"Nothing rankles more in the human heart than a brooding sense of injustice." -Justice William J. Brennan

"The power of a clear statement is the great power at the bar." -Daniel Webster

BRIEF RELIEF - Matters in Progress

Memo on issue of fault as element of determining support.

Search of business databases for records regarding two corporations and report.

Issues of alimony, temporary support and equitable distribution.

Florida motion to strike pleadings on basis of improper actions of attorneys -- misrepresentation to Court.

Obtaining copies of New York Workers’ Compensation cases.

Opposition to summary judgment -- Federal District Court.

ERISA issues as to fiduciary duty and fraud.

Research issue of death penalty as affected by race of defendant.

California landlord/tenant matter arising in conjunction with foreclosure.

PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

Van Doren, Jack. Is Jurisprudence Politics by Other Means? The Case of Learned Hand. New England Law Review: Fall 1998, vol. 33, iss. 1.

Campbell, Angela J. Self-Regulation and the Media. Federal Communications Law Journal: May 1999, vol. 51, iss. 3, pg. 711.

Lada, Yvonne M. Something Every Divorce Attorney Should Know About Bankruptcy Law. Southern Illinois Law Journal: Spring 1999, vol. 23, iss. 3

Delchin & Costello. "Show Me Your Wares: The Use of Sexually Provocative Ads to Attract Client." Seton Hall Law Review: 1999, vol. 30, no. 1, pg. 64

MATTERS OF INTEREST

U.S. Supreme Court

Searching the appellant after his unprovoked flight upon noticing the police in an area of heavy narcotics trafficking does not violate the Fourth Amendment. Illinois v. Wardlow, 1/12/00.

In enacting the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994, Congress did not run afoul of the federalism principles under the 10th Amendment. Reno v. Condon, 1/12/00.

A defendant’s right to proceed without counsel does not extend to situations where the defendant becomes an appellant and assumes the burden of persuading a reviewing court that the conviction should be reversed. Martinez v. Court of Appeal of California, 1/12/00.

Ninth Circuit

The First Amendment prohibits Congress from enacting a statue that makes criminal the generation of images of fictitious children engaged in imaginary but explicit sexual conduct. The Court found that by criminalizing all visual depictions that "appear to be" or "convey the impression" of child pornography, even where no child is used or harmed in its production, Congress has outlawed expression protected by the First Amendment. The Free Speech Coalition v. Reno, No. 97-16536 (12/17/99).

Fifth Circuit

A choir director qualifies as a minister for purposes of the First Amendment Free Exercise exception to employment discrimination claims. Starkman v. Evans, 12/27/99.

The officers stopped the van in reliance on the dispatcher bulletin, and therefore, under the collective knowledge doctrine, they were not required to have personal knowledge of the evidence that created the reporting officer’s reasonable suspicion. U.S. v. Ibarra-Sanchez, 12/29/99.

Washington Supreme Court

An INS agent and local law enforcement were not bound by the procedural requirements under State v. Ferrier when serving a deportation order. The officers did not violate consent to entry given facts justifying their presence in order to serve a deportation order. State v. Bustamante-Davila, No. 67320-9.

New York Court of Appeals

The Court has ruled that Internet service providers are not publishers and are therefore not subject to libel laws. Lunney v. Prodigy Services.

An infant’s action against a municipality is not time-barred when the infant, through a parent or guardian, timely files a notice of claim, but fails to commence the action within the one-year-and-90-day limitation period. Henry v. City, No. 142 (12/20/99).

Third Circuit

Duty of care owed to a trespasser -- A possessor of land and an electricity supplier owe a duty to a trespasser only to refrain from wanton or willful misconduct. Estate of Zimmerman v. Southeastern Pa. Transp. Auth.,

The hottest topic in law school these days is New York’s Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who has been sued two dozen times on First Amendment grounds and lost nearly every case -- including three in the last three weeks. Bergen Record, 11/26/99.