ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE 
Published: May 20, 2013
Tags: U.S. Supreme Court
Does a legislative prayer practice violate the Establishment Clause notwithstanding the absence of discrimination in the selection of prayer-givers or forbidden exploitation of the prayer opportunity?
See “Court takes up constitutionality of town meeting prayer.”
Town of Greece v. Galloway, No. 12-696.Certiorari granted: May 20, 2013.
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HHS proposes tougher child care safety measures
Published: May 17, 2013
Tags: child care, Department of Health and Human Services, federal agencies, safety
WASHINGTON – New proposed regulations would impose stricter safety requirements on child care providers who receive federal funding.
Supreme Court treads carefully in patent ruling
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: May 15, 2013
Tags: agricultural engineering, first sale doctrine, patent exhastion, patents, U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court’s surgically narrow ruling prohibiting a farmer from using seeds harvested from patented herbicide-resistant soybeans has left lawyers with more questions than answers about the extent of patent owners’ rights in other emerging, self-replicating technologies.
INDIGENT DEFENSE
Published: May 13, 2013
Tags: U.S. Supreme Court
Did the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals err in holding that the in forma pauperis statute prohibits indigent plaintiffs from amending their complaints?
Burnside v. Walters, No. 12-7892.Certiorari granted: May 13, 2013. Ruling below: Unpublished, 2012.
FEDERAL PREEMPTION
Published: May 13, 2013
Tags: U.S. Supreme Court
The Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 does not preempt state-law claims stemming from the storage and disposal of a towed vehicle.
U.S. Supreme Court. Dan’s City Used Cars, Inc. v. Pelkey, No. 12-52. May 13, 2013. Lawyers USA No. 993-3993.
Report: Patent pools may stifle competition
Published: May 10, 2013
Tags: antitrust, competition, Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, patent law, patent pools
WASHINGTON – Patent pools, designed to spur innovation and reduce the cost of litigation, may actually be having anticompetitive effects according to a report released by the former competition policy director for the Federal Trade Commission.
Circuit court strikes down NLRB notice posting rule
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: May 8, 2013
Tags: DC Circuit, First Amendment, labor law, National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, notice posting rule
WASHINGTON – A federal appellate court has struck down the National Labor Relations Board’s controversial notice posting rule, the latest in a series of blows to the agency that has been mired in legal controversy.
NLRB advice on confidential investigations has lawyers reading tea leaves
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: May 8, 2013
Tags: confidentiality, federal agencies, National Labor Relations Act, NLRB
WASHINGTON – The employment bar was roiled last year when the National Labor Relations Board ruled that a company policy requiring employees to keep interviews related to internal investigations confidential violated federal labor law.
But since then, the agency has been informally placing limits on that holding by issuing advice memoranda suggesting that companies can make reasonable case-by-case judgments about whether confidentiality is necessary — and attorneys have been eyeing them closely for guidance on how to advise clients.
Businesses sue IRS in challenge to employer health insurance mandate rule
Published: May 2, 2013
Tags: Affordable Care Act, Congress, congressional authority, federal court, Internal Revenue Service
WASHINGTON – A group of small businesses have filed a lawsuit challenging a rule imposed by the Internal Revenue Service under the federal health care law, alleging that the agency exceeded its authority by expanding the law’s employer mandate.
Warrantless blood test ruling gives defense bar new ammo
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: May 1, 2013
Tags: blood alcohol content, Fourth Amendment, U.S. Supreme Court, warrantless search
WASHINGTON – The effect of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling rejecting a per se rule allowing warrantless blood testing in suspected drunken driving cases will be felt far beyond DUI cases, defense attorneys said.
