Legislation & Lobbying

3354 ABA Journal Legislation & Lobbying articles.

9 Teens Charged with Harassment That Allegedly Led to Classmate’s Suicide

Nine teenagers in Massachusetts are now facing criminal charges after allegedly harassing a high school classmate so severely that she committed suicide in January after a three-month campaign that included physical attacks, taunting and cyberbullying via social networking websites. Charges against the two boys and seven girls range from statutory…

Mar 29, 2010 11:26 PM CDT

New Utah Law OKs State Seizure of Federal Lands; Aim Is Supreme Court Showdown

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has signed two bills into law authorizing the state to seize federal lands using its powers of eminent domain. The goal, supporters say, is to win a U.S. Supreme Court showdown, the Associated Press reports. More than 60 percent of Utah land is owned by the…

Mar 29, 2010 3:51 PM CDT

Md. Senate Wants Law School Clinic to Name Clients or Lose $250K in Funding

Some Maryland senators are so incensed about a pollution lawsuit filed by an environmental legal clinic at the University of Maryland School of Law that they are threatening to withhold $250,000 in funding unless the students reveal clients in other suits. The state senate has approved budget language withholding the…

Mar 29, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

NYC Council Has Answer for Proof-of-Service Questions: GPS Confirmation

The New York City Council passed a bill Thursday intended to make sure that defendants actually receive notice of pending lawsuits. The bill requires process servers to record the date, time and location of service with a Global Positioning System, the New York Times reports. Licensing and bonding are also…

Mar 26, 2010 11:35 AM CDT

Top State Court Fines County $371K for Delayed Response to 1997 Public Records Request

Nearly 13 years ago, Armen Yousoufian made a public records request to King County, Wash., which received a partial response. Three years later, he filed suit to obtain the rest of the material he requested. As of today, it appears that he has a final answer concerning the penalty to…

Mar 25, 2010 5:54 PM CDT

16-Year Judge Loses Seat on Bench Over Husband’s Peripheral Role in 1 Divorce Case

In a decision decried by some observers as supporting a political regime that threatens judicial independence, the top court in South Carolina has upheld a legislative screening panel’s determination booting a seasoned judge from the bench. It found a 16-year family court veteran unqualified to continue to serve as a…

Mar 24, 2010 5:57 PM CDT

NLRB Case Is ‘Cheerful Bacchanal of Subordinating Conjunctions’

The U.S. Supreme Court considered Tuesday whether the National Labor Relations Board may operate with only two members. A ruling against the NLRB could call into question more than 500 labor-management decisions, the National Law Journal reports. The board generally has five members, but it has been operating with only…

Mar 24, 2010 4:08 PM CDT

Baker & Hostetler Joins with 13 AGs to Fight Health Care Reform

Health care reform legislation finally won congressional approval Monday and was signed into law today by President Barack Obama. But opponents are already gearing up for what is expected to be an extended court battle against the new law. Among those leading the charge are David Rivkin Jr. and Lee…

Mar 23, 2010 10:07 PM CDT

State Bids to Block Health Reform Could Bring ‘Free-for-All Lawsuit’

A constitutional clash could emerge between the states and the federal government in a battle over the health reform law awaiting President Obama’s signature. Already, Idaho and Virginia have passed laws seeking to thwart the federal bill requiring individuals to carry health insurance, Reuters reports. In 36 other states, bills…

Mar 22, 2010 12:51 PM CDT

‘Smart Money’ Says Supreme Court Won’t Thwart Health Care Bill, Law Prof Says

The “smart money” says the U.S. Supreme Court won’t overturn the health care bill awaiting President Obama’s signature—but the smart money has been wrong before, a law professor says. Writing in the Washington Post, Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett says the smart money doubted there were enough votes for…

Mar 22, 2010 12:13 PM CDT

Pay-for-Delay Ban Left Out of Health Care Bill

A patent law change that would have banned so-called pay-for-delay patent deals was not included in the landmark health-care reform bill approved Sunday evening. The historic legislation creates “a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health care system” and requires most Americans to have health insurance, the New York Times reports.…

Mar 22, 2010 11:38 AM CDT

San Fran DA’s Bill Bans Sex Offenders from Facebook: But Is That Constitutional?

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris announced a bill this week that would ban California’s 63,000 registered sex offenders from social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace. The proposed law doesn’t go as far as a similar one that went on the books in New York in 2008, the…

Mar 11, 2010 8:18 PM CST

Hustler’s Interest in Crime Scene Photos Spurs Bill by Ga. Lawmaker

Hustler Magazine’s request for crime scene photos of a slain Georgia college student has spurred an Atlanta lawmaker to introduce legislation that exempts such pictures from the state’s open records law. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation plans to reject a request for photos of the decapitated body of Meredith Emerson,…

Mar 9, 2010 2:01 PM CST

W. Va. Senate Committee Backs Publicly Funded Judicial Elections

The West Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee has endorsed a bill that would publicly finance elections of state supreme court justices. Last week, the state House of Delegates approved pilot program propsed by Gov. Joe Manchin that would finance the two contested seats in the 2012 supreme court race. Candidates would…

Mar 9, 2010 12:09 AM CST

Harvard Law Prof Is Helping to Draft Fashion Copyright Bill

In the last few months, fashion houses Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen have accused Steve Madden of ripping off their shoe designs and filed suit. But they face an uphill battle in court, because the U.S. lacks a fashion copyright law. Sen. Charles Schumer—along with Harvard law professor Jeannie Suk—is working…

Mar 8, 2010 11:23 PM CST

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