Category: Courts

Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Torts

Citizen Files Lawsuit Alleging Police Stopped And Unlawfully Searched His Vehicle For Marijuana Based On Colorado License Plate

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Idaho State Police Shoulder PatchAccording to Courthouse News an Idaho state trooper arrested and searched a 70-year-old Washington man solely because of his license plate from Colorado, where marijuana is legal, the man claims in a federal lawsuit.

Darien Roseen lives in Washington and has a second home in Colorado. He was driving east on I-84 the morning of Jan. 25, 2013, and had just crossed the Idaho-Oregon Border, when he passed Idaho State Police Trooper Justin Klitch, who was in the median observing eastbound traffic. “Immediately after Mr. Roseen passed his location, Trooper Klitch pulled out from the Interstate median, rapidly accelerating to catch up with Mr. Roseen’s vehicle,” according to the 25-page complaint. Roseen, who is retired from Weyerhauser, says he changed from the right lane to the left, and exited the Interstate to a designated rest area. Klitch followed him to the parking lot, which Roseen says made him “uncomfortable,” though “he did not perceive that he had done anything wrong.”

Continue reading “Citizen Files Lawsuit Alleging Police Stopped And Unlawfully Searched His Vehicle For Marijuana Based On Colorado License Plate” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Free Speech, International, Media, Society

Turkish Courts Rule Against Government By Reversing Two Twitter Bans

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Flag of TurkeyTwitter LogoWe recently reported of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan’s effort to silence the social media service Twitter to repress dissent within Turkey. HERE. Now, the courts in Turkey are beginning to reverse some of these efforts. Turkish Twitter users are expected to regain access to the microblogging platform after a local court issued a stay of execution on last week’s decision by a local telecommunications authority to ban the website.

According to some local media reports, the ban will be lifted as soon as the administrative court in Ankara informs Turkey’s Telecommunications Authority of the ruling.

In a first official remark, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arinç said the Turkish government would implement the court ruling. “We will implement the court’s decision. We might not like the court decision, but we will carry it out,” he told reporters.

Continue reading “Turkish Courts Rule Against Government By Reversing Two Twitter Bans” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice

Police Department Sued Over Alleged Harassment Of Citizen Posting Speed Trap Warning

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Speed Trap Warning SignAn Oklahoma citizen took his small town’s police department to federal court, claiming police clamped down on him when he put a sign on the curb warning of a speed trap ahead.

James Goad, of Meeker, Oklahoma, says the harassment that followed his action amounted to a violation of his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. In the suit against the Meeker Police Department and Police Chief Sam Byrd, Goad claims police arrested him and violated his civil rights to get back at him for his sign stunt.

“Mr. Goad was exercising his constitutional right to free speech when he posted the speed trap warning sign on the property,” Goad’s attorney, Jack Dawson, wrote.

Continue reading “Police Department Sued Over Alleged Harassment Of Citizen Posting Speed Trap Warning” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society

Fifth Circuit Upholds Texas Abortion Restrictions In Major Ruling With Supreme Court Potential

Edith-Jones-Judge-Edith-H-Jones-Edith-Hollan-JonesWhile predicting that a case will be accepted by the Supreme Court is a dubious form of fortune-telling (I just had a case denied review this week), the decision yesterday in the Fifth Circuit upholding the Texas law imposing restrictions on abortion clinics has the highest possible chances for such a review. It could also represent a major opportunity for those seeking to limit the pro-choice cases extending back to Roe v. Wade. The decision (written by Judge Edith Jones) is Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas v. Abbott, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 5696.

Continue reading “Fifth Circuit Upholds Texas Abortion Restrictions In Major Ruling With Supreme Court Potential” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Lawyering, Society, Torts

A Question of “Donning and Doffing” or Just Dumbing Down? Posner Rejects Workers’ Appeal Citing Videotaped “Experiment” By Court Staff Disproving Key Allegation

US-CourtOfAppeals-7thCircuit-SealposnerDespite my great respect for Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner (whose brilliant writings on legal theory have shaped much of modern jurisprudence), I have recently had occasion to criticize his conduct on the bench (here and here). I am afraid that an opinion this week raises yet another troubling example of poor judgment by Posner. In an opinion in Mitchell v. JCG Industries and Koch Foods, Posner included an account of an experiment by court staff that tested a core factual issue presented by the Plaintiffs — the time needed to change into work clothes. The reliance — to any degree — on such an experiment violates core rules of appellate review and is correctly identified by fellow Seventh Circuit judge Diane Wood as a highly disturbing element to the decision supporting the company. What is odd is that this experiment with “donning” and “doffing” only undermined an otherwise well-considered opinion (even though many would still disagree with its conclusion).

