Four more public officials are facing criminal charges due to the scandal over the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, discovered in mid-2014. These four new defendants bring the number of people charged with a crime in a relation to the scandal up to 13. The four officials include two former state emergency managers, Darnell Earley and Gerald Ambrose, and two Flint city water plant officials, Howard Croft and Daugherty Johnson....
George Zimmerman just can’t seem to keep himself off law enforcement’s radar, or out of the headlines. His wife Shellie Zimmerman called 911 on Monday, as his former trial attorney Mark O’Mara announced he is not representing Zimmerman in his latest legal entanglements. In the 911 call, Shellie Zimmerman alleged that George was threatening her and her father with a firearm – but George was neither arrested nor charged, reports CNN....
The Federal Trade Commission is under pressure to change regulations allowing rental car companies to rent out cars under recall. Consumer groups and New York lawmaker Charles Schumer want the FTC to make rental car company rules more in line with what car dealers face. Schumer asked the FTC to make a change in the rules, or he will address the problem with legislation, reports The Washington Post. “[I]f automotive dealers are not allowed to sell recalled vehicles without first fixing the safety issues, then rental car companies should be held to the same standard,” he said....
Manufacturer Roche Laboratories, Inc. should update Tamiflu labeling to include stronger warnings regarding the risk of psychiatric problems in users of the flu medicine, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) committee. The FDA Pediatric Advisory Committee made its recommendations after evaluating reports of adverse events associated with use of the prescription influenza medication – including delusions, confusion, and self-injury – especially in children. The New York Times reports that “nearly 600 cases of psychiatric problems in Tamiflu patients have been reported, with 75 percent of them from Japan....
Police should probably get a warrant before attaching a GPS tracking device to a suspect’s vehicle. Or so implies the Supreme Court. The new technology has been used to track a suspect’s every move – 24 hours a day for weeks on end. But in a unanimous decision, the Court has ruled that the use of such a device is a search under the 4th Amendment. In most, if not all, situations police need a warrant....
In a decision that may make it easier for workers to show that they have suffered age discrimination on the job, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that employers who implement policies that have a disproportionately negative impact on older employees – such as layoffs – bear the burden of proving that the action was motivated by a reasonable factor other than an employee’s age. The plaintiffs in the case were subjected to a layoff in which 30 of 31 employees were over 40 years of age, and filed a “disparate impact” suit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)....
A former star high-school athlete was shot and killed in Texas over the weekend. Chris Mass, 23, was apparently killed in an argument sparked by a flirtatious tweet sent by the alleged shooter. Authorities say there was a confrontation between suspected shooter Ricky Neal Jr. and a group of friends including Mass at a Texas mall, reports the Tyler Morning Telegraph. Neal, 25, had apparently tweeted a flirtatious message to a girlfriend of one of Mass’ friends....
The state’s attorney race finally comes to an end. In this week of “The Good Wife,” Alicia eagerly awaits the results of voting day, while Diane argues abortion and possibly lands a big money client. Here’s what you need to know from last night’s episode, entitled “Red Meat”: Episode Recap (Spoiler Alert!): It’s voting day! If voter turnout goes as expected, Alicia was predicted to win by five points. However, Peter sabotaged his wife’s campaign by telling reporter Mandy Post that Alicia was guaranteed to win....
“Two and a Half Men’s” Jon Cryer was victorious in opposing his ex-wife’s petition to modify his child support payments from $8,000 to $88,000 a month. Just like his character on the TV show, Cryer is divorced and paying child support. However, his ex apparently wasn’t satisfied with the $8,000 monthly payment. Sarah Trigger argued that Cryer made $2 million a month, so he should up the ante on his payments, TMZ reports....
Three lawsuits against ex-Elmo actor Kevin Clash have been thrown out by a judge in New York, according to The Associated Press. Why? As you may recall, several claims were made last year against Clash, the man behind the beloved furry red Elmo suit on “Sesame Street.” At least three different men claimed that Clash sexually abused them when they were children. Clash resigned from the show last fall. Federal Judge Kevin Koeltl is now tossing out three lawsuits, claiming that the statute of limitations had already expired....
