Foie gras ban remains intact in California; 9th Circuit says challenge unlikely to succeed

A federal appeals court has refused to block a California law that bars the force-feeding of ducks or geese to make foie gras. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said challengers to the law were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their constitutional arguments. How Appealing…

Sep 3, 2013 1:26 PM CDT

Gay couples, like 12-year-olds, can’t marry, Pennsylvania brief says

Lawyers for Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett are seeking to block same-sex marriages in a brief that equates gay and lesbian couples with 12-year-olds who can’t marry. The suit by the state Health Department is seeking to stop a suburban Philadelphia official from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, report the…

Aug 29, 2013 1:32 PM CDT

Flo Rida rides past lawsuit served via Facebook

Facebook was not an appropriate tool to serve U.S. performer Flo Rida with a breach of contract lawsuit, an Australian appellate court recently found. According to the New York Daily News the musician, whose real name is Tramar Dillard, did not show up for a 2011 music festival in Newcastle,…

Aug 20, 2013 7:49 PM CDT

Judge in Paula Deen case had refused to stay deposition in which she made N-word admission

The federal judge in the Paula Deen case had refused to stay the deposition that got the celebrity chef fired from the Food Network. Deen had admitted in the May deposition that “of course” she had used the N-word, but it was a long time ago. Lawyers for Deen and…

Aug 15, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Legal Services Corp. budget slashed by sequester in the face of unprecedented need, says chair

Legal Services Corporation board chair John G. Levi today told the ABA House of Delegates, near the conclusion of the ABA’s annual meeting in San Francisco, that abysmally low funding in recent years for representing the needy has gotten much worse because of Congress’ budget sequestration. In the wake of…

Aug 13, 2013 8:31 PM CDT

New Mexico attorney general files brief saying gay marriage ban is unconstitutional

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King told the state supreme court on Monday that a ban on gay marriage violates state constitutional guarantees of equal protection. King said the justices should decline to rule, however, because a challenge wasn’t properly before the court, the Associated Press reports. The suit by…

Jul 23, 2013 2:46 PM CDT

7th Circuit revives acquitted lawyer’s malicious prosecution suit over witness bribery case

Acquitted almost immediately in a 2009 trial over a claimed witness bribe, attorney Michael J. “Mick” Alexander then filed a civil suit against his accusers under the Federal Tort Claims Act He contended that the Delaware County, Ind., prosecutor and two FBI agents had conspired to make a false accusation…

Jul 2, 2013 6:05 PM CDT

How to tame ‘discovery genie’? Trial judges must consider cost-benefit, Colo. supremes say

Trial judges have to take an active role in managing discovery, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled in a dispute over a request for millions of pages of paper and electronic documents. The court said in an opinion (PDF) last week that trial judges should consider cost-benefit as well as…

Jul 2, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Lawsuit claims that flashing headlights are protected speech

Jul 1, 2013 9:10 AM CDT

SCOTUS limits the Alien Tort Statute, slowing suits against U.S. companies for action overseas

Jul 1, 2013 8:20 AM CDT

Gays who want to marry in California may have to wait for 25 days or more

June 27 • Scalia predicts the future, once again, in gay-marriage dissent • Gays who want to marry in California may have to wait for 25 days or more • You won’t see these words in Kennedy’s DOMA decision June 26 • SCOTUS standing ruling has effect of allowing gay…

Jun 27, 2013 2:05 PM CDT

SCOTUS standing ruling has effect of allowing gay marriage in California

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that supporters of a ban on gay marriage in California did not have standing to appeal a ruling adverse to their ideological interests. The 5-4 decision (PDF) leaves intact a ruling allowing gay marriages in California. It does not affect other states. Chief Justice…

Jun 26, 2013 2:35 PM CDT

SCOTUS strikes down DOMA, which banned federal benefits to married gay couples

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the Defense of Marriage Act that bans federal benefits to same-sex married couples. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the majority opinion (PDF) finding an equal protection violation under the Fifth Amendment. “DOMA singles out a class of persons deemed by a state entitled…

Jun 26, 2013 2:10 PM CDT

Lawyer defends tweet about ‘doing Paula Deen in a strongly metaphorical sense’

One of the lawyers suing Paula Deen and her brother is defending a tweet in which he said he is “doing Paula Deen in a strongly metaphorical sense.” Lawyers for the defendants are appealing a magistrate judge’s refusal to disqualify the tweeting lawyer, Matthew Billips of Atlanta, report WSBTV.com and…

Jun 26, 2013 12:17 PM CDT

Lawyer in Paula Deen case says white plaintiff had no standing to pursue race claims

A rule 11 motion filed by a lawyer in the Paula Deen case raises standing issues that suggest the celebrity chef’s controversial deposition in which she admitted having used the N-word may have delved into a subject that should have been off limits. The motion (PDF) by lawyer Tom Withers…

Jun 24, 2013 1:11 PM CDT