Lawyers USA Online » DC News

Supreme Court declines to hear music downloading case

Sylvia Hsieh — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:49:15 +0000

A $675,000 jury verdict against a student who illegally downloaded 30 songs from the Internet was left standing by the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to take the matter up.

Joel Tenenbaum, a 28-year-old Boston University physics student, used file-sharing software to download and distribute music on sites including
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Lawyers, lawmakers ponder limits of GPS tracking ruling

Kimberly Atkins — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:31:26 +0000

WASHINGTON – Months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the police’s use of GPS tracking devices on suspects’ cars constitutes a search for Fourth Amendment purposes, law enforcement officials, defense lawyers and lawmakers are trying to define the limits of
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Catholic groups sue over birth control mandate

Kimberly Atkins — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:33:57 +0000

WASHINGTON – In a series of lawsuits filed across the country Monday, dozens of Roman Catholic archdiocese, schools and other organizations are seeking to block the recent Health and Human Services mandate that requires most employers to cover contraception in their health care plans.

The rule has come under fire
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Parent’s years of residency not imputed to alien child

Kimberly Atkins — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:46:28 +0000

The Board of Immigration Appeals’ determination that a parent’s years of residency are not imputed to a child is a permissible construction of federal law, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled.

The first of two consolidated cases involved a Mexican national who
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Party can’t recover cost of translating documents

Pat Murphy — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:44:31 +0000

A defendant that prevailed in a personal injury case filed in federal court could not recover its costs for translating documents from Japanese to English, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 6-3 decision.

The ruling reverses a decision from
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CIVIL PRACTICE

Pat Murphy — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:39:18 +0000

A defendant that prevailed in a personal injury case filed in federal court could not recover its costs for translating documents from Japanese to English.

See “Party can’t recover cost of translating documents”

U.S. Supreme Court. » Continue Reading.

Posthumously conceived kids not entitled to benefits

Kimberly Atkins — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:39:01 +0000

The Social Security Administration reasonably interpreted federal law in determining that only children supported by a deceased wage earner in his or her lifetime are entitled to Social Security benefits, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.

Children conceived by in vitro
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SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS

Kimberly Atkins — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:40:00 +0000

Children conceived by in vitro fertilization after a wage earner’s death are not entitled to Social Security benefits – only children supported during the parent’s lifetime may collect benefits.

See “Posthumously conceived kids not entitled to benefits”

U.S. Supreme Court. Astrue v. Capato, No. 11-159. May 21,
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IMMIGRATION

Kimberly Atkins — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:00:47 +0000

The Board of Immigration Appeals’ determination that a parent’s years of residency are not imputed to a child is a permissible construction of federal law.

See “Parent’s years of residency not imputed to alien child.”

U.S. Supreme Court. Holder v. Gutierrez and Holder v. Sawyers, Nos. 10-1542
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STANDING

Kimberly Atkins — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:39:59 +0000

Do non-citizens have Article III standing to prospectively challenge a law allowing the government to obtain foreign intelligence information about them?

Clapper v. Amnesty International USA, No. 11-1025.Certiorari granted: May 21, 2012. Ruling below: 638 F.3d 118. (2nd Cir. 2010).