http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-18T06:32:19-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/holder_spars_with_issa_over_email_release_says_the_lawmakers_behavior_is_sh/ Attorney General Eric Holder clashed with a Republican lawmaker from California on Wednesday during questioning about a purported deal to drop a lawsuit against the city of St. Paul, Minn. Holder told U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa that his behavior was “unacceptable” and “shameful,” report ABC News, the… Attorney General, Banking Law, Civil Rights, Labor & Employment, U.S. Supreme Court Thu, 16 May 2013 08:54:17 -0500 44213.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/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/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/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 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/calif._ag_sues_jp_morgan_chase_alleges_robo-signing_of_docs_in_credit-card_/ California's attorney general sued one of the nation's biggest banks on Thursday, alleging that JPMorgan Chase & Co.had engaged in widespread "robo-signing" of documents in credit card collection lawsuits. "To maintain this breakneck pace" while dealing with a glut of litigation against delinquent cardholders, the lending institution created a “debt… Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Consumer Law, Contracts, Corporate Law, Government Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, California Thu, 09 May 2013 17:52:20 -0500 44118.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_for_gun_makers_takes_nra_helm_calls_members_fighters_for_freedom_in_/ An Alabama lawyer who represents gun makers and has a knack for controversial rhetoric will take the helm Monday as president of the National Rifle Association, following the organization's three-day annual convention in Houston. Described as a "hard line culture warrior" by USA Today, attorney Careers, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Legislation & Lobbying, States, Alabama Mon, 06 May 2013 11:40:53 -0500 44044.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/death-penalty_appeal/ When William Ernest Kuenzel got married to a social worker in 2008, attorney David Kochman was his best man. He's also Kuenzel's pro bono appellate counsel in a death-penalty case in which the attorney is asserting that his client is actually, factually innocent. Kochman, a 33-year-old commercial litigation associate at… Appellate Practice, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Pro Bono, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Death Penalty, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Criminal Procedure, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, 11th Circuit Court, States, Alabama Fri, 03 May 2013 12:10:05 -0500 44028.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/eeoc_obtains_record_verdict_for_mentally_disabled_workers_who_claimed_mistr/ A federal jury in Iowa has awarded $240 million to compensate 32 mentally disabled men who claimed mistreatment while working at a turkey processing plant. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued on behalf of the men who worked at Henry’s Turkey Service in Atalissa and lived in a plant bunkhouse.… Civil Rights, Disability Law, Labor & Employment Thu, 02 May 2013 10:17:50 -0500 44010.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/chemerinsky_another_look_at_same-sex_marriage_cases/ No decisions are more eagerly awaited from the U.S. Supreme Court than those in the marriage equality cases. Hollingsworth v. Perry and United States v. Windsor were argued on March 26 and 27, and most expect that the decisions will be announced at the end of June. Having just re-read… Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Family Law, Trials & Litigation, U.S. Supreme Court Thu, 02 May 2013 08:30:19 -0500 43946.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/says_cnn_time_survey/ After the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City and the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, more than half of the Americans responding to polls were willing to give up some civil liberties in exchange for greater security. But a poll taken a… Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Legislation & Lobbying, Media & Communications Law, Privacy Law Wed, 01 May 2013 17:00:24 -0500 44003.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/special_project_reaches_appalling_conclusion_no_right_to_misdemeanor_trial/ A special Bronx Defenders project—in which a Wall Street law firm was lined up to help those accused of misdemeanors after arrests resulting from questionable stop-and-frisk tactics by police—has reached a grim conclusion. Contrary to what the U.S. Constitution and New York state law requires, there is effectively no right… Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Public Defenders, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, New York Wed, 01 May 2013 14:21:09 -0500 43982.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/gender_equality_is_theme_of_aba_law_day_program/ The ABA is celebrating Law Day with a program this evening focusing on gender equality. The Washington, D.C., event will consider questions such as: Has constitutional equality for women in the United States been realized? What are the appropriate roles of courts, legislatures and advocacy groups in advancing gender equality?… Bar Associations, ABA, Civil Rights Wed, 01 May 2013 06:53:41 -0500 43984.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/lgbt_lawyers_join_high_court_bar/ Bar Associations, Careers, Civil Rights, Legal History, U.S. Supreme Court, Business of Law Wed, 01 May 2013 02:10:06 -0500 43757.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/congress_moves_to_reauthorize_laws_targeting_domestic_violence_human_traffi/ Bar Associations, ABA, Civil Rights, Criminal Justice, Legislation & Lobbying Wed, 01 May 2013 01:30:06 -0500 43837.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/may_6_1882_congress_passes_first_major_law_restricting_immigration/ Civil Rights, Immigration Law, Legal History, Legislation & Lobbying, U.S. Supreme Court, Precedents Wed, 01 May 2013 00:40:06 -0500 43799.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/soda-order_spat_claim_of_unflushed_toilet_leads_to_police_involvement/ An airline passenger who says his refusal to order a soda on a computer touch screen led to his being detained and questioned by authorities after the plane landed has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit over the April 2012 incident. Salvatore Bevivino says he was falsely accused of swearing… Aviation & Space Law, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Consumer Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, 9th Circuit Court, States, California Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:29:39 -0500 43974.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/pulitzer_awarded_for_book_on_forgotten_case_defended_by_thurgood_marshall/ Author Gilbert King says he thought a friend was joking in a text message that read, “Dude. Pulitzer.” It turned out the friend was serious, report the New York Times and the Orlando Sentinel. King wasn’t even aware that his publisher had nominated… Civil Rights, Criminal Justice, Legal History, U.S. Supreme Court Fri, 26 Apr 2013 06:00:52 -0500 43915.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/scotus_considers_mixed-motive_retaliation_scalia_sees_no_need_to_psychoanal/ Supreme Court justices on Wednesday considered whether Congress intended to make retaliation cases more difficult to prove than other bias claims when it amended Title VII in 1991. A lawyer for Dr. Naiel Nassar argued that his client should win if he proved retaliation was a motivating factor when his… Civil Rights, Labor & Employment, Religious Law, U.S. Supreme Court Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:41:01 -0500 43912.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/appeals_court_oks_180-day_contempt_term_for_millionaire_who_helped_16-year-/ A Florida appeals court on Wednesday upheld without comment a 180-day contempt term imposed on a millionaire for taking his then-16-year-old son to Las Vegas to get married to his housekeeper's 18-year-old daughter. A Miami-Dade circuit judge had ordered Dan Rotta to take the troubled teen to a Utah boarding… Appellate Practice, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Family Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Florida Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:01:10 -0500 43906.abajournal.com