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Legal News Archive For
July, 2013

Illinois Becomes 20th State to Legalize Medical Marijuana

Added: 2013-07-31 10:13:11

On August 1, 2013, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn passed a medical marijuana law.  Some Marijuana advocates are calling this a win, whereas others see it as a step in the wrong direction.  Although many chronically ill patients will now be able to ease their pain and nausea, Illinois will be practic...

Zoloft and Birth Defects Still in Question

Added: 2013-07-30 03:15:29

Many women who suffer from depression are prescribed a number of medications to relieve symptoms. However, some of these drugs have been linked to a higher risk of birth defects in babies exposed to the drugs in utero. Zoloft, a commonly prescribed anti-depression medication, is one of these medica...

$14M Reward in Brain Injury Lawsuit

Added: 2013-07-29 11:33:28

A jury in Virginia found Hyundai to be responsible for the injuries to Zachary Duncan and awarded the victim $14 million dollars. In 2010, Duncan was in an accident while driving a Hyundai Tiburon that caused extensive damage to his brain. Duncan was 16 years old at the time when he lost control of...

Monster Energy Drinks Dangerous to the Heart?

Added: 2013-07-26 05:52:38

Monster Energy drinks are extremely popular. However, a recent study that was presented to the American Heart Association insinuates that there may be a link between consumption of the drink to a spike in blood pressure that results in changes to the rhythms of the heart. People have died after dri...

Surprise Plea Deal for Hells-Angel Member

Added: 2013-07-25 08:32:31

Man Accused of Murder Strikes Unexpected Plea Deal In July 2013, Cesar Villagrana, 38, entered two surprise pleas in Eno, Nevada’s Washoe District Court. Villagrana pled guilty to a charge of battery with a deadly weapon, and a charge of challenging to fight with a deadly weapon. Had he not acce...

Target Faces Discrimination Lawsuit

Added: 2013-07-24 11:31:20

Target, the mammoth retail chain popular across the nation, is now faced with a lawsuit alleging discrimination against three Hispanic former employees at one of the company's warehouses in Yolo County, California. The workers named in the lawsuit have claimed harassment and workplace discriminati...

Woman Dies on Roller-Coaster After Expressing Safety Concerns

Added: 2013-07-23 10:23:10

Recently, a woman fell to her death from a roller coaster at Six Flags in Dallas, Texas. The tragedy occurred on Friday, July 19, 2013 and marked the second fatality that occurred from one of the rides since the park opened back in 1961. On Saturday, July 20, Six flag issued a statement that an int...

Court Hearing Approaching For Penn State Administrators Accused of Covering up Sex Scandal

Added: 2013-07-22 11:22:54

A preliminary hearing has been set for the three ex Penn State officials accused of covering up sex abuse allegations against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. The long-awaited hearing for Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, and Gary Schultz will start on July 29. The case will be heard by District J...

HIV Segregation in SC Prisons Comes to an End

Added: 2013-07-19 09:29:59

Thanks to a new policy from the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), the 351 male and 15 female HIV-positive prisoners in South Carolina will no longer be subjected to segregation within the state's prisons. On Wednesday, July 10, the SCDC officially ended its policy of separating priso...

Are California Labor Laws Providing Enough Protection for Employees?

Added: 2013-07-18 03:15:35

Two recent deaths of farm workers in California are raising questions regarding how adequate California labor laws are in protecting workers in the state.  The workers, one a farmhand and the other an irrigation line inspector, both died during periods of extreme heat, although an investigation in...

Yahoo Wins Court Battle on Data Collection

Added: 2013-07-17 08:26:21

While most of the public has been made aware of the government's data collection process thanks to documents leaked by Eric Snowden, nobody truly knows exactly how the process works. A recent court battle won by Yahoo may shine at least a little bit of light on this, however. The Issue at Hand Th...

