Roberts Court takes narrow road to right
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. led a Court this term that often served up half-loaves for liberals and conservatives, businesses and consumers alike. The justices faced momentous shifts in Court doctrine on issues ranging from the Voting Rights Act to the exclusionary rule, campaign finance to the constitutionality of workplace affirmative action, and then stepped back from the precipice.
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Term's five key bias decisions were mixed
Twenty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rewrote the textbook on employment discrimination law through an aggressive series of rulings limiting the rights of employees with job bias claims. Congress retaliated with the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Could the just-ended high court term trigger a Civil Rights Act of 2009?
Immigration docket all tied up in knots
Lawyers in Los Angeles involved in representing immigrants seeking permanent residency in the United States are increasingly frustrated with multiple governmental agencies that often don't coordinate with one another. The problem, they said, is particularly acute in Los Angeles, which has more immigration judges than any other region and a noticeably crowded docket. But, as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reasoned in a recent decision, a busy calendar alone isn't necessarily enough reason to deny a continuance.
Appeals over patents skyrocket in 2009
The economic doldrums may be slowing patent filing work for intellectual property specialists, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's increasingly stingy patent allowance rate is boosting back-end work for lawyers at the agency's appeals board.
Supreme Court says states can regulate national banks
State attorneys general won a major turf war in the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29 as the justices held that states may enforce their anti-discrimination and consumer protection laws against national banks. The high court, in a 5-4 ruling, struck down a regulation issued by the chief federal regulator of national banks that pre-empted the states' power to enforce those laws.
Judge loses effort to collect from insurance company
A Massachusetts federal judge ruled that former state court judge Ernest B. Murphy can't collect $6.8 million from the Boston Herald's insurance company. Murphy demanded the payment from the insurance company after winning a libel lawsuit against the Herald and collecting $3.4 million.
A long-distance ceremony for new lawyer stationed in Iraq
In a what's believed to be a first of its kind swearing-in ceremony for a lawyer, a Michigan soldier in Iraq became an attorney on Thursday via a live video conference, taking his oath before a judge who was more than 6,300 miles away.
Illinois revises code of conduct for lawyers
The Illinois Supreme Court announced this week that it has adopted new and revised rules of professional conduct for lawyers licensed to practice in the state, adding guidelines on Web advertising, the sale of a firm, and even sex with clients.
