“Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture.” -- Allen Ginsberg
“There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.” -- Mark Twain
“The strongest bulwark of authority is uniformity; the least divergence from it is the greatest crime.”   -- Emma Goldman

DECISIONS OF INTEREST

U.S. SUPREME COURT

KOONS BUICK PONTIAC GMC, INC. v. NIGH, No. 03-377 (U.S.S.C. November 30, 2004)
A 1995 amendment to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), which raises the minimum and maximum recoveries for violations of TILA prescriptions governing closed-end loans secured by real property, does not alter the minimum and maximum recovery amounts for violations involving personal-property loans.   http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/us/000/03377.html

CITY OF SAN DIEGO v. ROE, No. 03-1669 (U.S.S.C. December 06, 2004)
The termination of defendant's employment as a police officer, for selling videotapes of himself engaging in sexually explicit acts, does not violate his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to freedom of speech. http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/us/000/031669.html

1ST CIRCUIT

CLOUTIER v. COSTCO CORP. (12/01/04 – No. 04-1475)
Plaintiff’s claim, alleging religious discrimination by defendant-employer, is dismissed where defendant has no duty to accommodate plaintiff since it could not do so without undue hardship. http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/1st/041475.html

RIDLEY v. MASSACHUSETTS BAY TRANSP. AUTH. (11/29/04 - No. 03-1970, 03-2285)
Dismissal of plaintiff’s First Amendment challenge to the rejection of its proposed advertisements, designed to raise questions about marijuana laws, is reversed where the rejection constituted viewpoint discrimination and was unreasonable.  http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/1st/03-1970.html

2ND CIRCUIT

US v. VENTURELLA, No. 04-1219 (2d Cir. December 08, 2004)
Defendant's conviction for willfully failing to pay a past due support obligation greater than $10,000 owed to children residing in another state is affirmed over defendant's challenge that district court's jury instruction defining "reside" was erroneous and prejudicial.  http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/2nd/041219p.pdf

3RD CIRCUIT

GLANZMAN v. METRO. MGMT. CORP., No. 03-4546 (3d Cir. December 14, 2004)
In an employment discrimination suit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, summary judgment in favor of defendant-employer is affirmed where it met its burden of showing that it would have terminated plaintiff's employment even if it had not considered her age. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/3rd/034546p.pdf

6TH CIRCUIT

BARRETT v. STEUBENVILLE CITY SCHOOL (11/15/04 – No. 03-4373)
Parents have a constitutionally protected liberty interest in raising and directing the education of their children and a state employer cannot condition employment upon the waiver of that right. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/6th/034373p.pdf

NEW YORK COURT OF APPEALS

TONKING v. THE PORT AUTH. OF NEW YORK, No. 155 (N.Y. December 02, 2004)
In a dispute over the scope of an indemnification clause in a renovation contract between the owner of a building and a contractor, the firm that performed management services for the owner does not qualify as the owner's agent under the indemnification clause. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/ny/cases/app/155opn04.pdf

PEOPLE v. JONES, 184 (N.Y. December 16, 2004)
The exception to the self-defense statute, stating that someone who would otherwise have to retreat need not do so if attacked at home, applies when the assailant and the defendant share the same dwelling. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/ny/cases/app/184opn04.pdf

MATTERS OF INTEREST

Sherry Colb, “Is Your Scalp a Constitution-Free Zone? A Federal Appeals Court Approves Suspicionless Hair Sampling”

Colb analyzes when police officers snip a substantial amount of visible hair off a suspect, is that a violation of the Fourth Amendment?

Colb discusses whether this kind of snipping -- a prelude, in this case, to drug testing -- is the kind of "search" or "seizure” the Fourth Amendment covers.   http://writ.news.findlaw.com/colb/20041117.html

Sherry Colb, “Breast Exams at the Airport: Do the New Security Measures Go Too Far?”

Colb discusses the privacy implications of a new, intrusive kind of airport search that is aimed at discovering non-metallic explosives carried upon passengers' persons. She notes that a number of women have complained about the searches' involving inappropriate touching.

She argues that the searches are unjustified in light of the fact that the intrusion is severe, and their effectiveness in detecting the kind of explosives they are meant to uncover is dubious. http://writ.news.findlaw.com/colb/20041201.html

Joanna Grossman, “Accidental Age Discrimination? The Supreme Court Considers the Viability of ‘Disparate Impact’ Claims”

Grossman discusses whether the Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibit "disparate impact" age discrimination -- which occurs when a policy unintentionally harms older workers? She delves into the parallels and differences between the ADEA and the main federal antidiscrimination statute, Title VII -- which prohibits race and sex discrimination, including "disparate impact" discrimination.

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/grossman/20041116.html
 

BRIEF RELIEF MATTERS

1. New York – complaint for infant wrongful death – swimming pool.
2. New York – draft contract for sale of multi-family dwelling.
3. Liability of title insurance as to seller of real property.
4. Draft of negligence complaint in federal court.
5. Georgia – RICO issues.
6. Complaint to terminate adult child rights by parent.