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Legal News Archive For
April, 2009

Chinese Labor Laws Evolve in the Wake of Financial Crises

Added: 2009-04-30 15:19:34

Shanghai, China—American law firms are helping implement major changes in employment practices in China. Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker's employment practice, opened in Shanghai in 2006, has seen dramatic alterations in the centuries-old country's outdated labor laws. Last year China introduc...

DA says NY Mortgage Fraud had Link to S&M Club

Added: 2009-04-30 15:17:42

SOUTHAMPTON, NY—In Suffolk County on Wednesday, a woman said to be a dominatrix and a former county legislator were among five people facing charges because of their participation in a $50 million mortgage fraud scheme. The scheme, which is said to have ties to a sex fetish studio, involved sev...

Sexting: Students Sue Prosecutor in Cellphone Photos Case

Added: 2009-04-29 15:24:40

A high school cheerleader in northeastern Pennsylvania learned she may face criminal charges after investigators reported finding a nude photo of her on someone else's cellphone. “Sexting,” the increasingly popular phenomenon of sending nude or seminude photos over wireless phones, has paren...

Judge Admits Ethical Breach in Sending Romantic Emails

Added: 2009-04-29 15:23:03

Mercer County, NJ—A Superior Court judge has admitted to breaches of judicial ethics policies by sending romantic emails to a former law clerk, and by helping her to land a job at the public defender's office. Judge Lawrence DeBello, 51, admitted in statements earlier this week that he used his ...

Adelphi pays $300K to Settle Sex Discrimination Suit

Added: 2009-04-28 15:29:51

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced on Tuesday that Adelphi University has agreed to pay salary increases totaling more than $300,000 to several female professors as part of a settlement of a federal gender discrimination lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed in 2007 on ...

Police: Woman Posed as Immigration Officer to Take Child

Added: 2009-04-28 15:28:51

Police in Florida reported that a woman accused of kidnapping an infant by posing as an immigration officer is refusing to speak about the case. She returned the baby to authorities on Tuesday. Ten hours after a statewide Amber Alert was issued, the infant was returned and appeared to be in good ...

Sex Discrimination Case Against Wal-Mart Back in Court

Added: 2009-04-27 15:31:49

San Francisco—The nation's largest retailer is back in court, awaiting a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco regarding a class-action lawsuit involving two million current and former female Wal-Mart workers. A lower court had previously ruled that the women could brin...

Liberal Group's Ad Attacks Supreme Court Candidate

Added: 2009-04-27 15:31:05

MADISON, WI—The first attack ad in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race was launched Tuesday by a liberal group, targeting Jefferson County Circuit Judge Randy Koschnick. The Greater Wisconsin Committee Spokeswoman Michelle McGrorty would not say where or how long the ad would be running but the ad ...

Nancy Pelosi on 'Un-American' Immigration Law

Added: 2009-04-24 15:34:30

At a recent San Fransisco event, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi denounced the Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests of illegal immigrants. The raids, which included ICE officials separating children from their parents, was denounced by Pelosi as “un-American.” Nancy Pelosi also rec...

Surveillance Cameras Lead to Charges Against Law Enforcement

Added: 2009-04-24 15:33:00

New York, NY—Although video evidence captured by surveillance cameras is a common factor in the capture and indictment of criminals, recent cases have shown that the knife cuts two ways. Police officers, detectives and other law enforcement officials are finding that video surveillance may dispro...

Bill Seeks to Make It Easier for Felons to Vote

Added: 2009-04-23 15:38:46

SEATTLE—A measure to remove a requirement that convicted felons pay restitution and court fees before being able to vote in local, state and federal elections passed the Washington State House recently, and awaits Senate approval. Currently, felons cannot vote until they have served their entire...

US Stocks Surge on Bank Plan, Rise in Home Sales

Added: 2009-04-23 15:37:26

NEW YORK-Wall street received their anticipated good news on the economy's biggest problems-banks and housing. Additional good news is the Dow Jones industrials increased up nearly 500 points. Investors adamantly supported the governments plan to aid the banks removal of bad assets from their boo...

