http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-21T14:08:12-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/suspended_and_facing_ethics_case_judge_blames_president_jurist_claims_she/ An Alabama judge facing a legal ethics case over the unlawful arrest orders she is accused of entering against parties and witnesses in divorce cases is now blaming the jurisdiction's former top jurist for her plight. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Dorothea Batiste denies in court filings that she abused her… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Criminal Procedure, Family Law, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, States, Alabama Tue, 21 May 2013 10:18:19 -0500 44289.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/feds_secretly_got_warrant_for_fox_reporters_email_claiming_that_his_news-ga/ News that federal authorities had apparently looked at the personal email of the chief Washington correspondent for Fox News under a search warrant secretly obtained in a criminal investigation of his 2009 news-gathering activities elicited outrage Monday from media organizations and others. The warrant, which was both issued and unsealed… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Criminal Justice, Executive Branch, Media & Communications Law, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, D.C. Circuit Court, States, District of Columbia Tue, 21 May 2013 06:50:48 -0500 44284.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/town_faces_lawsuit_for_requiring_citizens_to_own_firearms/ As debate intensifies nationally around gun-control measures, a small town north of Atlanta faces opposition to an ordinance that requires the head of every household to possess a gun and ammunition. The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence filed a federal lawsuit last week against Nelson, Ga., claiming the law,… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, States, Georgia Mon, 20 May 2013 16:02:25 -0500 44281.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/federal_judge_blocks_arkansas_abortion_ban/ A U.S. judge temporarily blocked an Arkansas ban on abortions at the 12th week of pregnancy, amid continued constitutional debate of the measure. The Arkansas law sets one of the strictest abortion limits in the country. Judge Susan Webber Wright of the Federal District Court in Little Rock issued a… Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, States, Arkansas Mon, 20 May 2013 15:40:32 -0500 44280.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/scotus_takes_government_prayer_case/ The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a First Amendment case involving town board meetings in Greece, N.Y., that include prayer. The Supreme Court granted the cert petition (PDF) on Monday, SCOTUSblog reports. It’s reportedly the first time in three decades that the… Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court Mon, 20 May 2013 13:10:43 -0500 44274.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/woman_arrested_over_unpaid_traffic_ticket_died_on_courthouse_floor_from_unt/ Arrested and jailed over an allegedly unpaid 2008 traffic ticket, Dwana Voncia London-Richardson died, at age 45, on an Alabama courthouse floor days after sheriff's department and jail workers failed to provide her with medical treatment, a federal lawsuit says. It names as defendants the St. Clair County sheriff, county… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Government Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, 11th Circuit Court, States, Alabama Mon, 20 May 2013 10:16:21 -0500 44268.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/plans_for_brooklyn_da_news_series_bring_lawsuit_and_a_defense_lawyers_objec/ An election opponent of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes isn’t happy about an upcoming news series about the DA’s office that will begin airing on May 28. Nor is a lawyer defending a landlord accused of manslaughter in a tenement fire. The six-part CBS series, Brooklyn D.A., offers a look… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, Election Law, Law in Popular Culture Fri, 17 May 2013 09:16:54 -0500 44232.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/around_the_blawgosphere_avvo_linkedin/ Last month, Arizona criminal defense attorney Matt Brown noted at Tempe Criminal Defense that he was taking a break from blogging to go on a 700-plus-mile hike. But he checked into the office periodically. "At some point after climbing onto the Colorado Plateau, however, the volume… ABA Journal, @BlawgWhisperer, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Legal Marketing & Consulting, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Immigration Law, Trials & Litigation, 6th Circuit Court Fri, 17 May 2013 08:30:27 -0500 44228.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/obama_says_acting_irs_chief_will_resign_following_news_that_conservative_gr/ Responding to widespread criticism after news that the Internal Revenue Service had targeted groups with "tea party" and "patriot" in their names for extra scrutiny in their applications for tax-exempt status, President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steve T. Miller, would resign.… Constitutional Law, Executive Branch, Tax Law Wed, 15 May 2013 18:10:06 -0500 44210.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/something_unusual_happened_when_holly_van_voast_bared_her_chest_this_spring/ It's been over 20 years since the top New York appeals court ruled that women, like men, may take off their shirts in public without risking criminal charges for doing so, as long as it's for noncommercial purposes. However, at least until recently, it appears that not everyone had gotten… ABA Journal Production, Weekly Newsletter Stories, Appellate Practice, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, New York Wed, 15 May 2013 16:09:48 -0500 44202.