My occasional take on important, cutting-edge or interesting legal news:
Legal News
Legal News
September 12th, 2013
Electronic health records are being incentivized in health law, regulations and funding on the rationale they'll improve patient care and other goals. But a recent Pennsylvania study showed that default values within such systems can lead to mistakes in caring for patients:
"Using default values in electronic health records can boost efficiencies and standardization, but can cause adverse patient safety events when used... Continue Reading
September 12th, 2013
The Montgomery County, PA, Register of Wills who kickstarted the conversation in PA about same-sex marriage by starting to issue licenses to LGBT couples was told to stop by a Commonwealth Court judge today. The judge did not address the constitutionality of the ban on same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania, only ruling that the judiciary, not an elected row officer who administers marriage licenses and court filings, could decide if the law should... Continue Reading
September 12th, 2013
As Cory Booker looks poised to move from Newark's mayor's office to the U.S. Senate, the conservative publication National Review has said it is going to sue Booker to obtain records related to a 2004 homicide of a teenager who the mayor said he held in his arms until the adolescent's death from a gunshot. A mayoral spokesman said the records would be provided today, The Washington Post reported.
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September 12th, 2013
Tech firms, including Yahoo and Facebook, want to be able to disclose more on the requests they receive from the government for Internet surveillance of Americans. The reason for not doing more earlier, the Yahoo CEO said, was the risk of committing treason and being imprisoned for it. In court, Yahoo is arguing that not being allowed to engage in the dialogue on surveillance or respond on the specifics of what it has been asked to... Continue Reading
September 12th, 2013
The Connecticut Post found that the gun shop where the mother of the Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, had purchased the firearms used by Lanza in the Newtown, CT, elementary-school murders had a history of deficient compliance with gun-shop rules and regulations. FOIA records showed that the deficiencies mainly related to poor record-keeping. The newspaper cited one instance in which the gun shop was unaware that a gun had been stolen... Continue Reading
September 11th, 2013
After a backlog in elder abuse cases grew too staggering, the California Department of Health managed the backlog by dismissing complaints, not seeking increased resources. Now almost all complaints are investigated over the phone, and prosecutors report a dramatic decline in the cases referred to them for investigation.
September 11th, 2013
A judge today rejected a putative class action in which readers of Lance Armstrong's books alleged they were subjected to fraud and false advertising in "inspirational true accounts" that "should have been labeled fiction" due to Armstrong's use of performance-enhancing drugs. Instead, the books were protected as free speech. Continue Reading
September 11th, 2013
With 70 percent of American Indians living in urban areas, the nation's first legal clinic for city-dwelling American Indians and their unique legal problems is still going strong after seven years. Continue Reading
September 11th, 2013
When we think of disasters, we don't automatically think of legal services. But this interview with a legal aid attorney shows that legal advocacy is a huge part of recovering from disasters like Superstorm Sandy. "If in the future legal services are understood to be an essential part of disaster relief, that would be a big improvement. Now that we have experience, future disaster responses will be much more coordinated. We know what... Continue Reading
September 11th, 2013
In the wake of a ticket-fixing scandal and ensuing federal prosecution, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday on whether the justices, along with the court that hears judicial discipline cases, can suspend judges that get into trouble, @zneedlestli reported for The Legal Intelligencer.
September 11th, 2013
A United Nations official has called on courts in South Carolina and Oklahoma to respect the human rights of a little girl who is a member of the Cherokee Nation and is the subject of a cross-state custody dispute. Veronica lived the first two years of her life with adopted parents in South Carolina and the next two years with her American Indian father, who argues he did not consent to the adoption. When the US Supreme... Continue Reading
September 11th, 2013
A law professor opines the injunction against Aereo rival FilmOn X by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia could adversely affect Aereo's separate expansion plans to capture broadcast TV transmissions through individual antennas and retransmit the programming over the Internet, the Boston Herald reports.
This copyright case is primed to test the scope of intellectual property. Continue Reading
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