All-Male Court Finds Firing of Attractive Employee Legal

Added: 2013-07-16 11:25:02

The Iowa Supreme Court has concluded that being fired for being too sexy a woman is not sexual discrimination in the workplace. Since that day, many have attempted to understand the rationale behind the court’s decision. Many are left asking if the decision is a misrepresentation of anti-discrimi...

Zimmerman Not Done With Courts Yet

Added: 2013-07-15 08:45:43

With the full acquittal behind him, George Zimmerman will still have to answer to the courts if either a civil trial or a federal civil rights trial continue to proceed. While murder or manslaughter charges are behind Zimmerman in terms of criminal proceedings, the former neighborhood watch volunt...

Concealed Weapons Bill Passed in Illinois

Added: 2013-07-12 02:23:03

The right to bear arms is a deeply held conviction for many people in the United States. However, the issue of whether people should be allowed to carry concealed weapons is an issue that is hotly contested in many areas of the country. In some states, it is common for people to carry guns. In othe...

Apple Found Guilty of e-Book Price Fixing

Added: 2013-07-11 11:21:05

In a move that is for many an indication of the shift in the corporate landscape regarding written electronic communication-as-business, the Department of Justice moved to prosecute -- and was successful in its prosecution -- of e-book price fixing on the part of Apple Inc., who were said to be col...

Insider Trading Convictions Upheld

Added: 2013-07-10 11:19:48

Since the so-called Great Recession, public sentiment toward Wall Street has been anything but positive. And as some might have guessed, investigations into banks, funds and trading firms has resulted in numerous charges being filed against various Wall Street figures. In 2011, three former traders...

Proposition-8 Shot Down in Supreme Court

Added: 2013-07-09 11:16:56

California Proposition 8 was a November 2008 ballot proposition and constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage. Prop 8 was initiated by opponents of same-sex marriage. In May 2008, the California Supreme Court had found an earlier attempt to outlaw same-sex marriage to be unc...

Did On-Going Construction at SanFrancisco Airport Play a Role in the Deadly Crash?

Added: 2013-07-08 11:15:12

On July 6, 2013, a clear Saturday morning, Asiana Airlines flight 214 touched down hundreds of feet before the beginning of the runway at San Fransisco International Airport and began trailing smoke. Flying out of Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan and stopping in Seoul, the Boeing 777 wa...

Interim Government Installed in Egypt; Constitution Suspended

Added: 2013-07-05 06:37:16

Less than two years after its revolution against Hosni Mubarak, Egypt is already facing another debilitating national crisis.  On July 3, 2013, the Egyptian military overthrew democratically elected Mohamed Morsi and established the head of the Constitutional Court, Adli Mansour, as interim presid...

Immigration Reform Bill Approved by Senate

Added: 2013-07-04 03:04:48

In 1986 Immigration Bill that was signed by President Reagan gave amnesty to 6 million illegal immigrants that had come to the United States to work and live. Since that time, another 11 million undocumented people have crossed the borders, coming from various countries, to share in the bounty, opp...

Citizen BirthRight Claim Dismissed

Added: 2013-07-03 17:01:53

While the American Samoa region is considered a legal territory in the United States, citizens born in that area are not United States citizen.  People residing in the American Samoa region are referred to as "US Nationals." Recently, Leneuoti Tuaua and four American Samoan residents and the Samo...

Teen accused of Drunk Driving in Crash that took 5 Lives

Added: 2013-07-02 08:15:26

An 18-year-old man escaped the Youth Guidance Center in Santa Ana, California and crossed over to the Nevada state line where he got into more trouble that could land him behind bars for the rest of his life. Jean Ervin Soriano hit the rear end of a van carrying seven family members on Interstate ...

Michigan’s Ban on Domestic Partner Benefits Blocked

Added: 2013-07-01 11:32:39

Michigan’s ban on domestic partner benefits for employees that work for the public school system or local government has been blocked by a federal judge. The ruling came as a partial victory for the plaintiffs of the case. Their due process claims were dismissed for insufficient evidence; however...

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