Recent Updates
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Law firms seek to represent dead miners' families
Lawyer Blogs 04/14/2010Little more than a week after the disaster, competition among lawyers to represent the families of 29 men killed in the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster has begun.Massey Energy, the mine's owner, has deep pockets. Lawyers who represent the families cou...
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Court Fight Adds Confusion to Senate Climate Effort
Lawyer Blogs 04/12/2010The departure of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens adds a crucial task to the Senate schedule, at a minimum, and could peel momentum from looming climate legislation if his successor triggers a searing political fight.Stevens' announcement arri...
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Toyota noted for evasion tactics in lawsuit defense
Lawyer Blogs 04/12/2010In a review of lawsuits filed around the country involving a wide range of complaints — not just the sudden acceleration problems that have led to millions of Toyotas being recalled — the automaker has hidden the existence of tests that would be harm...
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FCC plans to move forward with broadband plan soon
Lawyer Blogs 04/08/2010The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that it intends to move forward quickly with key recommendations in its national broadband plan — even though a federal appeals court this week undermined the agency's legal authority to regulate hi...
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Leahy won't delay hearing for appeals court pick
Lawyer Blogs 04/07/2010Senate Democrats have rejected a Republican effort to delay a hearing for a liberal appeals court nominee, making clear they are ready for a partisan fight.A hearing for University of California-Berkeley, law professor Goodwin Liu will go on as sched...
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Federal court upholds ruling for AstraZeneca
Lawyer Blogs 04/07/2010A federal appellate court has upheld a lower court ruling dismissing the first product liability lawsuit among thousands alleging British drugmaker AstraZeneca PLC's antipsychotic drug Seroquel triggered a patient's diabetes.A three-judge panel of th...
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NY top court won't open nursing homes to lawyers
Lawyer Blogs 04/05/2010New York's top court is refusing to order nursing homes to give state lawyers access to hundreds of psychiatric patients so they can advocate for alternative treatments, living conditions or even release.The Court of Appeals, divided 4-3, says the Ne...
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Court won't hear appeal from Lupe Fiasco mentor
Lawyer Blogs 04/05/2010The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from rap artist Lupe Fiasco's mentor, who was convicted on drug charges despite complaints that his jurors weren't asked whether they had any biases against firearms.The high court on Monday refused to hear an a...
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Court Requires Warning About Deportation Risk
Lawyer Blogs 04/01/2010The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that lawyers for people thinking of pleading guilty to a crime must advise their clients who are not citizens about the possibility that they will be deported. Likening deportation to the punishments of banishment...
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High court restricts whistleblower lawsuits
Lawyer Blogs 03/31/2010The Supreme Court on Tuesday placed limits on existing whistleblower lawsuits alleging local governments misused federal money, in a decision that produced newcomer Sonia Sotomayor's first dissenting opinion.But the just-enacted health care overhaul ...
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Court rebuffs Pa. man who didn't accept vote tally
Lawyer Blogs 03/30/2010A failed Pennsylvania judicial candidate who couldn't believe he received so few votes says he's finished fighting now that the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear his case.Robert Pritchard Sr., of Fairchance, got 63 votes for a district judge pos...
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High court weighs fraud lawsuit vs. Aussie bank
Lawyer Blogs 03/30/2010The Supreme Court indicated Monday it could prohibit foreign investors from using U.S. securities law and American courts to sue a foreign bank for fraud.The court heard argument in a challenge from Australian investors who want to sue the Melbourne-...