Legal Theory

Technology advances will put mobility into trials, doing more for less

A small conference room packed mostly with judges from around the country heard one word that defines the future for how they go about their work: mobility. “Mobility is the key word for information technology,” Glenn Grant, administrative director for the courts of New Jersey, told the audience at the…

Oct 1, 2013 6:20 AM CDT

Scalia: Courts will decide legitimacy of NSA surveillance programs, but may be least equipped

Courts will determine the legality of National Security Agency surveillance programs, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Wednesday. And in his opinion, that may not be a good thing. Speaking before the Northern Virginia Technology Council, the Associated Press reports, Scalia mentioned the Supreme Court expanding privacy rights in the…

Sep 26, 2013 6:42 PM CDT

Nobel-winning law prof who wrote most-cited law review article dies at 102

A University of Chicago law professor and economist who wrote the most-cited law review article of all time has died at the age of 102. Ronald Coase died on Monday, report the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.) and the New Yorker blog Rational Irrationality.…

Sep 4, 2013 2:29 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Paradox in drug injury cases must be solved by Congress, says SCOTUS

In June 2013, for the third time in four years, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt with the question of when federal law preempts state tort liability for those injured by prescription drugs. What emerges from these cases is a strange distinction: Those who take the brand name version and are…

Sep 4, 2013 2:10 PM CDT

It was another big term for amicus curiae briefs at the high court

It was a big term for little green booklets at the U.S. Supreme Court. Merits briefs at the high court are filed in booklet form, with an array of specified colors. Amicus curiae, or friend of the court, briefs have covers of either light green for those backing the petitioners…

Sep 1, 2013 8:30 AM CDT

Remote texter can be held liable for distracted driver’s crash, appeals court rules

In a case of first impression, a New Jersey appeals court has held that a remote texter can be held liable to third parties for injuries caused when the distracted driver has an accident. However, that is only true if the individual sending the texts from another location knew they…

Aug 27, 2013 6:02 PM CDT

Gay man asks DC court to declare him common-law husband of deceased partner

A gay Washington, D.C. man has asked a family court judge to recognize him as the common-law husband of his late companion. The case may be the first seeking legal recognition of a common-law gay marriage, the Wall Street Journal reports. James Spellman, 55, says he and Michael Kelly, a…

Aug 20, 2013 8:47 PM CDT

Witness harassment has gone digital, and the justice system is playing catch-up

Not long after a 30-year-old Cleveland woman witnessed a man being fatally shot in the back, the gunman’s friends tracked her down and threatened her about testifying against him. At first, they intimidated her the old-fashioned way. As she walked home one day, a friend of the suspect came up…

Aug 1, 2013 9:40 AM CDT

Record industry tussles over whether a resale market for online music violates the Copyright Act

When computer science professor Larry Rudolph and entrepreneur John Ossenmacher launched the online company ReDigi in late 2011, they promised that the service would offer people something missing from the market: a legal means for consumers to sell their old digital music files. ReDigi’s system allows people to upload old…

Aug 1, 2013 8:20 AM CDT

Courts in a muddle over 4th Amendment’s community caretaking exception

Some view it as a monstrous leviathan that could devour much of search-and-seizure protections. Others view it as simply a common-sense, rational justification for what police must do when performing emergency functions. Either way, the community caretaking exception to the Fourth Amendment has prompted confusion among courts over whether it…

Aug 1, 2013 8:09 AM CDT

Is the integrative law movement the next ‘huge wave’ for the legal profession?

Sean Mason’s legal practice is all about love. Most lawyers wouldn’t associate estate planning or divorce mediation with tenderness and devotion, but Mason says “helping clients express love for the people who matter most in their lives” is the principle that guides his Santa Barbara, Calif., practice at the Mason…

Aug 1, 2013 7:30 AM CDT

Man faces manslaughter charges after driving into utility pole; downed wire electrocuted 2 rescuers

A California man who crashed his car into a utility pole and a fire hydrant last year is now facing two felony manslaughter charges after would-be rescuers stepped into a pool of water electrified by a downed wire and were electrocuted. “He was definitely driving negligently, he definitely had disregard…

Jul 26, 2013 3:05 PM CDT

Scalia says judicial activism can distort democracy

Justice Antonin Scalia continued his attacks on judicial activism during a speech in Colorado on Saturday, referencing radical Islam and 1930s Germany to illustrate the dangers. The Aspen Times has the account of Scalia’s speech to the Utah Bar Association, titled “Mullahs of the West: Judges as Moral Arbiters,” in…

Jul 22, 2013 11:48 AM CDT

NSA oversight flawed by lack of legal adversaries, former FISA judge says

Testifying Tuesday during a federal oversight hearing aimed at scrutinizing secret government surveillance, former federal judge James Robertson said that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is independent. But he said its oversight is flawed because of a lack of legal adversaries to confront the government’s actions. “Anyone who has been…

Jul 9, 2013 6:25 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Court unanimously wrong on Virginia’s public records law

Several different constitutional provisions and principles prevent states from discriminating against out-of-state residents. In light of this, it was surprising and troubling that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in McBurney v. Young (PDF) that it is constitutional for a state to allow only its own citizens to use its…

Jun 5, 2013 2:31 PM CDT