Constitutional Law

Keanu Reeves Cleared in Paparazzo Suit

Actor Keanu Reeves was found not to be liable for a photographer’s injuries last year after the paparazzo apparently got too close to his upscale vehicle. Alison Silva “claimed he was knocked to the ground and injured his wrist in March 2007 when he was trying to take pictures of…

Nov 4, 2008 6:42 PM CST

Unusual Judge’s Brief Claims Prosecutors Mischaracterized Court Record

A federal judge in San Diego has released an unusual brief he wrote that takes issues with prosecutors’ characterization of the court record regarding a secret guilty plea in a scandal involving a corrupt congressman. U.S. District Judge Larry Burns had originally filed the brief under seal with the San…

Nov 4, 2008 2:52 PM CST

Court Ruling in Drug Labeling Pre-Emption Case Expected to be Narrow

Justices’ questions during oral arguments yesterday suggest the U.S. Supreme Court may issue a narrow ruling in a case that asks whether federally approved drug labels protect pharmaceutical companies from lawsuits over failures to issue adequate warnings. Mayer Brown partner Andrew Tauber told Legal Times the court’s opinion is unlikely…

Nov 4, 2008 2:16 PM CST

Theory of Unconstitutional Judicial Appointments Fails in Patent Appeal

Marketers who sell a powdered health supplement have failed to persuade the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that a patent ruling should be overturned because the judges who issued it were unconstitutionally appointed. Law professor John Duffy of George Washington University has pointed out a possible flaw…

Nov 4, 2008 12:45 PM CST

Appeals Court Allows Protests at Soldiers’ Funerals

The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with members of the Westboro Baptist Church, who regularly make headlines and anger grieving families by showing up and staging protests during funerals. The court’s ruling Friday (PDF) is a reaffirmation that the Kansas church can keep on picketing…

Nov 3, 2008 5:13 PM CST

Supreme Court to Decide Whether Inmate has Right to DNA Test

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a former inmate convicted of raping and assaulting a prostitute has a constitutional right to a DNA test that he claims will establish his innocence. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed today to hear the civil rights claim of Alaska inmate William…

Nov 3, 2008 3:32 PM CST

Gunning for Support

How do you commemorate a landmark Supreme Court decision upholding a private Second Amendment right to bear arms? With a handgun, of course.

Nov 2, 2008 3:10 AM CST

Law Prof Predicts Federal Courts’ Future Under McCain, Obama

Expect significant changes in U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence if John McCain is elected the nation’s next president, an American University law professor says. Herman Schwartz, of the university’s Washington College of Law, “foresees the court possibly overturning Roe v. Wade, but more likely dramatically limiting abortion rights,” among other significant…

Oct 31, 2008 11:57 PM CDT

C-SPAN Denied Quick Access to Tape of ‘Fleeting Expletives’ Argument

U.S. Supreme Court buffs won’t be able to hear the Supreme Court’s oral arguments in the so-called fleeting expletives case next Tuesday. Without explanation, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. denied a request by C-SPAN for an immediate release of the tapes, SCOTUSblog reports. That means the audiotapes won’t be…

Oct 31, 2008 6:23 PM CDT

Legal Bill Battle Heats Up Over $1.7M Texas Arrest Settlement

Two brothers who contend the Texas lawyer who won them a $1.7 million settlement in a wrongful arrest case is overcharging them have taken the bill battle to the next level. After suing their former attorney, Lloyd Kelley, earlier this month, Erik and Sean Ibarra have complained to the state…

Oct 31, 2008 3:44 PM CDT

8th Circuit Restores Halloween Restrictions on Sex Offenders in Missouri

A federal appeals court is permitting enforcement of a Missouri law that restricts sex offenders from contact with children on Halloween. The law requires sex offenders to stay at home the evening of Halloween unless they are required to be elsewhere for just cause, and bars them from “Halloween-related contact”…

Oct 31, 2008 12:00 PM CDT

Man Guilty of Fatal 1980 Hit-and-Run Now Faces Murder Case in Same Death

In 1980, Ronald Rice stood before a judge in suburban Chicago and apologized for hiding the body of an 11-year-old boy that he accidentally hit with his car. He was sentenced to 6 months in the hit-and-run case. But today Cook County officials said that was far from the full…

Oct 29, 2008 6:20 PM CDT

Convicted as a Teen, Jailed for 10 Years, Mario Rocha Now Hopes to Be a Lawyer

After a 12-year legal odyssey, a 29-year-old California man who has long maintained his innocence of a 1996 murder is free to move on with his life. In his future, he hopes, is a college degree and a career as a lawyer. Saying that they could not now locate witnesses…

Oct 29, 2008 4:29 PM CDT

C-SPAN Seeks to Broadcast ‘Fleeting Expletives’ Oral Arguments

U.S. Supreme Court litigator Carter Phillips doesn’t plan to use a euphemism for the F-word when he argues the so-called fleeting expletives case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Now C-SPAN wants to broadcast audiotapes of the argument, raising the issue whether it will violate the Federal Communications Commission rule that…

Oct 29, 2008 11:52 AM CDT

Some Lawyers Ante Up $25K in Gay Marriage Fray, as Law Prof Stars in Ads

A Pepperdine University law professor is taking to the airwaves to back a California constitutional amendment to bar gay marriage in the state, while other lawyers on both sides of the debate are contributing as much as $25,000 to committees battling over the issue. Professor Richard Peterson appears in TV…

Oct 28, 2008 3:26 PM CDT