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Court unlikely to allow private prison to be sued
Law Firm News |
2011/11/02 08:48
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The Supreme Court seemed unlikely on Tuesday to allow employees at a privately run federal prison to be sued by an inmate in federal court, despite his complaint that their neglect left him with two permanently damaged arms.
Justices heard appeals from lawyers representing employees of the GEO Group, formerly known as Wackenhut Corrections Corp, who work at the privately run Taft Correctional Institution in Taft, Calif. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled inmate Richard Lee Pollard could sue GEO officials for his treatment after he fell and fractured both of his elbows.
Pollard said GEO officials put him in a metal restraint that caused him pain, and refused to provide him with a splint, making his injuries worse and causing permanent impairment. He sued in federal court for money, claiming GEO officials had violated the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
The federal appeals court allowed his lawsuit against the GEO officials to move forward. Courts normally don't allow government employees to be sued in those types of lawsuits, but the high court has authorized some if constitutionally protected rights have been violated by the federal employee and there is no state court remedy. |
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Justices could talk health care cases on Nov. 10
Law Firm News |
2011/10/26 09:40
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The Supreme Court could decide as early as Nov. 10 whether to hear a challenge to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul this term.
Federal appeals court rulings on health care from Atlanta, Cincinnati and Richmond are on the agenda for the justices' private conference on Nov. 10.
If they agree then to hear any or all of those cases, the decision would be announced that day or when the court meets in public session the following Monday. Such a timetable would allow the court to hear arguments over the health care law in late March and would give the justices three months to craft their opinions.
The central issue is whether the requirement for individuals to buy insurance or pay a penalty is constitutional. |
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US appeals court upholds roadless rule in forests
Law Firm News |
2011/10/25 10:13
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A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a rule prohibiting roads on nearly 50 million acres of land in national forests across the United States, a ruling hailed by environmentalists as one of the most significant in decades.
Mining and energy companies, however, say it could limit development of natural resources such as coal, oil and natural gas.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule after lawyers for the state of Wyoming and the Colorado Mining Association contended it was a violation of the law.
Supporters of the roadless rule say the court's decision preserves areas where outdoor enthusiasts like to hunt, fish, hike and camp. It also protects water quality and wildlife habitat for grizzly bears, lynx and Pacific salmon, supporters say.
Without the roadless rule, protection of these national forests would be left to a patchwork management system that in the past resulted in millions of acres lost to logging, drilling and other industrial development, said Jane Danowitz, director of the Pew Environment Group's U.S. public lands program. |
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Indiana, Planned Parenthood in court over funding
Law Firm News |
2011/10/22 09:15
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Planned Parenthood of Indiana can end a dispute over a law that would cut some of its public funding if it became two separate entities, with one offering abortion services and the other offering general health services, an attorney for the state told a federal appeals court Thursday.
Solicitor General Thomas Fisher said during oral arguments before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago that Indiana's new law is aimed at keeping taxpayer dollars from indirectly subsidizing abortions.
He told the appeals court that Planned Parenthood of Indiana could ensure that wouldn't happen by separating its operations into two entities.
Only by separating the two can we be sure that there's no cross-subsidy, Fisher said.
Planned Parenthood's attorney, Ken Falk of the American Civil Liberties Union, told the appeals court during the 45-minute hearing that Indiana's own Medicaid agency warned state lawmakers while they were weighing the legislation that it would violate Medicaid recipients' freedom of choice by targeting the abortion provider. |
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Artists sue auction houses over royalties law
Law Firm News |
2011/10/21 09:15
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Famed New York painter Chuck Close and other artists are suing Sotheby's, Christie's and eBay, contending the auctioneers willfully violated a California law requiring royalty payments on sales of their works.
The three federal suits filed Tuesday seek class-action status to represent many other artists and demand unspecified royalties and damages — which could total hundreds of thousands of dollars given current art prices.
The suits were filed on behalf of Close — best known for his enormous photorealistic paintings — along with Los Angeles artist Laddie John Dill, and the estate of late sculptor Robert Graham. Graham's works include the ceremonial gate for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum that was commissioned for the 1984 Olympics and features nude statues modeled on some of the athletes.
A foundation of late California painter Sam Francis also is named as a plaintiff in the suits against Christie's and eBay Inc. |
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Arpaio to testify about failed investigations
Law Firm News |
2011/10/18 10:32
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The self-proclaimed toughest sheriff in America will appear in court Tuesday to testify about his failed corruption investigations against three public officials who claim the cases were trumped up.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio will testify at an ally's attorney discipline hearing at a time when a federal grand jury is investigating abuse-of-power allegations against him and the U.S. Justice Department is conducting a civil rights investigation of his immigration patrols.
The politically powerful sheriff, who is being courted by four Republican presidential hopefuls for his endorsement, will testify at former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas' attorney discipline hearing.
Arpaio wouldn't face any punishment if Thomas is found to have violated ethical rules, but the hearing could provide the first official comment from the state's legal establishment on whether the investigations were valid.
Lawyers pressing the discipline case said that the officials, judges and attorneys who crossed Arpaio and Thomas in political disputes were often targeted for investigations and, in some cases, were criminally charged. |
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