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Friday, April 04, 2008 "Illinois Supreme Court denies appeal in AIDS infection suit": The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, "A Chicago woman who sued her fiance's parents for allegedly covering up that he was dying of AIDS is not entitled to a $2 million jury award she received in 2004, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday." And The Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Illinois reports that "Court rules family not liable for woman's AIDS." You can access Thursday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Illinois at this link. "Professor Answers Justice Breyer's Wish for Study on Pro Se; 2007 report contradicts belief that defendants are harmed by self-representation; U.S. Supreme Court's Breyer praises work": law.com provides this report. Posted at 11:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Elections for Judges Are Getting Nastier; The Wisconsin Supreme Court race is just one example of what's ahead": Emma Schwartz has this article online at the web site of U.S. News & World Report. And in somewhat related news, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports today that "Abrahamson plans for re-election run; Chief justice says she believes in system." "Networks Say Live TV Is at Stake in Fox Decency Case": This article will appear Saturday in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:50 PM by Howard Bashman "US Defends Detention of Chinese Muslim": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The Bush administration argued Friday that when Congress authorized military action against the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists, it also gave the president the power to detain people who never took up arms against the U.S." The case was argued today before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Eighth Circuit holds that Arkansas law does not permit the police to arrest someone merely for refusing to identify himself: Today's ruling, by a unanimous three-judge Eighth Circuit panel, addresses "whether Arkansas law permits a police officer to arrest a person for refusing to identify himself when he is not suspected of other criminal activity and his identification is not needed to protect officer safety or to resolve whatever reasonable suspicions prompted the officer to initiate an on-going traffic stop or Terry stop." Posted at 11:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Facebook Must Defend Code-Theft Lawsuit, Appeals Court Rules": Bloomberg News provides a report that begins, "Facebook Inc., the social-networking Web site, must defend against a lawsuit that accuses founder Mark Zuckerberg of stealing computer code, an appeals court ruled. Yesterday's decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston revived a 2004 suit by ConnectU Inc. founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss that was dismissed last year on procedural grounds." My earlier coverage of yesterday's First Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Music downloaders win round in court": The Boston Globe today contains an article that begins, "Boston University students have won what one lawyer hailed as a 'David and Goliath' victory after challenging one of the recording industry's most aggressive tactics: lawsuits targeting people who illegally download music. US District Judge Nancy Gertner ruled this week that the university cannot turn over the names of students to several major record companies that sued for the information until she can do a more in-depth review. The ruling, for the moment, quashes the companies' efforts to hold the students liable for copyright infringement, which could have resulted in thousands of dollars in fines. Lawyers who supported the students said the decision would make it harder for record companies to win some 20,000 similar cases they have brought nationwide." You can access Monday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts at this link. "Calif. Supreme Court Ruling Gives Manufacturers Added Protection From Lawsuits": law.com provides a report that begins, "Manufacturers got added protection from lawsuits Thursday when the California Supreme Court ruled they can't be held liable for not warning specialists about product dangers that should be well known within their professions." My earlier coverage of yesterday's ruling appears at this link. "Judge OKs $24 million award to injured railroad trespassers": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A judge upheld a jury's $24 million award to a pair of teens who were severely burned by electrical wires when they climbed atop a rail car." And Wednesday's edition of The Lancaster New Era reported that "$24M verdict upheld in railroad burn case." You can access Monday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania at this link. "Defense in Wecht trial cheers apparent hung jury": Jason Cato has this article today in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports today that "Wecht jury deadlocked; judge says to go on." And The Associated Press reports that "Celebrity Pathologist Jury Stuck." "W.Va. Supreme Court overturns Massey verdict": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Four months, two recusals and numerous national headlines later, West Virginia's Supreme Court has echoed its earlier conclusion vacating a $76.3 million judgment against Massey Energy Co. in a coal contract dispute. As it had in November, the court voted 3-2 to overturn a 2002 Boone County verdict that Harman Mining Co., and its president had won against the competing coal producer." The Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette reports today that "Court sides with Massey; Brent Benjamin breaks tie in 3-2 decision." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today contains an article headlined "W.Va. ruling faces appeal to top court; Mining firm claims bias in favor of Massey" that begins, "Two Pittsburgh attorneys whose clients were on the losing end of the West Virginia Supreme Court's decision overturning a $77 million judgment against Massey Energy will appeal the ruling -- and how the court reached it -- to the U.S. Supreme Court." The Wall Street Journal reports that "Massey Wins Latest Round With Harman." Yesterday's 3-2 ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia consisted of a majority opinion (available in both HTML and PDF formats) and a dissenting opinion (available in both HTML and PDF formats, with appendix). In a related development, ABC News yesterday posted online a report headlined "Coal Boss: If You Take Photos, 'You're Liable to Get Shot'; Don Blankenship Grabbed an ABC News Reporter's Camera During the Incident." And in other coverage, The AP reports that "ABC News says Massey chief threatened producer; Network to air footage Monday." "Roommates.com can be sued for violating fair housing laws, court rules; The website requires users to provide information, including their race and sexual orientation, which could foster housing discrimination": Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Adam Tanner of Reuters has a report headlined "Straight or gay? U.S. court says Web site can't ask." law.com provides a report headlined "9th Circuit: No Immunity for Roommates.com Under Communications Decency Act; Dissenting judge: 'the majority has dramatically altered the landscape of Internet liability.'" And at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog, Ryan Singel has a post titled "Roommates.com Not Immune From Discrimination Lawsuit, Appeals Court Rules." My earlier coverage of yesterday's en banc Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Administration Asserted a Terror Exception on Search and Seizure": Dan Eggen and Josh White have this article today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Widower of J&J heiress wins right to part of $360M trust; State justices side with Broadway producer": Today's edition of The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger contains an article that begins, "A Broadway producer who married the now-deceased daughter of J. Seward Johnson Sr. -- a scion of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical empire -- is entitled to a portion of the $360 million trust fund Johnson set up, the state Supreme Court ruled yesterday." And The New York Times reports today that "New Jersey Court's Ruling Ends 12-Year Fight Among Johnson & Johnson Heirs." You can access yesterday's 5-2 ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey at this link. "Thomas Jury Deliberations to Continue": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "A federal jury completed its first day of deliberations Thursday without reaching a verdict in the case of the former cyclist Tammy Thomas, who is on trial charged with making false statements under oath about her use of performance-enhancing drugs." Posted at 08:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Appeals Court Panel Throws Out Class Action Over Light Cigarettes": This article appears today in The New York Times. Today in The New York Sun, Joseph Goldstein reports that "Judge Stamps Out a Cigarette Class Action." And law.com reports that "2nd Circuit Decertifies Light Cigarette Class." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Second Circuit ruling appears at this link. "There Were Orders to Follow": The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, "You can often tell if someone understands how wrong their actions are by the lengths to which they go to rationalize them. It took 81 pages of twisted legal reasoning to justify President Bush's decision to ignore federal law and international treaties and authorize the abuse and torture of prisoners." Today's edition of The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled "Tortured Logic: An infamous memo gets a public vetting -- five years too late." And The Los Angeles Times contains an editorial entitled "The torture memos, declassified: How did we get here? Justice Department writings reveal the origins of 'enhanced' interrogation." "Airline Passengers, Beware: The Government Does Not Protect Your Rights When You Fly, As a Recent Federal Appellate Decision Attests." John W. Dean has this essay online today at FindLaw. Posted at 07:35 AM by Howard Bashman  
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