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The Supreme Court upheld a rule prohibiting judges from soliciting funds for their own election campaigns. The Florida Bar had disciplined Lanell Williams-Yulee for mailing and posting a letter online requesting financial contributions to her campaign. The 5-4 decision united an odd group of justices, and may ask more questions than it answered. So let’s take a look at what the Court said, through the opposing opinions. A Little Background Florida holds elections for judges, although there are rules about campaigning....

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that tobacco companies may be sued in state court over the allegedly deceptive advertising of “light” cigarettes. The original lawsuit in Altria Group, Inc. v. Good was filed by Maine residents who were longtime smokers of Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights cigarettes, manufactured by defendant Philip Morris USA and its parent Altria Group, Inc. The plaintiffs allege that Philip Morris’s advertising is deliberately deceptive in that it conveys the message that “light” cigarettes deliver less tar and nicotine to consumers than regular brands....

A new class-action lawsuit against ABC’s dating shows “The Bachelorette” and “The Bachelor” for racial discrimination is about to be filed. Fans of the shows should also note the forthcoming suit is perhaps the only actual reality to hit the two series in some time. The lawsuit will be brought by a group of Nashville residents led by Nashville Storm linebacker Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson, a former wide receiver for Tennessee State....

Keith Olbermann gets out of the doghouse as of Tuesday night. The famous host of MSNBC’s “Countdown” was recently put on suspension for his monetary contribution to Democratic candidates. The Olbermann suspension without pay began on November 5, however, it will end as of November 9, marking what one news source claimed was the world’s shortest suspension. MSNBC has a policy against allowing its employees (at least the ones who appear in front of millions of viewers) to donate to candidates, reports Politico....

Do You Smell What the Rock is Cooking? It was a popular catch phrase used by “The Rock,” former wrestler Dwayne Johnson. But at the moment, a lawsuit is being cooked by 18-year-old Ronald Basham III, of Clarksville, Indiana. He claims that when he was seven, he was injured when The Rock and “Triple H” (wrestler Paul Levesque) fought outside the ring and caused Basham injury. During their match, the wrestlers fought in the audience and The Rock allegedly pushed a spectator, which caused a woman to fall on Basham’s leg....

As a victim of crime, you have certain obligations and legal rights. That does not mean that you can personally press charges – a common misconception – but you are expected to do certain things to help the prosecution of the matter. You are also entitled to know certain things about the case if you keep the state informed of your whereabouts. State laws vary but all states do have the obligations and rights of victims outlined....

Families of two victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings will receive $8 million in a wrongful-death lawsuit, a jury ruled Wednesday. The suit, brought by relatives of slain students Erin Peterson and Julia Pryde, alleged Virginia Tech officials were negligent in taking too long to notify the campus that a gunman was on the loose, WTKR-TV reports. The Virginia Tech massacre began when two students were shot and killed in a dorm on April 16, 2007....

After mass shootings like last weekend’s Fuse nightclub massacre in Orlando or last year’s church slayings in Charleston, people are left wondering whether the shooting can be classified as a hate crime, an act of terrorism, or both. Mass shootings that target a certain group of people based on their status or affiliation can be a hate crime. And mass shootings intended to intimidate or make a political statement can be acts of terrorism....

When going to trial, particularly in cases that involve technical or scientific evidence, having the right experts on your side can make or break a case. Not only does the expert need to actually be a subject matter expert, but having presentation skills, or just charisma, can be just as important. Since many types of criminal charges rely on scientific evidence, such as drug or DUI charges, a common defense strategy is to rebut the prosecution’s scientific evidence....

A shocking recall has just been issued by the CSPC and the largest player in the consumer fire extinguisher market, Kidde. The company is recalling close to 40 million fire extinguishers, some of which may be over a decade old at this point. According to media reports, there have been 16 injuries and one death related to the defective extinguishers. If you don’t know what brand of fire extinguishers you own, it could actually save your life to check to see if you are affected by the recall....

