Annoucing the 2013 Spring Symposium
The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School has sparked a nation-wide debate about the place of guns in a free society. On one side have been those who have called for intensified background checks,...
View ArticleSCOTUS Grants Appeal of Campaign Limits Case
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court granted cert on the case of McCutcheon v. FEC that will readdress the issue of federal limits on campaign contributions. Rick Hasen at the Election Law blogs discusses...
View ArticleVeteran Wins GMU (Undergrad) In State Tutition Case
The Washington Post reports that a navy veteran who recently won a lower court case challenging George Mason University’s in state tuition policy is now heading to the Virginia Supreme Court. Stephanie...
View ArticleAre Hacking Laws Too Tough?
Roll Call reports on the congressional back lash resulting from the prosecution and suicide of Aaron Swartz for hacking under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act: Swartz, a Reddit co-founder, was...
View ArticleObama Administration Announces Forensics Reform
The Washington Post reports that the federal government has announced that it will create a National Commission on Forensic Science to draft proposals to the Department of Justice in response to the...
View ArticleLawsuit Challenges “Sherlock Holmes” Copyright
The Courthouse News Service asks “Who Owns Sherlock Holmes?” A Sherlock Holmes expert claims in court that Arthur Conan Doyle’s estate has no copyright on the character of Holmes, Dr. Watson or the...
View ArticleSCOTUS to Hear Oral Arguments in DNA Case Tuesday
SCOTUSblog gives its argument preview of Tuesday’s case of Maryland v. King: It is a simple truism that, whenever police find a new kind of technology that will give them a better chance of solving...
View ArticleStates Consider Requiring Gun Insurance for Owners
The New York Times reports that legislators in several states are proposing to require gun owners to buy liability insurance, just like car owners are required to do: Both sides in a nation sharply...
View ArticleWiccan Inmates May Bring Relig Discrim Case
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Ninth Circuit has held that a state prison inmates who practice the Wiccan religion can proceed with a lawsuit accusing California of discriminating by...
View ArticleHow Death Affects Our Social Media Accounts
Kenneth Anderson at the Volokh Conspiracy highlights a recent student comment: “What Happens to Our Facebook Accounts When We Die?: Probate Versus Policy and the Fate of Social-Media Assets...
View ArticleImpressions From Shelby County Oral Arguments
Rick Hasen has a good round up of various legal reporters and scholars’ impression from today’s Supreme Court oral arguments addressing the continuing constitutionality of section five of the Voting...
View ArticleClass Action Against Beer Company for Mislabeled Alcohol Content
Courthouse News Service reports that four different class actions are claiming that Anheuser-Busch mislabels its beer by exaggerating its alcohol content: [On class plaintiff] claims Anheuser-Busch...
View ArticleMillions Ineligible Under the FMLA
The Washington Post discusses how the Family Medical Leave Act, despite enabling millions workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually to handle health issues without losing their jobs, does...
View ArticleHospital Tells Black Nurses Not to Touch Baby at Parent’s Request
CNN reports that a nurse is suing a hospital, claiming it agreed to a man’s request that no African-Americans care for his baby. The man, who is not named in the filing, allegedly showed her a tattoo...
View ArticleCan States Block Federal Gun Control?
Lyle Denniston discusses the constitutionality of recent state efforts to ban the federal government from enforcing national gun laws: The constitutional barrier to a state veto of any federal law, or...
View Article3rd Cir Rejects $14M Fee for Lawyers, $3M for Clients
Forbes reports that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a class-action settlement that would have paid the lawyers who negotiated it more than four times as much as their clients. The 34-page...
View ArticleReligious Property Wars
The Religious News Service reports on the ongoing property battle between the Episcopal Church and congregations who have left the organization. When disgruntled congregations have left hierarchical...
View ArticleDOJ Doesn’t Have to Share All Cellphone Tracking Data
Courthouse News Service reports that a D.C. district court judge has held that the DOJ need not disclose cellphone tracking records involving suspects who were acquitted or had their case dismissed...
View ArticleEmployee Claimed Fired for Voting for Obama
The Dayton Daily News reports that an employees claims that she was fired for voting for President Obama in this past election: [The plaintiff Kunkle claims her employer] Gentile threatened employees...
View ArticleACS: Do Civil Rights Laws Become Invalid If They Work?
The American Constitution Society symposium on the case of Shelby County v. Holder asks whether civil rights laws become invalid if they work? Tomorrow, the Court will hear argument in Shelby County,...
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