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An Indiana woman thought the “Unmarked Police Car” joke bumper sticker she received as a gift was pretty funny. But Indianapolis police apparently didn’t agree. Pamela Konchinsky, 56, was pulled over and claims police demanded she remove the sticker, reports The Indianapolis Star. Konchinsky is now suing the police officers, alleging they violated her constitutional rights. What’s the basis of her lawsuit? Konchinsky’s suit alleges that the officers’ actions violated her First Amendment right to freedom of speech....

Winston Connor had a sketchy law practice, at best. At worst, he was tampering with witnesses, advising prostitutes, and conspiring to distribute drugs. Oh, and soliciting murder. That last one will get you every time, especially when you ask a client to kill someone. 10 Counts Connor, 54, is facing a 10-count jury indictment in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The solicitation of murder charge is based on a telephone call with a man who is serving a life sentence for murder....

A Northern California man is suing the Blue Man Group for injuries allegedly sustained during one of the group’s concerts in June 2011 when a plastic ball was launched into the audience. Stan Michelman’s suit alleges that during the blue trio’s concert in San Francisco, “a large blue plastic or rubber like ball was thrown into the audience without warning to [Michelman],” which caused him “shock and injury to his nervous system,” reports Marin Independent Journal....

Rachel Peterson, a Michigan woman, had to bear the unfortunate circumstance that the child she was carrying was no longer viable; the fetus had no heartbeat. She decided to take a short vacation, within Michigan, to deal with the devastating loss. Her doctor prescribed misprostol to complete her miscarriage and help with the postpartum hemorrhage. However, a pharmacist at the local Meijer’s market refused to fill the prescription, based on his religious values as a Catholic, since the drug can be used in conjunction with another drug to induce abortions....

Oh, the halcyon days of Winter, 2014-2015. Back when we could luxuriate in the hilarity of erotic fiction starring an NFL player without worrying about who the hell those two people were on the cover and why they were there. Never Judge a Book … Now we must all confront the harsh reality of unwittingly being featured on the cover of a “less than tasteful and … offensive” book, a book that was the “source of ribald humor on The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live as well as displayed and read before the press at media day for the Super Bowl....

The Second District decided a criminal matter involving a commitment offense, a high school student’s suit under hate crime laws and defamation and a homeowner’s property tax exemption under the corporate alter ego theory. In People v. Townsend, No. B216325, the court faced a challenge to a judgment committing a defendant to the Department of Mental Health or Treatment as an MDO following his conviction of possession of Molotov cocktails. As stated in the decision: “A defendant may be committed as an MDO if his commitment offense 1) was a crime ‘in which the prisoner used force or violence, or caused serious bodily injury,’” or 2) was ‘a crime involving an implied threat to use force or violence likely to produce substantial physical harm....

People v. Int’l Fid. Ins., Co., No. G042328, concerned a challenge to the trial court’s denial of a motion to vacate a forfeiture and exonerate bail in a prosecution of defendant for attempted murder and other crimes. In affirming, the court held that the trial court did not err in denying the motion as, although defendant was subject to a greater potential maximum penalty under the first amended information than he had been under the original complaint, the charges in the first amended information were based on the same acts alleged in the complaint....

A former student at Stonehill College, a Catholic university in Massachusetts, has sued the school over that which plagues many a college student: Loud roommate sex. Lindsay Blankmeyer is accusing the school of violating the Rehabilitation Act and the federal Fair Housing Act. Her roommate sex lawsuit claims the school denied her a reasonable accommodation when it refused to move her into a quiet, single room. You see, Blankmeyer’s roommate was allegedly having a lot of sex while she was trying to sleep....

Many people dream about finding a bag of money on the street. But three college roommates in New York lived that dream and then some: They found bubblewrapped envelopes stuffed inside the pillows of their couch filled with $41,000 in cash. But along with the money, New York’s WCBS-TV reports, the trio also found a woman’s name printed on one of the envelopes. Would you try to track down the woman or keep the money?...

