Public Infrastructure

14 ABA Journal Public Infrastructure articles.

Chicago’s lakefront is an accident of history, but can it teach us how to preserve land for public use?

Chicago's lakefront, with its parks, museums, beaches and public spaces, is an accident of history. But can we take lessons from that history to create sustainable and environmentally responsible public spaces?

Jul 21, 2021 10:00 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: An unusual SCOTUS lineup; suit says Google is a public utility

SCOTUS rules for defendant in career criminal case

Two conservative justices supported liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices Thursday to rule that a crime of recklessness is not a “violent felony”…

Jun 10, 2021 4:09 PM CDT

FCC approves plan to make some phone calls cheaper for inmates and their families

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Thursday to make phone calls more affordable for people in prisons or jails by approving a plan to reduce out-of-state call rates by at least one-third.

May 21, 2021 10:16 AM CDT

Police are often first responders to mental health crises, but tragedies are prompting change

Cases such as Quintonio LeGrier’s have prompted demands around the country to reform how police respond to people in mental health crises, a movement that advocates believe can help avert such deadly confrontations.

Apr 1, 2021 4:00 AM CDT

County subpoenas partygoers who didn’t cooperate in COVID-19 contact tracing

Officials in Rockland County, New York, issued subpoenas last week when people who attended a party refused to cooperate with COVID-19 contact tracers.

Jul 6, 2020 2:16 PM CDT

Supreme Court strikes down exception to a ban on robocalls, citing First Amendment concerns

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down an exception to a federal ban on robocalls because it impermissibly favors one type of speech over others.

Jul 6, 2020 12:32 PM CDT

Top secure communication tools for lawyers during the COVID-19 crisis

Like most lawyers, you’ve probably been working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the quarantines and social distancing requirements, you didn’t have much of a choice. Obviously, you’re not alone, since remote working has become the new normal for most businesses during the pandemic, writes lawyer and author Nicole Black of MyCase.

Jun 22, 2020 2:41 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: ABA backs stay-home exemption for legal services; PG&E to plead guilty in fire deaths

ABA: Exempt legal services from any US stay-home order

ABA President Judy Perry Martinez says legal services should be deemed essential and exempted from any national stay-home order. “The American…

Mar 25, 2020 4:05 PM CDT

Nov. 18, 1883: US railroads enact standard time zones

The Providence & Worcester Railroad wreck was one of 11 major railroad accidents that killed 121 people in 1853. For decades after the P&W disaster, notions of time and timetables remained local and, for the most part, chaotic. By 1883, railroads were using 56 different time standards to schedule trains nationwide. A new system, designed on a time set by the U.S. Naval Observatory, took effect Nov. 18, 1883.

Nov 1, 2019 12:10 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Missing ex-lawyer is arrested at thrift store; DC considers banning gay-panic defense

Disbarred lawyer-on-the-lam is arrested at thrift store

A disbarred lawyer who is accused of murdering his mother was arrested at a Nashville, Tennessee, thrift store Monday. U.S. marshals arrested Richard…

Oct 1, 2019 4:09 PM CDT

Ban on political robocalls violates First Amendment, 9th Circuit rules

A Montana law that bans political robocalls is a content-based restriction that violates the First Amendment, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Sep 11, 2019 12:51 PM CDT

Terrorism watchlist violates due process rights, federal judge rules

A federal judge in Virginia has ruled that the federal government’s terrorism watchlist violates the due process rights of U.S. citizens who are in the database. U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga of Alexandria ruled Wednesday that the government provides no notice to people who were included on the list, no explanation of the criteria or evidence used to determine watchlist status, and no process to get off the list.

Sep 6, 2019 10:01 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: ‘Don’t play games with the judge,’ PG&E lawyers warned; Ex-Dewey CFO appeals

• A bankruptcy judge in San Francisco told lawyers for the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. on Friday that they shouldn’t have buried the new CEO’s $3 million sign-on bonus…

Aug 12, 2019 5:01 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: $2B verdict against Roundup maker slashed; law firm breakup now a play

• For the second time in two weeks, a judge in California has reduced a verdict against the maker of Roundup weed killer in a suit by cancer victims. Judge…

Jul 26, 2019 5:02 PM CDT