National

High Court Holds Steady On Congressional Districts Population, At Least For Now

April 4, 2016 By CCM Staff

A Texas redistricting plan based on the old — and now upheld — principle of counting everyone. Photo Credit Vox report, 4/3/16

Vox has published the best “explainer” so far on that Texas lawsuit over how states can set up congressional districts, noting that the issue got a rare 8-0 decision out of the usually divided (on big issues, at least) US Supreme Court. The website nots that the case, Evenwel v. Abbott, concerned a “… proposal to change who got counted in drawing up congressional districts — which would have given more political power to largely white areas while reducing the power of heavily Hispanic and Asian-American ones.”

It’s a demographic concern. More white Americans are over 18 and thus can vote, so it becomes a question on how to count people who are not qualified to vote because they are too young. Texas started out as defending the current process, then more or less joined the other side of the lawsuit. Vox also explains how the decision also sets up the next round of similar debates.

Read the nicely researched story here:
The Supreme Court just shut down the demographic equivalent of gerrymandering

Filed Under: Community, National

Supreme Court Backs Colorado, Nixes Neighboring State’s Lawsuit

March 31, 2016 By CCM Staff

The U.S. Supreme Court this week handed pro-marijuana states a 6-2 victory against litigation from neighboring non-marijuana states. Nebraska and Oklahoma argued that Colorado’s law violates the federal Controlled Substances Act, which treats marijuana as a dangerous drug and forbids its sale or use. They urged the Supreme Court to take up the issue as an “original” matter and declare that Colorado’s law was preempted by the federal drug laws.

The Los Angeles Times explains that “… usually, the high court hears appeals from lower-court rulings. But on rare occasions, the justices are called upon to decide disputes between states. Typically, however, these ‘original’ suits involve disagreements over boundaries or the use of river water that flows from one state to another.

The Times also noted that “… the suit brought by Nebraska and Oklahoma also implicitly challenged the Obama administration for its refusal to intervene more directly in Colorado.
Since California’s voters in 1996 authorized medical use of marijuana, 22 other states have adopted similar measures. Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska went further and allowed for the production and sale of marijuana for recreational use.”

“The state of Colorado authorizes, oversees, protects and profits from a sprawling $100-million-per-month marijuana growing, processing and retailing organization that exported thousands of pounds of marijuana to some 36 states in 2014,” the states argued. “If this entity were based south of our border, the federal government would prosecute it as a drug cartel.”

Read the Times report here:
Supreme Court rejects challenge to Colorado marijuana law from other states

Filed Under: Cannabis in the Courts, Community, National Tagged With: Cannabis in the courts, Colorado, community Tags: marijuana, marijuana legalization, Supreme Court

CBS Details Route To ‘Debtor Prison’ In U.S.

March 28, 2016 By CCM Staff

Starting with the story of a Georgia teenager who spent five days in jail for an illegal left-hand turn, the CBS News “Market Watch” program is outlining how the civil-case to jail-case route actually happens. It turns out that the 19-year-old driver could not pay $838 quickly enough. Eventually, a lawsuit over the case was reportedly settled for $70,000, but CBS says the practice remains common nationally.

Of course, the poster child for the practice, and what it can trigger, is Ferguson, MO, where the city’s finance director famously offered advice to the police chief in a March 2010 letter, warning that “unless ticket writing ramps up significantly before the end of the year,” the city faced a budget shortfall, said Norquist. He added that a state lawmaker had told him police officers would get little notices along with their paychecks, warning: “If we don’t get more tickets, there won’t be pay increases.”

Read about the new American debtor’s prison here: How you could go to debtors’ prison in the U.S.

Filed Under: Community, National Tagged With: ACLU, debtors' prison, Department of Justice, Ferguson

Asbestos Bankruptcy Settlement, Conflicts & Racketeering Clouds Loom

March 22, 2016 By CCM Staff

In the latest HuffPo piece by Courts Monitor Publisher, Sara Warner, she writes about Garlock’s asbestos bankruptcy settlement which has multiple implications for the $10 billion per year asbestos-lawsuit industry:

“In the insular world of civil litigation, watershed events usually arrive on an installment plan, trickling in at the pace of… well, at the pace of civil litigation. Yet, sometimes disruption arrives quickly, like last week’s landmark settlement agreement between a North Carolina gasket maker called Garlock Sealing Technologies and asbestos victims’ attorneys.

While the ink has yet to dry and the court has not considered, let alone approved, of the deal, the nation’s asbestos litigation community quickly noted that the announced settlement not only addresses the precedent-setting bankruptcy case but seems to include multiple civil racketeering allegations against high-profile plaintiff’s firms.”

Head-Trauma Cases Eyed As ‘Tidal Wave’ Headed To Courts

March 15, 2016 By CCM Staff

Bloomberg Legal has an in-depth analysis of head-trauma cases likely to head into U.S. courts, and one expert says it will be a “tidal wave,” but not just the NFL and pro athletes will be involved. Instead, pointing to a recently settled California case and other indicators, the observers from academia and the front lines say youth sports will become a bigger deal.

The report notes that “… repetitive head trauma often begins in youth sports, and the impact on young brains may be the key to future sports concussion litigation, the lawyers say. Developments in chronic brain injury diagnosis may also raise the odds of suits by youth and adult amateur players against equipment manufacturers, schools and non-profit sports leagues.”

The California case cited in the report “… involves claims by the parents of a quadriplegic youth football player that Pop Warner league coaches trained their son to tackle with his helmet, increasing the likelihood of severe injury (Dixon v. Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc., Cal. Super. Ct., No. BC526842, filed, 11/5/13).” The case was recently resolved in a confidential settlement for an undisclosed amount.