Today, pharmaceutical company Pfizer, the world’s largest drug maker, announced it is voluntarily pulling the drug Mylotarg off the market after ten years. The drug is used to treat a rare form of bone marrow cancer. It was initially approved in 2000 by the FDA, in an abbreviated approval process meant to get treatments for serious illnesses to market more quickly. Any drug approved under this process was required to undergo follow-up testing after it appeared on the market....

Beware of the FBI / Justice Department “MoneyPak” virus. It may look legally threatening, but it’s actually a scam. Two versions of a computer virus are now going around, each of which displays a fake notification pretending to be from the FBI or the U.S. Justice Department, reports Malware Tips. The virus will lock you out of your computer while notifying you that this is due to “unauthorized cyberactivity” such as the use of your computer in the distribution of porn, spam, or copyrighted content....

Joshua Scott Albert’s Facebook activity suggests he doesn’t much like cops. But is that a crime? Philadelphia prosecutors think so, and announced a status update earlier this week: Albert, 26, is now a fugitive, charged with harassment, making terroristic threats, and criminal solicitation to commit murder, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. How can a person’s Facebook posts lead to criminal charges? In Albert’s case, it wasn’t just a series of off-the-cuff posts that got the attention of law enforcement....

Bank of America, the new owner of Countrywide Financial, has announced an $8.4 billion settlement under which homeowners in 11 states could see mortgage relief through lowered interest rates and reduced principals. The deal – a response to lawsuits in which a number of states accused Countrywide of questionable home mortgage lending practices – could provide relief to as many as 400,000 Countrywide mortgage holders. The Nationwide Homeownership Retention Program for Countrywide Customers, announced Monday, will be put in place by December 1, 2008, and will offer $8....

A federal appeals court recently addressed an unusual issue: Can a witness testify under disguise? In that case, a confidential informant was testifying against an alleged drug dealer and asked to testify while wearing a disguise – the reason being that the informant was still an active member of a drug cartel and feared that revealing his identity would endanger his life. So the judge allowed the witness to testify while wearing a wig and a fake moustache....

On July 14, the CPSC and Pottery Barn Kids, a division of Williams-Sonoma, Inc, announced a recall on drop side cribs. This voluntary recall will affect about 82,000 units sold by the company. Consumers are asked to immediately stop using the recalled product. As with the other drop side cribs previously recalled by the CPSC, these cribs’ drop-sides can detach when hardware breaks, creating a space into which a young child can become entrapped, which can lead to suffocation....

Connecticut’s death row inmates got the ultimate reprieve this week as the state Supreme Court ruled again that abolition of the death penalty applies even to those who were already sentenced to execution before the ban. The state abolished the death penalty in 2012 but there was still some question regarding the execution of inmates already on death row when the ban passed. The 11 inmates who were to be executed will be re-sentenced to life in prison and will join the general prison population, reports the Hartford Courant....

Michael Brown’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Ferguson and the former officer that shot and killed the teen in August 2014. The civil lawsuit, asking for $75,000 in compensation as well as punitive damages was filed in St. Louis County on Thursday. The full text of the complaint is below, and there are a few aspects of the suit that are worth highlighting: Police Practices Ferguson’s former police chief, Thomas Jackson, was also named in the wrongful death claim, which alleges that Jackson was responsible for Wilson’s “hiring, training, and retention....

Nuns are supposed to be pure and holy and stay out of trouble. By all accounts it seems like the vast majority of nuns live up to the difficult standards of the role. But, of course, there are always a few bad apples in every bunch. Sister Marie Thornton, now known as the “gambling nun,” is accused of embezzling over $850,000 from a Catholic college where she was in charge of monitoring the school’s financial matters....

You may have heard recently that universities and the federal government are working to remove barriers for college hopefuls with criminal records. While this may be welcome news to those with youthful indiscretions in their past or those trying to turn lives around, there remains one crucial hurdle left: financial aid. Even if someone with a criminal conviction on their record is accepted to college, he or she may not be able to afford it without help, and a drug conviction especially can make securing a student loan far more difficult....