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, an effort to educate the public about the crime, its consequences, and how to prevent it. Sexual assault occurs when a person forces you to participate in sexual contact without your consent. It can have devastating and long-lasting effects on a victim, but victims should try to remember that legal protections are in place to help them on their road to recovery. Here are five tips for sexual assault victims to keep in mind when seeking help from the legal system:...
A federal district judge has ruled that California’s death penalty system is unconstitutional, ironically because Death Row takes too long. U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney determined in Jones v. Chappell that the massive delays in the Golden State’s administration of the death penalty violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Reuters reports that since 1978, only 13 convicts have been executed in California, while more than 900 were sentenced to death....
Dell is under fire after settling with the Securities and Exchange Commission for $100 million. The computer maker was accused in the securities fraud case of misleading investors by taking money paid by Intel to inflate the company’s quarterly earnings statements. Company executives then allegedly used the Intel payments to help surpass expectations on Wall Street. The SEC further alleged that Intel made payments to Dell to get them not to use Advanced Micro Devices’ chips and that the payments accounted for a staggering 76% of Dell’s income in 2007....
Federal investigators have concluded that “organizational and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP Corporation” caused a March 23, 2005, explosion at the BP Texas City refinery, the worst industrial accident in the U.S. since 1990. The report, from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), calls on the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to increase inspection and enforcement at U.S. oil refineries and chemical plants, and to require these corporations to evaluate the safety impact of mergers, reorganizations, downsizing, and budget cuts....
Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir is married. Weir and his boyfriend Victor Voronov tied the knot in New York on December 30. Weir’s and Voronov’s parents were present during the small ceremony. They exchanged handwritten vows. All this was made possible by the relatively new gay marriage law in New York. Weir made the announcement on Twitter, writing: “Wedding in summer! But all the official stuff is done now! No more livin’ in sin!...
NFL player for the Carolina Panthers Jon Beason, was sued for assault & battery by a fan who claims that Mr. Beason attacked him in a stripclub in Atlanta called the Uptown Cabaret. According to the Charlotte Observer, the fan, Mr. Gregory C. Frye, alleges that Mr. Beason got into an altercation with him over the fact that Mr. Frye told another Panthers player (Dante Rosario) that he had seen Mr....
Eric Yee was arrested after making some statements on ESPN’s website that were construed as death threats. A judge set his bail at $1 million. Making threats can get you in legal trouble, especially in today’s climate where there is concern about cyber bulling and online comments turning into physical violence. While First Amendment rights apply to the Internet, that right doesn’t extend to statements that are likely to lead to violence....
In perhaps a record for shortest litigation ever, the Department of Justice announced that it both filed a lawsuit and agreed to a settlement in the same day with six TV broadcasters, claiming they “engaged in unlawful agreements to share non-public competitively sensitive information with their broadcast television competitors.” What does that mean? Essentially that they conspired to fix ad prices. What does the proposed settlement mean? It would require those broadcasters to cooperate in the DOJ’s ongoing investigation, as well as adopt “rigorous antitrust compliance and reporting measures” to make sure they don’t cheat again....
Two Louisiana police officers were charged with second-degree murder for shooting and killing a child who was buckled into the front seat of a car they were chasing. The shooting was caught on film but the footage has not been released. Apparently when it is, we will not like what we see at all. The footage was “extremely disturbing,” Colonel Mike Edmonson of the Louisiana State Police told reporters. According to The Atlantic, Edmonson said, “I’m not gonna talk about it, but I’m gonna tell you this....
A journey begun in 2006, when a class action suit was first filed by Californians for Disability Rights Inc., the California Council for the Blind, and several individuals, was one step closer to its end in the last week of 2009. Caltrans has settled a suit over claimed violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act for the inaccessible conditions of 2,500 miles of state-controlled sidewalks, cross walks, ramps and 300 park and ride facilities throughout California....
