses the case of a death row defendant who had no prior criminal record before he was convicted of murder in Texas. It was later discovered that knowing prosecutorial misconduct infected the trial, but a federal appellate court refused to address that misconduct. Now the U.S. Supreme Court will decide what to do. http://writ.news.findlaw.com/lazarus/20031211.html

BRIEF RELIEF MATTERS

1. N.Y. attorney malpractice Complaint.
2. Rules as to adjournment of N.Y. foreclosure action and sale.
3. N.Y. County Administrative Code regulations as to notice of defect.
4. Response to Order to Show Cause to dismiss for failure to state a claim.
5. Federal research as to calculation of settlement demand in wrongful death action of a 16-year-old.
6. Medicare secondary payer law.