The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of the Santa Cruz Nazi salute case. Activist Robert Norse sued the California beach town in 2002, arguing that the city council violated his First Amendment rights. Police ejected him from a public meeting because he protested the mayor’s actions with a mock Nazi salute. An en banc panel of the 9th Circuit ruled that the case should go to trial....
U.S. District Judge James Gwin has given another Rumsfeld torture suit the go ahead, allowing an army veteran and American contractor to sue the former Defense Secretary for torture the plaintiff underwent while being held captive in Iraq. Reiterating that the Supreme Court has long held that United States citizens are entitled to constitutional protections abroad, the judge blasted the government’s arguments against the suit, finding that the plaintiff has no other legal recourse....
Countrywide Financial Corp, acquired by Bank of America last year, has settled an investor lawsuit for $624 million. The Countrywide class action suit was brought by investors who purchased securities from Countrywide from 2004 to 2008. Many of the litigants in the Countrywide settlement held pension funds, including the New York State Common Retirement Fund. Bank of America is paying $600 million while auditor KPMG will pay the remaining $24 million to settle the suit....
It may have made it through the recent soap opera cancellations, but ABC’s General Hospital is far from being off the hook. The daughters of the husband and wife team that created the longest running soap opera on television are now suing ABC, claiming that, through fraudulent accounting, the network withheld a large chunk of royalty payments from the pair’s company. As part of the original General Hospital-ABC contract, Frank and Doris Hursley were awarded 10% of net profits from domestic syndication, foreign syndication, and any ancillary rights, such as merchandising, reports Courthouse News Service....
A Nigerian man accused of igniting an “underwear bomb” on a U.S.-bound jetliner has been sentenced to four consecutive life terms in prison. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, now 25, sparked a fire but failed to blow up a Delta Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009, Reuters reports. Passengers who pounced on Abdulmutallab told the court they were still shaken by the thwarted bombing. Abdulmutallab also got a few minutes to address the court before he was sentenced Thursday....
An alleged sex video extortion plot gone tragically wrong led to two teens being killed and a man being charged with murder, investigators say. The man, 43-year-old William Otto of Adams County, Colorado, confessed to shooting and killing the two teenage boys when they allegedly hatched a plot to blackmail him for $20,000 with a video of him asking one of the boys for sex. Otto has been charged with first-degree murder....
Nearly four years after Orange County’s comprehensive jailhouse snitch program came to light, the American Civil Liberties Union is suing in an attempt to finally end it. For decades, sheriff’s department personnel have cooperated with the district attorney’s office in placing well-groomed informants next to unsuspecting criminal defendants in an effort to extract incriminating information. The only problem is that these efforts likely violated those defendants’ constitutional rights, and those involved are accused of lying under oath to keep the entire program concealed....
With the devastation of Monday’s Oklahoma tornado beginning to set in, victims are coming to grips with the daunting process of recovery. In this difficult situation, victims should take it one day at a time. With a hat tip to the Dallas Business Journal, here are 10 legal tips for tornado victims: Related Resources: How to help Oklahoma tornado victims (USA Today) Why to Buy Homeowners Insurance (FindLaw) Renters’ Tips for Displaced Homeowners after a Natural Disaster (FindLaw) SBA Disaster Loans: Homeowners, Renters Qualify Too (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life) You Don’t Have To Solve This on Your Own – Get a Lawyer’s Help Civil Rights Block on Trump’s Asylum Ban Upheld by Supreme Court...
An American alleged ISIL supporter, already associated with an attack on a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest in Texas, was indicted last week for a Super Bowl bomb plot last year, according to CNN. Court documents reveal that Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem, also known as Decarus Thomas, is charged with providing material support to a terror organization. He allegedly gave the Islamic State In the Levant (ISIL, also called ISIS to the dismay of some) addresses of US service members....
Hip hop group Beastie Boys has been sued for copyright infringement. The lawsuit accuses the rappers of illegally sampling music in their 1986 album “License to Ill” and the 1989 album “Paul’s Boutique.” The suit was filed in New York federal court by TufAmerica, Inc. on May 3rd, The Hollywood Reporter reports. Just a day later, Beastie Boys founding member Adam “MCA” Yauch died after a nearly three-year battle with cancer....
