Research Associates
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Volume 9, Number 3    Our 20th Year  March, 2001

"Excellence is not an act, but a habit," Aristotle. 

BRIEF RELIEF

  1. ERISA- Right of plan to review total disability determination and/or change definition.
  2. DWI sentence issue.
  3. Elements of Holographic Will
  4. N.Y. cases on rear end hit liability and police report in evidence.
  5. New bankruptcy law and statutes.
  6. N.Y.-Opposition to motion to reinstate judgment after filing of satisfaction-proper procedure Cal. Fed. District Court.
  7. Interrogatories in invasion of privacy matter.
  8. Florida opposition to dismiss appeal as out of time.

"Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens to you," Alduous Huxley.

MATTERS OF INTEREST

If you need answers about New York Law (What are the penalties for a 2nd DWI? How can you obtain a copy of your client’s NY DMV abstract? What is the cost?) go to the NY DMV site at www.nydmv.state.ny.us/index.htm.

SUPREME COURT

Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, & Procedure Police with probable cause to believe that petitioner had illegal drugs in his home acted reasonably in restraining him from entering his home unattended for the two hours it took to secure a search warrant, given the reasonable fear that petitioner would destroy evidence if not restrained. Illinois v. MacArthur, No.: 99-1132 (U.S.S.C. February 20, 2001)

Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law State employees may not sue in federal court to recover money damages for the state’s failure to comply with the ADA because Congress’ abrogation of the 11th Amendment was not based upon an identified a pattern of irrational and unconstitutional state discrimination in employment against the disabled. BD. Of TR. Of the UNIV. of Alabama v. Garrett, No.: 99-1240 (U.S.S.C. February 21, 2001).

Admiralty State courts may adjudicate personal injury claims against vessel owners pursuant to the savings clause if 28 USC 1333(1) so long as the vessel owner’s right to seek limitation of liability is protected. Lewis v. Lewis & Clark Marine, Inc., No.: 99-1331 (U.S.S.C. February 21, 2001).

2ND CIRCUIT

Labor & Employment Law Under New York Law, an employee without a written contract is an at will employee, and cannot establish an employment contract. By relying upon oral assurances that employees would only be fired for serious misconduct. Albert v. Loksen, No.: 99-7520, (2d Cir. February 2, 2001).

Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure Defendant, who accused his attorney of coercing him into making a guilty plea, received ineffective assistance of counsel, where he made particularized allegations that counsel had threatened not to investigate his case and not to file pre-trial motions. US v. Davis, No.: 99-1246, (2d Cir. February 6, 2001).

NEW YORK COURT OF APPEALS

Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, & Procedure An appellate brief filed on behalf of a criminal defendant citing no reference to trial evidence or to counsel’s trial objections adequately safeguard the indigent defendant'’ right to effective assistance of appellate counsel. People v. Stokes, No. 3 No. 2, (N.Y. February 8, 2001).

Criminal Law & Procedure Attempted driving while intoxicated under Art. 31 of the Vehicle Traffic Law, and attempted aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle under Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 511(3), are not legally cognizable offenses. People v. Prescott, No. 4 No. 17 (N.Y. February 13, 2001).

Injury and Tort Law Defendant’s negligence was the proximate cause of plaintiff’s accident while riding ana ll terrain vehicle that jury found defendant negligently entrusted to his son, since parent owes duty to protect third parties from clearly foreseeable harm that is from the child’s improvident use or operation of a dangerous instrument, where such use is found to be subject to the parent’s control. Rios v. Smith, No. 2 No. 4, (N.Y. February 13, 2001)

PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

A London Walking Tour That’s Strictly Legal, Inside a warren of bucolic squares, passageways, and historic buildings often overlooked by visitors, England’s judicial system. February 25, 2001.

Dot-com, Esq.: Legal Guidance, Lawyer Optional, With information from the web, consumers are less dependant on traditional law firms’ help, New York Times, February 22, 2001.

Brown v. Board of Education, A Civil rights milestone and its troubled legacy; a historian examines the effects of a famous Supreme Court decision, James T. Patterson, Oxford University Press.

Let Them Eat Cake: Diabetes and the Americans With Disabilities Act After Sutton, Stanford Law Review, vol. 52, No. 6, July 2000.

The Interstate Practice of Law: Are You Crossing the Line? Defense Counsel Journal, Vol 67, No. 4, October 2000.

Liability on the Internet: Prescription Drugs and the Virtual Pharmacy, Whittier Law Review, Vol. 22, No. 1, Fall 2000.