"Without justice courage is weak." - Benjamin Franklin

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

DECISIONS OF INTEREST

SECOND CIRCUIT New York Times Co. v. Gonzales, No. 05-2639 (2d Cir. August 01, 2006)
 Summary Judgment to plaintiff newspaper, on claim that its reporter's telephone records are privileged from a potential grand jury subpoena, is vacated as: 1) whatever rights a newspaper or reported has to refuse disclosure in response to a subpoena extends to the newspaper's or reporter's telephone records in the possession of a third party provider; 2) regardless of whether a common law report's previlege exists, it would be overcome as a matter of law in this case; and 3) no First Amendment protection is available to plaintiff in the case in light of Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665 (1972). http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/2nd/052639p.pdf

MacWade v. Kelly, No. 05-6754 (2d Cir. August 11, 2006)
Judgment holding that New York City's program of random, suspicionless subway baggage searches comports with the Forth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and dismissing plaintiff's complaint with prejudice, is affirmed as the program is designed to safeguard mass transportation facilities from terrorist attack, thus satisfying the special needs exception to the Fourth Amendment's usual requirement of individualized suspicion and on balance, is reasonable. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/cirs/2nd/056754p.pdf

THIRD CIRCUIT

Mortellite v. Novartis Crop Protection, Inc., No. 03-3847 (3d Cir. August 21, 2006)
Summary judgment against blueberry farmers who filed suit against a pesticide company for damages to their crops is vacated in part where plaintiff's claims for defective design, defective manufacture, negligent testing, negligent misrepresentation, and fraud were not preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/3rd/03384p.pdf

FIFTH CIRCUIT 

Martinez-Aguero v. Gonzales (08/07/06 - No. 05-50472)
Aliens stopped at the border have a constitutional right to be free from false imprisonment and the use of excessive force by law enforcement personnel. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/5th/0550472cv0p.pdf

EIGHT CIRCUIT

Ban on Sexy Highway Billboards is Unconstitution -
The Associated Press A two-year-old state law banning sexually suggestive billboards along Missouri highways is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court panel ruled Monday. The 8th Circuit overturned a ruling from earlier this year that found banning such billboards within a mile of state highways was a constitutional regulation of commercial speech. The law sought to reduce the possible negative effects posed by sexually suggestive billboards, including harming minors, reducing traffic safety and dropping property values. http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1156164652414

NEW YORK

Judge Finds Three Minutes of Suffering in Fatal Fire Does Not Equal $3M in Damages - New York Law Journal

Hackert v. First Alert Inc. and BRK Brands Inc., 1:03-cv-216
A New York federal judge has reduced damage awards in an unusual products liability case because the victims did not suffer long enough in an eventually fatal fire to warrant the amount of money awarded by the jury. Judge David N. Hurd cited several appellate rulings in concluding that three minutes of anguish do not add up to $3 million in damages. His decision came in a case where a smoke alarm manufacturer sold a properly functioning product, but didn't warn consumers that a better product was available.. http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1155822492787

For copy of opinion contact RESEARCH ASSOCIATES jmf@researchassociates.net

MATTERS OF INTEREST

N.Y. Rules Target Lawyer Abuses During Depositions - New York Law Journal

The New York court system has issued new rules to curb lawyer abuses in the handling of depositions. The standards seek to bar attorneys from coaching witnesses by making "speaking objections" in which they suggest an answer to an adversary's question. They also limit attorneys from stopping a deposition and instructing a witness not to answer a question.

The new rules are aimed at "significant abuses that have obstructed the clean development of testimony," said one member of the advisory committee. http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1153991134460

What an Error Can Cost Crime and Federalism explains why you should listen to the clerk. An attorney filed a notice of appeal and learned from the court that the notice was defective. The attorney didn't fix the error until 90 days later, when it was too late. Guess what happened to the client's case. -- Legal Blog Watch http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch

E-DISCOVERY: THE TIMES, THEY ARE A CHANGING
In less than six months electronic discovery as we know it will undergo some important changes. These changes are being driven by amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) that become effective on December 1, 2006. http://technology.findlaw.com/articles/00006/010189.html

BRIEF RELIEF MATTERS IN PROGRESS

1. New York - issue of TRO and irreparable harm.
2. New York - appropriateness of service pursuant to CPLR 308.
3. New York - issue of entry of default more than one year following default.
4. Florida - issue of divorce grounds.
5. Georgia - Petition for certification to the Supreme Court
6. Pennsylvania - forms of will, power of attorney and medical directive.