Hacker v. US, 09-1527, concerned a challenge to the the U.S. Court of International Trade’s affirmance of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) denial of the application for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) cash benefits by grape farmers. In affirming, the court held that the USDA correctly rejected petitioners’ application for TAA cash benefits because they did not experience an “overall loss” in farm income between 2003 and 2004. Further, even assuming that the USDA had any obligations to consider whether a TAA applicant’s net farm income had declined when calculated on an accrual rather than a cash basis, petitioners did not submit the supporting documentation required by 7 C....

Holiday office parties are notorious for obnoxious, inappropriate behavior. We remember the days when we were greedy associates, hearing about all the scandals that happened at the previous years’ office party. Believe us, you don’t want to become part of the holiday office party lore at your firm. But look, you’ve got billables, so to help you out, we’ve narrowed it down to just three “don’ts.” Here are three things you should avoid at all cost to prevent becoming part of the holiday office party legends:...

Au contraire, Mrs. Cain. The rankings matter far more than you think. For you, dear 0L, the most important thing should be money. How much of a scholarship can you squeeze out of the school? After all, you better be pre-JD because of your desire to help people or love for the learned profession – not to get rich quick. The current and near-future job market makes paying back hefty student loans and building wealth a dubious proposition....

Law schools have seen better days. Applications to law school continue to plummet, according to data from the Law School Admission Council, and the quality of applicants has declined apace. Lower enrollment has lead to lower law school income, leading to cuts in staff and – what was once unthinkable – even reductions in tuition rates. Will law schools be able to turn their fortunes around? Law school enrollment is set to hit its lowest point in recent memory....

You like to get back to colleagues quickly. You don’t like things piling up. You’re aiming for the legendary “Inbox Zero.” So when you get an email, you reply ASAP. Maybe you shouldn’t. Taking a few seconds before clicking a link, opening a file, or hitting reply could keep you from getting hacked. A 2015 Verizon study looked at responses to 150,000 emails and found that corporate lawyers were the easiest to phish....

When it comes to protecting animal rights, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals doesn’t monkey around. Their message is simple: “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment.” Oh, and they should have access to intellectual property rights, too. Yep, according to a PETA lawsuit in San Francisco, animals should have the ability to copyright works they create. In particular, PETA is looking to have a macaque monkey who took a world-famous selfie declared copyright owner of the photos....

In a Title VII action alleging that Defendant racially discriminated against Plaintiff in placing her on probation, Plaintiff’s appeal is dismissed, where there was no final judgment from which Plaintiff could have appealed at the time she filed a notice of appeal. Read Robinson-Reeder v. Am. Coun. on Educ., No. 08-7028 Appellate Information Argued May 11, 2009 Decided July 17, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Garland Counsel For Appellant: Christopher Cuneo, Howrey LLP, Washington DC...

The Federal Circuit addressed an issue of pure statutory construction in this case, where it had to determine the meaning of “competitive basis” under the Workforce Investment Act. The Workforce Investment Act (“WIA”) allows the Department of Labor (“DOL”) to run the Job Corps program to educate and train at-risk youth to “become more responsible, employable, and productive citizens.” Res-Care, Inc. (“Res-Care”) operated the Blue Ridge Job Corps facility since 1998, and its contract was set to expire on March 31, 2013....

Coleman Martin, a 29-year-old Texas cop, was recently arrested after his fake suicide plot was discovered. Coincidentally, a few weeks after fleeing the country, he was flying through Texas from Colombia, and he was detained and arrested at the airport on misdemeanor false alarm charges (similar to yelling fire in a crowded theater). Martin had led his wife to believe that he planned to drown himself. His wife, on April 25, called police, which found a suicide note in his car, next to a lake....

When it comes to the Juris Doctorate, do you get what you pay for? That’s a loaded question, obviously. Some might argue that with current job market, no one is getting what they paid for. That’s why, if you’re looking at joining the Class of 2017, the cost of your degree should be one of your biggest considerations (right next to graduates’ success in the job market). What are the five cheapest schools?...

After serving your country and coming back – what do you do now? Many veterans actually find it hard to land a job in the private sector. But law schools are reaching out to the new market of veterans, crafting legal education programs specifically designed for the needs (and restrictions) of veterans. Here are three things veterans should know about particularized law school programs and veterans in the legal community:...