Earlier this week Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan upheld a NYC Dept of Ed regulation that banned teachers from wearing political pins in support of a candidate in the classroom. He cited the school’s need for an independent environment free of electioneering. But it is a curious decision in that just a few days earlier, his …
Monthly Archive: January 2010
Jan 25 2010
Supreme Court Overturns Precedent and Hangs “For Sale” Sign on Democracy
The recent Citizens United case (“CU”) has gotten a lot of attention of course as it will have a profound impact on the future of American politics. To summarize this very complicated case is not easy, but I will try: Before CU campaign finance reform laws set limits on the amounts that corporations could spend …
Jan 21 2010
Make your Business Litigation Proof (Well, Almost)
Many of my litigation clients are owners of small to mid-size businesses that find themselves thrust into court for the first time. These folks are often shocked to see how time consuming and expensive the litigation process can be. So after years of counseling them through the court system, I have observed that there a …
Jan 06 2010
Prosecutorial Immunity Saved by the Bell – or the Dollar in this Case
One of the most frustrating aspects of working on wrongful convictions is the realization that prosecutors enjoy a wide immunity for actions that they take that led to the wrongful conviction. Many in the field were closely watching, therefore, the case of Pottawattamie County v. McGhee which had recently been argued before the US Supreme …
Jan 05 2010
The Death of the Death Penalty?
Fifty years ago or so, the American Law Institute (ALI) was given the profound task of devising a method of making the death penalty constitutional in a country where the Eighth Amendment of its constitution prohibits “Cruel and Unusual Punishment.” The ALI (made up of about 4,000 judges lawyers and law professors) has now announced …