Ex-Panther says Racism put him on Death Row

Added: 2009-04-22 15:43:51

WASHINGTON—Mumia Abu-Jama, formerly known as Wesley Cook, is perhaps the most recognized of the 228 condemned inmates on Pennsylvania's death row at the Greene Correctional Facility. The former Black Panther was sentenced to death after gunning down a police officer 28 years ago on December 9, 1...

Small Plane Crashes in Montana

Added: 2009-04-22 15:39:54

BUTTE, Montana—A private single-engine turboprop airplane nose-dived into a cemetery, 500 feet from its destination, killing all aboard at 3:26pm on Sunday. A witness believed the plane was a stunt plane because of all the jerks and turns the pilot was making. The witness guesses that the pilot...

Criminal Trial Against KS Abortion Doctor to Begin

Added: 2009-04-21 15:46:08

WICHITA—A Kansas court will hear testimony, beginning today, in the case of a late-term abortion doctor who faces criminal charges. George Tiller, whose clinic has been the target of picketers and bombings, is charged with 19 misdemeanor counts for having maintained an illegal financial relation...

Gender-Bias Suit Brought Against Standard & Poor's

Added: 2009-04-21 15:45:29

NEW YORK—A lawsuit filed by a former managing director at Standard & Poor's alleges that the company discriminated against women as it reorganized following the 2007 credit collapse. Rosario Buendia, in a complaint registered on March 6 in the New York State Supreme Court, contests that subsidia...

Woman Faces Murder Charges in Deadly Crash

Added: 2009-04-20 15:47:39

ROSEVILLE, MI—A 47 year-old Michigan woman has been charged with four counts of second-degree murder in the Monday deaths of four teens killed in a crash in the Detroit suburb of Roseville. Frances Patricia Dingle was arraigned in her hospital bed Monday afternoon, said Roseville Deputy Chief Ja...

In the Wake of Chimp Attack, Pet Owners Notified of Legal Responsibility

Added: 2009-04-20 15:46:37

New York—The case of a New York woman who was viciously attacked by her friend's 200-lb pet chimpanzee is bringing the light the legal ramifications of pet ownership and responsibility. Personal injury lawyers warn that pet owners can be found negligent in cases of pet-related injury, just as au...

Emerald-Encrusted Rock Contested in Court

Added: 2009-04-17 15:49:38

LOS ANGELES—A giant, emerald-encrusted rock will remain under lock and key, guarded by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, while its ownership is hammered out in court. At least half a dozen people claim legal ownership of the rock, which weighs 840 pounds. Earlier this month, a judge s...

Popular Restaurant Says No to Those Under 21

Added: 2009-04-17 15:48:43

A location of the Winking Lizard Tavern denied 20-year-old college student Paige Boughton entrance into its restaurant for dinner last Tuesday. She and her 23-year-old boyfriend went to the restaurant for its 30-cent chicken-wing special. When they approached the hostess stand they were both ask...

Attorney Sues Sister Because She Complained

Added: 2009-04-16 15:51:23

NEW ORLEANS—In perhaps the ultimate case of sibling rivalry, the Louisiana Supreme Court reprimanded a Metairie attorney for suing his sister because she repeatedly filed complaints against him—then appealed when the state Office Disciplinary Counsel ruled her complaints baseless. The court sa...

Donte Stallworth Reported Drunk at Time of Accident

Added: 2009-04-16 15:50:24

Published and broadcast reports confirmed that 28-year-old Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth was driving drunk down a causeway linking Miami and Miami Beach on Saturday morning when he struck and killed a pedestrian. Unnamed sources with knowledge of the investigation reported Stallw...

Labor Gets Boost as Judge Rules Against Nova Southeastern University

Added: 2009-04-15 17:02:43

Miami, FL—A federal judge announced Wednesday that Nova Southeastern University had violated labor laws during the course of unionization by Broward College janitors. According to a judge at the National Labor Relations Board, the University engaged in various unfair practices, such as interfe...

NYC Restaurant Owner To Pay $2 Million in Back Wages

Added: 2009-04-15 15:51:54

NEW YORK—In what the NYS Labor Department heralded as the largest-ever dollar amount awarded in a single case of minimum-wage and overtime violations, the owner of eight Manhattan restaurants agreed to pay over two million dollars. Tsu Tue Wang, the owner of three locations of an Asian restauran...