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/obama_has_worse_record_than_nixon_on_press_freedoms_says_pentagon_papers_la/ A lawyer who represented the New York Times in a successful fight to publish the Pentagon Papers says the Nixon administration was deeply distrustful of journalists, but the Obama administration has a worse record on press freedoms. James Goodale expressed his opinion after the… Attorney General, Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Media & Communications Law, Terrorism Wed, 15 May 2013 10:21:04 -0500 44191.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/cops_seize_two_videos_said_to_document_deputies_fatal_beating_did_one_get_e/ A witness who had been visiting a Bakersfield, Calif., hospital with family members called 911 last week and reported that deputies across the street had just beaten a man to death. The witness, Sulina Quair, also said she had evidence to back up her claim. The Bakersfield… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, California Wed, 15 May 2013 09:03:35 -0500 44189.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/sex-reassignment_surgery_of_infant_in_states_care_violated_due_process_adop/ The adoptive parents of a baby born with both male and female genitalia claim the state of South Carolina violated their child’s constitutional rights by subjecting the child to sex-reassignment surgery. The child, identified as “M.C.,” was 16 months old when surgeons removed the toddler’s male genitals before the adoption,… Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Family Law, Government Law, Tort Law, Medical Malpractice, Trials & Litigation, States, South Carolina Wed, 15 May 2013 07:39:10 -0500 44188.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lessons_for_liberals_can_be_found_in_story_of_federalist_society_influence/ Libertarians and conservatives with varying philosophies managed to put aside their differences to advance a broad agenda based on originalism, according to the authors of a new book. They were united by the Federalist Society, which began in 1982 with a symposium and spread to law school campuses throughout the… ABA Journal Production, Weekly Newsletter Stories, Constitutional Law, Judiciary, Law Professors, Law Schools, Law Students, Legal History, Legal Theory Wed, 15 May 2013 06:25:07 -0500 44171.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/can_children_be_protected_from_signs_with_photos_of_aborted_fetuses/ An anti-abortion protester who displayed large pictures of aborted fetuses outside a Denver church during an outdoor Palm Sunday ceremony says he is protected by the First Amendment. A cert petition in the case is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, the New York Times reports.… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Religious Law, U.S. Supreme Court Wed, 15 May 2013 05:40:01 -0500 44167.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/town_sues_robin_hood_citizen_group_known_for_feeding_parking_meters_says_it/ A New Hampshire town has sued a group of half-a-dozen citizens known as the Robin Hooders, contending that their harassment of parking enforcement officers could force the workers to quit if a court doesn't grant relief. Although the group feeds parking meters on behalf of strangers, the Keene suit says… ABA Journal Production, Weekly Newsletter Stories, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Government Law, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, New Hampshire Tue, 14 May 2013 16:40:29 -0500 44178.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ap_complains_of_massive_and_unprecedented_intrusion_by_doj_into_reporters/ In a letter Monday to Attorney General Eric Holder, the Associated Press complains of a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" by the Department of Justice into its reporters' newsgathering activities, contending that the feds secretly obtained two months of phone records on 20 lines used by AP journalists, including home and… Attorney General, Constitutional Law, Media & Communications Law, Terrorism, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, D.C. Circuit Court, States, District of Columbia Mon, 13 May 2013 17:05:50 -0500 44160.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ginsburg_expands_on_her_disenchantment_with_roe_v._wade_legacy/ In a broad-ranging discussion on the subject of abortion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Saturday reiterated and expanded her continuing disenchantment with the legacy of Roe v. Wade. Speaking to several hundred students Saturday at the University of Chicago School of Law, Ginsburg said the sheer sweep… ABA Journal Production, Weekly Newsletter Stories, Constitutional Law, Legal History, U.S. Supreme Court Mon, 13 May 2013 09:20:20 -0500 44139.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/nlj_correspondents_book_chronicles_citizens_united_three_other_major_suprem/ A new book by the National Law Journal’s chief Washington correspondent chronicles four major cases decided by the Roberts court, including the Citizens United decision finding that corporations have a First Amendment right to support political candidates with independent spending. The book is The Roberts Court: The Struggle for the… Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court Mon, 13 May 2013 05:40:02 -0500 44123.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/nude_but_not_lewd_airport_protester_beat_indecency_rap_but_is_still_fi/ A tech worker who took it all off at the Portland, Ore., airport last year as a protest of security measures, was acquitted at trial later in 2012 by a Multnomah County judge of the indecent exposure charge that resulted. But the celebration after John E. Brennan's criminal court victory… Administrative Law, Appellate Practice, Aviation & Space Law, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Trials & Litigation, 9th Circuit Court, States, Oregon Fri, 10 May 2013 17:15:51 -0500 44138.abajournal.com