Juvenile court order terminating parental rights is reversed where the Indian Child Welfare Act applies when the minors’ presumed father in a juvenile dependency proceeding alleges that his adoptive father has one-quarter ancestry in a federally recognized Indian tribe, and thus notice of the proceedings must be given to the tribe in question. Read In re B.R., No. A122581 in PDF Read In re B.R., No. A122581 in HTML Appellate InformationAPPEAL from Marin County Super....
Being a friend of the judge could create a conflict of interest, but a Facebook friend – not so much. That’s what a Florida appeals court said in a case that naturally drew social media attention. But it wasn’t even a close question whether a judge should be disqualified for being a Facebook “friend” with a lawyer. “To be sure, some of a member’s Facebook ‘friends’ are undoubtedly friends in the classic sense of person for whom the member feels particular affection and loyalty,” the Third District Court of Appeal said....
Ah, the U.S. News and World Report law school rankings were published yesterday, and law students – future, current, and former – rushed to see how schools ranked. This listing is not the end all be all, but as college juniors start thinking about applying to law school, this list will definitely affect their decision on what schools to apply to. Current students may get a boost of confidence (or quite the opposite) as they head into the legal job market....
In a commemoration that will span the last week of August, D.C. will be host to events reflecting on the 50 years since the March on Washington, as well as the victories for civil rights movements in the last five decades. On Wednesday, it will have been 50 years since Martin Luther King delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, a speech which preceded the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 and continues to echo into the future, reports NBC News....
Move over, U.S. News & World Report – there’s a new rankings game in town, and it’s called Law School Transparency. LST actually touts itself as a rating, not a ranking, but it provides an alternative measure for prospective law students. The annual U.S. News rankings have gotten a lot of criticism from recent graduates for the fact that they don’t project job prospects. But up until now, there hasn’t been much of an alternative....
New Hampshire really cares about protecting babies from drinking beer. New Hampshire recently passed a law that would allow babies to be depicted on its beer bottles. Can you believe that this was even illegal in the first place? However, the law has been vetoed by Governor Maggie Hassan. The Baby Behind the Ban New Hampshire’s law currently prohibits images of minors on beer bottle labels in an effort to curb underage drinking....
A California appeals court cleared the way for disciplinary proceedings against San Francisco police officers for sending homophobic and racist text messages in 2012. A trial judge had dismissed the case, saying the department filed charges after the statute of limitations period. But the First District Court of Appeal said the department was cooperating with a federal criminal investigation at the time, which extended the deadline. The decision, holding that the statute of limitations was stayed during a criminal trial, is legally interesting....
Simon Frick is no Sherlock Holmes. He’s not even a fickin’ detective. Simon Frick is a fake name for a “researcher” trying to discredit Robert Mueller, who is leading the special investigation into Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016. The thing is, Frick is really bad at research. He contacted a law professor to talk about her “past encounters” with the special counsel, but she’s never even met Mueller. “Very Sloppy” Jennifer Taub, a law professor at Vermont Law School, said “Frick” offered to pay for information about Mueller....
It seems U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA) has gotten himself into a bit of a pickle while on the Georgia Tech campus supporting his friend and fellow Republican, gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp. Nathan Knauf, a Georgia Tech student, was attempting to ask the senator how he could endorse Kemp, who some claim is attempting to disenfranchise black voters. Knauf was attempting to get the answer recorded on his cell phone. Perdue then snatched the cell phone out of Kemp’s hand, touching him in the process....
In plaintiff’s claim that the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States unconstitutionally denies equal protection of the laws by imposing different rates of duty on seamed leather gloves “for men” and seamed leather gloves “for other persons”, judgment of the United States Court of International Trade dismissing the claim is affirmed where: 1) the CIT’s judgment concluding that it had jurisdiction under section 1581(i), that plaintiff has standing to bring its claims, and that plaintiff’s equal protection claims are justiciable is affirmed; but 2) plaintiff has failed to state an equal protection claim due to its failure to plead facts sufficient to allege a claim of unconstitutional discrimination....
