"The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart," Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-99). American politician, lecturer.

BRIEF RELIEF

1. Federal issue of misrepresentation of fact in Summary Judgment application and sanctions.
2. New York-application of contempt sentence to credit on regular sentence.
3. New York-opposition to Summary Judgment-arms length transaction, over reaching, fraud.
4. Elements of malicious prosecution, false arrest and defamation.
5. Bankruptcy, appeal of order approving personal injury settlement.
6. Complaint for strict liability in rollover of automobile-defective tires.
7. Texas Hospital lien statue and adjustment of claim.
8. Appeal Grant of Summary Judgment in verbal threshold matter.

MATTERS OF INTEREST

Texas Appellate Division
Watch those Briefs: case reversed & remanded property division in part but taxed court costs (including reporter's record) to appellant under Tex. R. App. P. 43.4 because appellant's "blatant misrepresentation and mischaracterization of the facts in his briefing to this court is inexcusable." Schlafly v. Schlafly, No. 14-99-00303-CV (Tex. App. - Houston 14th Dist., Nov. 22, 2000, n.w.h.) (Frost, J.) (rev'g & rem'g in part to 311th Judicial district Court, Harris County, Henderson, J.)

8th Circuit
In Simmons v. Bowersox (#99-3643(12/01)) the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that when three detectives detained, a 17-year old juvenile, in a two-hour interrogation, and threatened to use his denials of involvement against him, shout at him close to his face, falsely intimate that his accomplice was confessing, suggesting that he would do better to tell the truth in light of the death penalty, these were not improperly coercive tactics.

D.C. Circuit
The court of appeals for the D.C. Circuit has ordered enforcement of an (NLRB) order awarding back pay to an undocumented alien from the date of his unlawful termination for attempting to organize a union to the date the employer discovered that the alien was unauthorized to work in the United States. The court relied on Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 208 f.3d 229 (D.C. Cir. 2000) (No. 98-1570), held that (1) the alien's undocumented status did not render him ineligible to obtain back pay as a remedy for the employer's violation of (NLRA), Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 237 f.3d 639
(D.C. Cir. 2001)

7th Circuit
A misdemeanor conviction for sexual abuse of a minor under state law is an aggravated felony for immigration purposes, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled, affirming a removal order by the BIA. The court found that the Illinois Class A misdemeanor for criminal sexual abuse does constitute an aggravated felony for immigration purposes. Guerrero-Perez v. I.N.S., No. 00-1799, f. 3d 2001 WL 210186 (7th Cir. Mar. 5, 2001).

Washington Supreme Court
When is an insurance adjuster practicing law? This question may be answered in the next several months when the Washington Supreme Court hears an appeal of a lower state court decision that held that an insurance adjuster was practicing law without a license when she persuaded an automobile accident victim to waive her rights to sue in return for a settlement that covered only a portion of her losses.

7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Thomas v. City of Chicago (03/12/01- No. 98-3836, 98-3912 & 99-1429) City parade ordinance that specifically and narrowly identifies reasonable and necessary governmental concerns, and laces limits on government discretion, is not unconstitutional and does not violate the First Amendment. (Bleavins v. Bartels (03/15/01 - No. 99-4292) The plain-view doctrine does not justify government's substitution and flagrant disregard for the terms of a civil seizure warrant specifying what property can be seized.

1st Circuit
Alberty-velez v. Corp. De Puerto Rico Para La Difusion Pub., (03/16/01-No. 99-2002) Where plaintiff relied on a Summary Judgment ruling which found that she was an employee of the defendant, was prejudiced when the court ruled, that she was actually an independent contractor, a new trial is in order.

PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

The Fair debt Collection Practices Act-Reconciling the Interests of Consumers and Debt Collectors: Elwin Griffith, Hofstra Law Review,
Fall 1999, vol. 28, iss. 1

Cyberspace, International shoe, and the changing Context for Personal Jurisdiction: Richard Rochlin, Connecticut Law Journal,
Fall 1999, vol. 32, iss. 2

Freeze! You're on Candid Camera! Media Ride-Alongs Raise Fourth Amendment Concerns: Angela Scott, Southern Illinois Law Journal,
Winter 2000, vol.24, iss. 2

'Complex of Federal and State Laws Regulates Franchise Operations as Their Popularity Grows: Mitchell J. Kassoff, New York State Bar Journal, February 2001.

"Gandy Dancers on the Web: How the Internet Has Raised the Bar on Lawyers' Professional Responsibility to Research and Know the Law," The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, vol 13, no. 4, Summer 2000.