Volume 13, Number 5 Our 24th Year May 2005
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Volume 13, Number 5 Our 24th Year May 2005 |
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said there is a vast difference between U.S. justices considering meaningful views of scholars and judges and allowing international opinion to control the interpretation of U.S. laws.
"We should not be impeached for the former," he said. "And we are not guilty of the latter.”
“We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few. But we can’t have both.” --- Louis Brandeis
DECISIONS OF INTEREST
SUPREME COURT
Small v. US, No. 03-750
18 U.S.C. section 922(g)(1), which prohibits a person who has been
"convicted in any court" from possessing a firearm, encompasses only domestic,
not foreign, convictions.
http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/03-750.html
Pasquantino v. US, No. 03-725
A plot to defraud a foreign government of tax revenue violates the federal
wire fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. section 1343.
http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/03-725.html
Granholm v. Heald, No. 03-1116
Michigan and New York state laws, which regulate the sale of wine from
out-of-state wineries to in-state consumers, discriminate against interstate
commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause, and that discrimination is neither
authorized nor permitted by the Twenty-first Amendment.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&navby=case&vol=000&invol=03-1116
SECOND CIRCUIT
A.R. v. N.Y. Dep't of Educ., No. 02-9471
For the award of attorneys' fees under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, a settlement of an administrative proceeding is the equivalent of
an administrative decree on the merits if the parties' obligation to comply with
the terms of the settlement agreement has been made part of the order of
dismissal.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/2nd/029471p.pdf
THIRD CIRCUIT
Brennan v. Kulick, No. 04-1866
When a complaint is filed within the statute of limitations, but is
subsequently dismissed without prejudice in an order containing conditions for
reinstatement within a specified time period, the statute of limitations is
tolled provided that the plaintiff meets those conditions.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/3rd/041866p.pdf
SIXTH CIRCUIT
Jobe v. City of Catlettsburg, No. 04-5222
A city may, consistent with the First and Fourteenth Amendments, prohibit
individuals from placing leaflets on car windshields and other parts of a
vehicle without the consent of the owner.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circ/6th/045222p.pdf
NINTH CIRCUIT
US v. Martinez (05/16/05 - No. 04-30098)
A domestic disturbance constitutes an emergency sufficient to justify a
warrantless entry into a home.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0430098p.pdf
NEW YORK COURT OF APPEALS
In the Matter of Nassau County Grand Jury Subpoena "Doe Law Firm," 60
(N.Y. May 03, 2005)
Individual partners of a small law firm cannot invoke the privilege against
compelled self-incrimination in response to a grand jury subpoena duces tecum
seeking production of firm financial and payment records. The Court adopted
Fifth Amendment jurisprudence set forth by the Supreme Court in Bellis v. U.S.
and made clear that the state constitution affords attorneys in partnership
relationships with no more of a shield against self-incrimination than the U.S.
Constitution does.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/ny/cases/app/60opn05.pdf
Dalton v. Pataki, 51 (N.Y. May 03, 2005)
Casino gaming permitted by tribal-state compacts that were entered into by
the Governor do not violate the commercial gambling prohibitions of the New York
State Constitution.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/ny/cases/app/51opn05.pdf
Sheppard-Mobley v. King, 49 (N.Y. May 10, 2005)
A woman whose baby is born alive, but with severe deformities, cannot
sustain a medical malpractice action for her own emotional injuries.
Specifically declining to expand on last year's landmark Broadnax ruling, the
unanimous Court said that when the child is born alive and can bring a
malpractice action for injuries that occurred in the womb, post-birth damages
are available only to the infant.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/ny/cases/app/49opn05.pdf
BRIEF RELIEF MATTERS
1. Florida – duty to apply to court for approval of relocation of children.
2. New Jersey - responsibility of community spouse in Medicaid matter.
3. New York - statute of limitations in malpractice action and notice of appeal.
4. Draft complaints for consumer fraud issue.
MATTERS OF INTEREST
Family and Medical Leave Act
Ruling in a case of first impression, the 8th Circuit has held that an
employer does not necessarily violate the Family and Medical Leave Act by firing
an employee during her FMLA leave. The court explained that both the FMLA's
"plain language and structure" and "uncluttered logic" support a conclusion that
the Family and Medical Leave Act is not a strict liability statute. The statute
does not force an employer to retain an employee on FMLA leave when the employer
would have fired her if she were not on leave, the panel explained.
http://news.findlaw.com/andrews/em/emp/20050509/20050509throneberry.html
Everything You Need to Know About VoIP
by Dennis Kennedy, June 2004
Dennis takes a look at all the angles on VoIP with his top choice of links on the technology.