Bill Cosby admitted to acquiring sedatives with the intent to give them to women he wanted to have sex with, according to court documents released yesterday. Cosby also admitted to giving drugs to at least one woman before sex. The admissions came in depositions taken during a lawsuit filed by Andrea Constand, who accused Cosby of drugging and raping her in 2004. Under oath, Cosby conceded he had several prescriptions for Quaaludes and intended to give them to women....
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a lawsuit against Sprint, alleging the company illegally billed wireless customers for millions of dollars in unauthorized charges through a practice known as “cramming.” The lawsuit is the third such action the government has taken to combat “cramming” charges on cellphone bills this year, Reuters reports. In October, the Federal Trade Commission reached a $105 million settlement with AT&T over its cramming practices after earlier filing a lawsuit against T-Mobile....
Oh, to be at home in Plano, TX. That might have been what Gossip Girl actor Chace Crawford was thinking, right up until the moment he got busted for alleged pot possession. The luxurious environs of the Upper East side couldn’t hold a candle to reportedly hanging out in a car in front of Ringo’s Pub in the wee small hours of the morning, which is where and when officers reportedly detained Crawford....
A 10-year-old girl is now eligible for an adult organ transplant, thanks to a federal judge’s ruling this week. The ruling may spur changes in deciding who gets on the organ-transplant list. Sarah Murnaghan of Pennsylvania, who has end-stage cystic fibrosis, was denied eligibility to be placed on a list of those waiting for adult organs. Because she was not 12 years old – the cutoff age for the adult list – she had to be placed on a list for pediatric donors, which are far more rare than adults....
No one wants to get a DUI. But sometimes we don’t realize how intoxicated we are until sitting down behind the wheel. If you have that moment of clarity, can you just pull over and try and sleep it off? Or can you get charged with DUI, even if you weren’t driving at the time? Take Extra Precautions for the Best Chance at Avoiding a DUI Even though you tried to do the right thing and not drive, you may have to take a few extra steps to make sure you hopefully don’t get arrested....
St. Patrick’s Day is Sunday, and along with celebrating the patron saint of Ireland, many Americans will be drinking. This, of course, can lead to legal trouble. But even if you do get busted after tossing back too much booze, it’s not necessarily the end of the world. Some of the most common drinking-related infractions also come with some important legal caveats. As luck would have it, you’ve come to the right place to learn more about these laws....
Provisions of a new US law signed by President Obama last year have gone into effect, including banning the branding of cigarettes as “light” or “mild or “low-tar.” The law also bans tobacco sponsorship of entertainment events including sporting competitions and concerts. In addition, the law restricts giving away free samples. Over the past two decades the FDA has made major steps in reining in cigarette companies, by limiting marketing in general, prohibiting marketing to children, banning fruit flavored cigarettes, increasing the size of warning labels on smokeless tobacco and now removing labels that could give smokers the impression that some cigarettes are safer than others....
The NYPD is on Facebook now, not just to publicize the police department but also to combat the growing wave of crimes that have connections to Facebook or Twitter. The NYPD’s social media efforts have now given birth to a new juvenile justice unit. The new unit will be looking at Facebook, Twitter and MySpace posts that might have criminal connections, according to the New York Daily News. Considering the recent surge of criminal activity originating from the net, such as the rioters and looters in London that have been using social media to organize vandalism and warn others of police presence, it’s probably no surprise that the NYPD has decided to step in to try to combat this new trend....
For anyone watching ‘Making a Murder,’ from seasoned attorneys to your average layperson, it was fairly obvious what happened to Brendan Dassey, nephew of the documentary’s subject Steven Avery. An impressionable and possibly mentally impaired teen was hauled into a police station and bolstered, berated, and badgered in turns until he confessed to a gruesome murder. (This followed similar treatment from his own attorney.) And it was also apparent to viewers, as it must have been to the officers interviewing him, that Dassey’s confession failed to match the facts of the case....
Rap producer Dr. Dre’s debut solo studio album, “The Chronic” was a hit and sold more than three million copies. But since the release of a new version of his iconic album, Dr. Dre claims he has not pocketed any of the royalties. In general, a royalty is compensation for the use of property, usually copyrighted works, patented inventions, or natural resources, expressed as a percentage of receipts from using the property or as a payment for each unit produced....