Filed Under: Community, National Tagged With: concussions, courts news, head trauma, litigation, NFL, youth sports

Wisconsin High Court Asks For Study On ‘Civil Gideon’ Options

February 24, 2016 By CCM Staff

Saying it recognizes that thousands of its citizens are unable to afford legal services in civil cases, the Wisconsin Supreme Court is asking the state Joint Legislative Council to study how to improve legal access for those who cannot afford a lawyers. The Council’s role is to establish special committees to study major issues and recommend legislation every two years.

The Wisconsin Bar Association website reports that “… the court notes it has considered several other rule changes over the years to increase access to civil legal services, including a so-called Civil Gideon petition, which would require courts to appoint counsel in certain civil cases. The court acknowledged the need for increased legal services but did not approve the Civil Gideon petition for lack of funding. Funding remains an issue for the court system.” The “Civil Gideon” movement, led by programs in San Francisco and New York, is the idea that certain civil cases should include a right to an attorney similar to that provided criminal defendants. It is named after a landmark case that made criminal representation the law of the land.

In its press release last week. the court noted that one objective of a proposed Wisconsin Joint Legislative Council study committee would be to “brainstorm other possible sources of assistance and help to plan the most effective means of delivering services.” Read more at the WisBar website: State Supreme Court Seeks Legislative Study on Access to Civil Legal Services.

Filed Under: Community, National Tagged With: Civil gideon, civil legal services, right to an attorney, Wisconsin Bar Association, Wisconsin Supreme Court

Justice Scalia Was Leader In Civil Justice Decisions

February 16, 2016 By CCM Staff

Photo Credit: The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on Saturday in Washington, DC, following the announcement of the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
NPR report, 2/15/16

The political and criminal-law fallout from the sudden death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is, of course, being widely discussed as President Obama prepares to nominate a successor. But NPR has done a good job at detailing a half-dozen cases that really illustrate how much Justice Scalia sculpted the modern civil litigation landscape.

For example, remember the huge Wal-Mart lawsuit over treatment of female workers? NPR backgrounded the case: “The issue before the Supreme Court was whether female employees as a group could be certified as a single class, suing Wal-Mart at a single trial. Lawyers for the women introduced evidence showing that female employees held two-thirds of the lowest-level hourly jobs at Wal-Mart, but only one-third of the management jobs, and that women overall were paid on average $1.16 per hour less than men in the same jobs, though the women had more seniority and higher performance ratings.”

Scalia was widely noted as a reason Wal-Mart prevailed in its appeal to the high court. Other cases of illustration, like Hobby Lobby and Citizen’s United, can be found here: 6 Major Supreme Court Cases That Would Have Been Different Without Scalia

Filed Under: Community, Events, National Tagged With: Courts, Justice Antonin Scalia, Legal news, U.S. Supreme Court

Justice Dept. Suing Ferguson Over Failure To Make Changes

February 11, 2016 By CCM Staff

Photo of Michael Brown Sr., right, at a City Council meeting in Ferguson, Mo., from a New York Times report, 2/10/16, “Department of Justice Sues Ferguson, Which Reversed Course on Agreement”

The U.S. Justice Department is suing the town of Ferguson over its refusal to make changes in how its police and justice system operates. Ferguson, of course, is the St. Louis suburb that been the focus of a national protest over police behavior since 18-year-old Michael Brown was killed in a police shooting there is 2014. Among other problems, the city’s court system was an example of how “civil” infractions like traffic tickets could become criminal charges if court dates, fines or other procedural milestones were missed. A federal report found that the police were acting more or less as a profit-generating system for the town’s budget.

Read about the lawsuit in a very solid New York Times story.

Filed Under: Community, National Tagged With: civil court, Ferguson, Michael Brown, US Justice Department

PROGRAMMING NOTE

February 11, 2016 By CCM Staff

Courts Monitor Publisher Sara Warner has written about a dangerous type of natural gas pipe that’s found in millions of American homes. It’s the focus of proposed changes in Lubbock, Texas where the mother of a man killed in a fire blamed on the pipe addressed the city council. It’s at The Huffington Post here: Victim’s Mom Questions Delay on Lubbock CSST Gas Line Reform.

Filed Under: Community, National Tagged With: Brennan Teel, CSST, Gas Line reform, Lubbock TX

Obama’s ‘Clean Plants’ Order Headed For Fast Supreme Court Decision

January 29, 2016 By CCM Staff

Litigation over President Obama’s climate-change order, “Clean Plants,” is headed for an emergency decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. The plan requires a 32 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and is being opposed by 25 states, mostly Republican-led with Texas and West Virginia leading the way. But California and and about a dozen other states, mostly Democratic, are supporting the move by the EPA.

David G. Savage, writing in the Los Angeles Times, explains that the GOP-led side of the lawsuit is seeking an emergency decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to halt implementation of the new rule pending their legal battle. A District of Columbia court recently refused to do so, leading to the emergency appeal to the higher court.

Savage said that Chief Justice Roberts has asked for a response by Feb. 4 from the president’s lawyers and will likely refer the matter to the full court. While there’s no deadline, he added, the justices usually act in a few weeks on such emergency orders.

Read the full report here: Supreme Court is urged to halt Obama’s climate change rules.

Filed Under: Community, National Tagged With: Chief Justice Roberts, Clean Plants, climate change order, EPA, President Obama, US Supreme Court