Continue reading “A Question of “Donning and Doffing” or Just Dumbing Down? Posner Rejects Workers’ Appeal Citing Videotaped “Experiment” By Court Staff Disproving Key Allegation” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Supreme Court, Uncategorized

The United States Supreme Court of the Chamber of Commerce

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contributor

This session the record is 7-1.  Since October of 2011, the record is 28 wins and 4 losses. That is a record that any team would be proud of and evidence of a significant amount of work and effort to improve its performance on the court.  However, I am not talking about any particular basketball team currently involved in March Madness and the upcoming NCAA Men’s Basketball tourney.

I am talking about the record a team called The United States Chamber of Commerce has in cases it has argued or filed a brief in front of the Supreme Court.  Even Coach K or Coach Izzo would be jealous of that record. Continue reading “The United States Supreme Court of the Chamber of Commerce” →

Animals, Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Things That Tick Me Off

81 Year Old Woman Jailed Two Days For Allegedly Violating Pet Ordinance

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Mary RootIn an outrageous lack of discretion,  some members in the animal control and court system in Havre de Grace, Maryland put 81 year old great grandmother Mary Root through a harrowing ordeal.

Mary Root says her pets somehow got loose from her yard several times. A neighbor took pictures of the dogs running down the street and reported her to Animal Control.
The agency slapped Root with a $7,000 fine or she could spend nearly a year in jail.

“I’m struggling to pay my house taxes. I couldn’t pay it. It’s a different thing when you leave your dogs out and you don’t care. But I do care,” Root said. But when the cancer survivor failed to show up at court on her doctor’s orders, a judge had Root arrested.

She was booked, fingerprinted and issued a striped jumpsuit. She waited to see a judge in a cell without her cancer medication.
Continue reading “81 Year Old Woman Jailed Two Days For Allegedly Violating Pet Ordinance” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society

CIA Acting General Counsel Accused Of Attempted Intimidation Of Staffers Investigating His Role in Alleged Torture Program

225px-dianne_feinstein_official_senate_photoCIAWe have previously discussed the irony of Senator Dianne Feinstein expressing outrage over the fact that her staff was subject to warrantless CIA surveillance. Feinstein’s outrage over the spying on her staff is only matched by her lack of outrage over the spying on the rest of America. However, she does have an good point to raise with regard to the role of one lawyer who seems to be dancing along the edge of both ethical and legal standards. He is the acting CIA general counsel Robert Eatinger who is believed to have played a large role in the programs and actions under investigation. Eatinger is well known to civil libertarians as someone involved in past abuses by the agency.

Continue reading “CIA Acting General Counsel Accused Of Attempted Intimidation Of Staffers Investigating His Role in Alleged Torture Program” →

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

THE FOURTH ESTATE: FIFTY YEARS AFTER NEW YORK TIMES V. SULLIVAN

220px-Nytimes_hqSupreme CourtBelow is a longer version of my column that ran today in USA Today. The column was originally written for a longer format but had to be reduced to fight the page. The column looks at state of the Fourth Estate on the 50th anniversary of the decision in New York Times v. Sullivan. I do not wish to understate the threat against the media in 1964 but it is hard to overstate the threat against the media in 2014.

Continue reading “THE FOURTH ESTATE: FIFTY YEARS AFTER NEW YORK TIMES V. SULLIVAN” →

Animals, Courts, Lawyering

Pennsylvania Officer Seeks Continuance Based on Death Of His K9 Partner . . . Judge Declares Reason To Be Invalid And Dismisses Drug Case

getimage.aspxThere is a disturbing story out of Folcroft, Pennsylvania where Senior Magisterial District Judge Horace Z. Davis refused a prosecutor’s repeated request for a continuance in a drug case because of the death of “Umberto,” the K9 partner of Folcroft police Cpl. Christopher Eiserman. Eiserman was mourning the loss of his companion (who had hip dysplasia and arthritis) but Davis ruled that it was no basis for a continuance.