Proposed Pennsylvania Bill Would Ban Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

Added: 2009-04-14 15:54:58

HARRISBURG, PA—Pennsylvania lawmakers are on their way to making history when voting is held on a controversial bill that would extend anti-discrimination rights to include sexual orientation. The proposed bill would amend the state Human Relations Act to extend protections against bias in housi...

Same-Sex Couples Face Discrimination At Tax Time

Added: 2009-04-14 15:54:13

Proponents of same-sex marriage are angered that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service expects those who are legally married to same-sex spouses to check “single” as their filing status, despite the fact that they have also sworn to the following statement by signing underneath the following oath...

Israeli Supreme Court rules in favor of fertility clinic for women with HIV

Added: 2009-04-13 15:56:06

Repeated promises as well as various legal deliberations will end after two years, when the Israeli Supreme Court rules on Monday that a fertility center for women with HIV will be opened by November of this year. This allows for thousands of women who carry the HIV virus to be served, and was a...

Missouri Man Arraigned in Incest-Murder Case

Added: 2009-04-13 15:55:39

A man accused of raping and fathering four children with his teenage daughter was arraigned Monday on second-degree murder, child endangerment and other charges involving three of the children. The 47-year-old man, whose identity is being kept secret in order to protect the identity of his daughte...

Arrest Warrant Issued for Lindsay Lohan

Added: 2009-04-10 15:57:14

LOS ANGELES--Beverly Hills police said a $50,000 arrest warrant has been issued for actress Lindsay Lohan on Wednesday. This warrant stemmed from Lohan's 2007 drunk-driving conviction in the Beverly Hills Superior Court. It is the police officers' hopes that the actress will turn herself in, but ...

Job Discrimination Complaints Hit Record High

Added: 2009-04-10 15:56:43

In 2008 there was a record number of workers who filed federal job discrimination complaints against private employers, with claims of unfair treatment by older employees seeing the largest increase. More than 95,000 discrimination claims were received by The Equal Employment Opportunity Commiss...

White Collar Crime Expected to Rise as Result of Global Recession

Added: 2009-04-09 15:58:08

According to experts at financial giant PricewaterhouseCooper, the global economic recession will have an additional impact besides rising prices, falling stock markets, and the decline of consumer confidence: an increase in white-collar crime. The recession's impact on fraud is two-fold. First, p...

Labor Movement Weakened by Infighting

Added: 2009-04-09 15:57:43

WASHINGTON—Workers' rights are poised to take center stage in today's political economy, but strife and divisiveness within the labor movement could threaten labor's clout. With Democrats – who have historically been pro-labor – controlling both the White House and Congress, organized labor ...

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit against Sheriff's Office

Added: 2009-04-08 15:59:26

A district court judge has dismissed a lawsuit against a Sheriff's office, which was filed after a former investigator with the office was accused of rough treatment. The lawsuit, seeking over one million dollars in compensation, was filed against the Accomack County Sheriff's Office but was dismis...

Lawsuit Filed against Petland over Sickly Dogs

Added: 2009-04-08 15:58:51

According to recent reports a lawsuit has been filed against Petland over the sale of sickly dogs to customers. The lawsuit was filed recently by the Humane Society of the United States and involved several plaintiffs who had purchased dogs from Petland that had then found to have had health proble...

Workplace-Bias Cases Rise in Colorado and Nationwide

Added: 2009-04-07 16:00:11

DENVER, COLORADO—Claims of discrimination in the workplace have grown in Colorado at nearly triple the national rate over the past five years. Statistics issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission say that workplace-bias cases across the United States have increased by 17 percent since...

Woman's Lawsuit against Police Department and City Dismissed

Added: 2009-04-06 16:00:53

A lawsuit that was filed against the police department in Waynesboro as well as the City of Waynesboro has been dismissed recently by a federal judge. The lawsuit was filed by an elderly black woman, who claimed in the lawsuit that excessive force was used against her. According to seventy seven ...

Producer of American Idol Faces Lawsuit

Added: 2009-04-01 16:01:33

The production company that is responsible for bringing shows such as the hit talent show American Idol to our screens is being hit with a lawsuit filed by former employees who claim to have been forced to work for long stretches of time without any breaks or overtime pay. Former employees have fi...

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