Recent Updates
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Appeals court dismisses nuclear waste suit
Lawyer Blogs 07/01/2011The Obama administration won a legal battle Friday in the long-standing fight over where to bury the nation's nuclear waste, but it's not likely to be the last.The federal appeals court in Washington ruled against South Carolina, Washington state and...
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Google Wi-Fi snooping lawsuits can proceed
Lawyer Blogs 07/01/2011A federal judge has refused Google's plea to dismiss several class-action lawsuits accusing the Internet search giant of illegally collecting online information from unencrypted wireless networks while working on its "Street View" map feature. Google...
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High court undoes Scalia's pro-tobacco order
Lawyer Blogs 06/30/2011Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia exercised a rarely used power last fall to let Philip Morris USA and three other big tobacco companies delay making multimillion-dollar payments for a program to help people quit smoking.Scalia, a cigarette smoker...
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High court to rule on FCC indecency policy
Lawyer Blogs 06/29/2011The Supreme Court will take up the First Amendment fight over what broadcasters can put on the airwaves when young children may be watching television. The justices said Monday they will review appeals court rulings that threw out the Federal Communi...
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State seeks dismissal of Smart kidnapper charges
Lawyer Blogs 06/29/2011Prosecutors have asked a judge to dismiss state charges against Elizabeth Smart's kidnapper after the man was convicted in federal court and sentenced to life in prison.Brian David Mitchell was sentenced May 25 to two life sentences without parole fo...
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Idaho landowners to get high court hearing
Lawyer Blogs 06/28/2011The Supreme Court has agreed to consider the rights of landowners when confronted with an order from the Environmental Protection Agency that they are violating the federal Clean Water Act.The justices on Tuesday added the case of Idaho property owne...
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US top court upholds $270 million award to smokers
Lawyer Blogs 06/28/2011The US Supreme Court rejected an appeal request made by American tobacco companies on Monday in a class-action lawsuit that awarded 500,000 smokers a total of $270 million in damages.Without comment, the highest US court dismissed the appeal of a 200...
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High court strikes down Ariz. campaign finance law
Lawyer Blogs 06/27/2011The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a provision of a campaign financing system in Arizona that gives extra cash to publicly funded candidates who face privately funded rivals and independent groups. The 5-4 ruling is the latest in a series of dec...
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Court: Calif. Can't Ban Violent Video Game Sales
Lawyer Blogs 06/27/2011The high court agreed Monday with a federal court's decision to throw out California's ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Sacramento said the law violated minors' rights under the Firs...
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FTC opens inquiry into Google's business practices
Lawyer Blogs 06/25/2011Federal regulators have begun a formal antitrust investigation into Google's business practices.In a blog post Friday, the Internet search giant said it received notification from the Federal Trade Commission of the review on Thursday.Google said "it...
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N.Y. governor signs gay marriage into law
Lawyer Blogs 06/25/2011Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed New York's gay marriage bill, starting what is expected to be a crush of gay weddings starting in 30 days. The Democratic governor signed the measure shortly before midnight Friday, following up on a promise to put his na...
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Judge orders investigators to give Clemens notes
Lawyer Blogs 06/24/2011The authors of the Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball were ordered to give pitching legend Roger Clemens more of the evidence they used to accuse him of using steroids and human growth hormone.U.S. District Judge ...