Continue reading “Pennsylvania Officer Seeks Continuance Based on Death Of His K9 Partner . . . Judge Declares Reason To Be Invalid And Dismisses Drug Case” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Free Speech, Lawyering

“Geauxjudge”: Arkansas Judge Withdraws From Appellate Race After Being Outed As Anonymous Poster

article-charlize8n-5-0307There is an interesting controversy in Arkansas where Circuit Judge Mike Maggio was revealed as an anonymous commenter known as “geauxjudge.” After being outed from online sites, Maggio apologized and withdrew from a race for the appellate court. The controversy however raises the question of whether such comments should be a subject for ethical discipline and whether judges should have the right to comment anonymously on such sites.

Continue reading ““Geauxjudge”: Arkansas Judge Withdraws From Appellate Race After Being Outed As Anonymous Poster” →

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Society

Predicting Crime and Criminals — “Minority Report” Or Good Policing?

By Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor

Caught By Computer? Scotty Patterson
Caught By Computer? Scottie Patterson

Lucky or just good? That’s what police in Madison, Wisconsin are wondering after crime analyst,  Caleb Klebig, successfully predicted the date and time of Scottie T. Patterson’s, 28, latest and last bank heist. Using data from other similar robberies, Klebig estimated that the then unknown Patterson would hit his next bank on a Wednesday or Thursday between 2 and  7 p.m. He narrowed the field of potential targets to five banks in greater Madison. Police staked out the banks and, sure enough, Patterson arrived right on cue at  2:40 p.m. on Wednesday.  Confronted by the seemingly omniscient detectives while exiting the bank with the loot, Patterson made a break for it but was captured behind a nearby shopping center. Continue reading “Predicting Crime and Criminals — “Minority Report” Or Good Policing?” →

Congress, Courts, International, Justice, Military, Politics, Science, Society, Uncategorized

Time to Clean House at J-PAC?

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contributor

As the son of a fallen Air Force pilot whose remains were never found, I am sensitive to the plight of family members of servicemen and women whose remains may be recoverable, but yet are still not identified.  There are multiple military and defense department agencies who are responsible for locating and identifying the remains of veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam and Cold War missions.

The purpose of this article is to examine the efforts of just one of those agencies.  The Joint Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Accounting Command, or J-PAC, is an example of an agency that is crucial to both locating and identifying remains, but because of bureaucratic constraints, outdated methods and the possible stubbornness of its scientific head, has produced very little results at a very expensive cost to the taxpayers. Continue reading “Time to Clean House at J-PAC?” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Media

Washington Supreme Court Rules Citizens Have Right To Privacy In Text Messaging

Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Text MessagingIn two precedent setting rulings, the Washington Supreme Court expanded the privacy expectation of text messages on both statutory and unlawful search and seizure grounds.

Washington’s Supreme Court Ruled on February 27th the people have a right to privacy in text messages even if the person cannot be certain someone is reading them the court held. In State v. Jonathan Nicholas Roden the defendant asked the court to decide whether Washington’s privacy act protects text messages intercepted by a detective who possessed the intended recipient’s cell phone after a warrantless seizure. In State v. Hinton the court held that a text message conversation was a “Private Affair” protected from warrantless searches as enacted in Article I Section 7 of the Washington Constitution.
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Academia, Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Society, Torts

Former Vice-Principal To File Lawsuit Against Catholic Church Over Termination For Gay Marriage

Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend ContributorEastside Catholic Church Logo

Mark Zmuda announced he is suing Eastside Catholic school and the Seattle Archdioceses for wrongful termination after he legally married his male partner. The case stems from his employment as vice-principal to the school was satisfactory for years and that after he announced he had married his male partner, he was given an ultimatum to divorce his spouse or his employment with the school would be terminated. Mark refused to divorce and was fired.

Employment Attorney, Jeffrey Needle, stated the case is likely to go to the appellate courts and potential the state supreme court for its precedent setting nature. The church counters Mark’s claim, proffering its status as a religious organization which holds tenets that bar gay marriage. However, a recent state supreme court decision might prove difficult for the church to support that position.
Continue reading “Former Vice-Principal To File Lawsuit Against Catholic Church Over Termination For Gay Marriage” →