Patrons of an alleged illegal strip club in a Virginia home got their share of cheap thrills at the house’s debauched blowouts. Sonya Fletcher, 36, was the focus of a month-long investigation into “stripper parties” being held at her house, reports The Virginian-Pilot. But it was an apparent lack of cheap drinks that got the “club” busted by police. What did police find when they raided this unique home-based business?...
Couples divorce for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes they just fall out of love. Sometimes they cheat on each other. And on rare occasions, a wife will divorce her husband because he made her dress up as a Klingon. That’s exactly what happened to a couple in England, The New York Times reports. The wife in question also accused her ex-husband of forcing her to speak to him in Klingon, too....
We’ve binged our way through ‘Serial,’ ‘The Jinx,’ ‘Making a Murderer’ and we still want more. The massive success of these criminal justice documentaries shows that there’s a huge audience for stories that track the often-overlooked workings of our criminal justice system. Since we’re not willing to just sit and wait for the next great story, we’ve decided to throw out some ideas of our own. (Documentarians, contact me and we’ll discuss royalties....
Despite California’s reputation a haven for liberal-living, the state’s 15-year-old medical marijuana law could be in jeopardy following setbacks from a state appellate court, and the promise of pot dispensary crackdowns from California’s four federal prosecutors. A California appellate court ruled this week that state law does not preempt cities or counties from implementing a marijuana dispensary ban in City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patient’s Health and Wellness Center....
Failing to appear for a court hearing can lead to some harsh legal consequences, frequently including a bench warrant, even if the original crime was banal. Normally, a bench warrant wouldn’t make the news. But this is no ordinary bench warrant. Police in Post Falls, Idaho, were shocked to receive an arrest warrant for a 9-year-old boy. What did he allegedly do to merit getting arrested? The answer: He’s accused of stealing a pack of gum....
With bar prep starting around the country, test takers are no doubt being bombarded with advice every which way they turn. Even first-time test takers share advice with each other like they know what they’re talking about. However, when it comes right down to it, there is some sage-like advice that nearly everyone can agree shouldn’t be ignored, and some of it is collected below. You have your own learning style, your own habits, your own idiosyncrasies....
Californians approved Prop. 47 to reduce sentences for certain drug and theft crimes and to allow some prisoners to petition for lesser sentences after convictions. That’s the last ruling from the California Supreme Court in People v. Valencia. But it was a hard-fought decision as the justices split 4-3 in their interpretation of the voter-approved laws. “Unreasonable Risk of Danger” Both initiatives said a judge could decide whether to reduce a sentence based on whether it would pose an “unreasonable risk of danger” to the public....
In a class action lawsuit against a manufacturer for falsely overstating in advertising and packaging the storage capacity of computer disc drives that it manufactures for public sale, trial court did not abuse its discretion in overruling a class member’s objections and approving a settlement as there are no facts that show the parties engaged in any collusion or improper conduct. However, the matter is vacated and remanded to correct the class definition to unambiguously state that indirect purchasers of new Seagate disc drives are members of the plaintiff class and to renotice the settlement in order to give adequate notice to all class members, and allow for additional claims, objections or opt outs....
What do all these people have in common: Shawn Chapman Holley, Laura Wasser, Bert Fields, Gloria Allred, Harland Braun, Tom Meserear, Blair Berk, Lisa Bloom and Marty Singer? In addition to being high-profile lawyers to the stars, they are also part of CNN.com’s 9-part series profiling celeb attorneys. The profiles, which cover the attorneys behind celebrity clients such as Lindsay Lohan and Mel Gibson, are more of an insight into life as a celeb lawyer than anything else....
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser told the D.C. Circuit that the dispute between the mayor’s office and city council over the District’s Budget Autonomy Act is now moot. The Act, a local law, grants D.C. autonomy over its locally raised funds, contrary to the dictates of the federal Home Rule Act which requires that local tax dollars be spent by the District only through congressional appropriations. Vincent Gray, Bowser’s predecessor, had refused to implement the bill, leading to the current litigation....
