The Supreme Court takes a look at curtailing lawsuits aimed at punishing or regulating carbon emissions, and might even revisit its pro-environmentalist ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA. [Marcia Coyle, NLJ] Related: “Call for Papers: Civil Litigation as a Tool for Regulating Climate Change” [Valparaiso University School of Law via TortsProf]
Author Archive
Less harsh federal criminal sentences
Have we arrived yet at a bipartisan consensus? Or is Washington’s “tough-on-crime” faction simply choosing to give the issue a pass? [Josh Gerstein, Politico] Related: if you think conservative Justices on the Supreme Court are adamant against overturning criminal convictions, think again [Marie Gryphon, National Law Journal]
Fooling the ump
September 17 roundup
- International House of Pancakes (restaurant chain) vs. International House of Prayer (church) [CNN]
- “Law Schools Now Require Applicants To Honestly State Whether They Want To Go To Law School” [The Onion, satire]
- “As ENDA Lingers in Congress, a [million-dollar verdict] in Maine” [Michael Fox]
- Fear: On advice of FBI, cartoonist who organized “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” drops out and changes name [Seattle Weekly, Welch, Moynihan]
- University of Windsor lawprof asks Ontario Human Rights Tribunal to overturn school’s decision not to make her dean [National Post]
- Prominent Seattle lawyer arrested, and do-you-know-who-I-am-ery allegedly ensues [Above the Law]
- “Man rushed to hospital after finding tampon in his cereal” [Obscure Store, Macon Telegraph] Update: suit dropped.
- Manufacture iPhones in the U.S.? “I worry America has too many lawyers. I don’t want to spend time having people sue me every day.” [Foxconn’s Terry Gau, quoted in Business Week]
ABA Journal blawg beauty contest, again
It’s that time of year again and you can not only nominate blogs to the ABA’s “Best Legal Blogs” compilation, but tell why you like them (hint hint). The entry form is here.
Can a 7-year-old cross the road unaided?
Authorities in the Lincolnshire village of Glentham, U.K., are threatening action based on “child protection” if a couple continue to let their daughter walk 40 yards to her school bus stop. The couple say the road isn’t particularly busy and that Isabelle is good about looking both ways before crossing. [Daily Mail]
“No implied concession about autism”
Such at least is one reading of the federal government’s unusual decision to settle the Hannah Poling vaccine compensation claim [Michael Krauss at PoL]
“Unlikely Group Charges Bias at University”
(Some) Italian-Americans have been fighting the City University of New York, in court and out, for thirty-five years now. [New York Times]
Los Angeles Times on Toyota acceleration
Not for the first (or fifty-first) time, the California paper acts as an uncritical stenographer of Litigation Lobby claims — then waits until paragraph 13 to advise readers that NHTSA, not exactly the friendliest witness these days, backs the automaker’s position on the question of the “black box” data. More: AP.
An ombudsman? For CPSIA?
Rick Woldenberg reacts to a peculiarly inutile suggestion, in a Baltimore Sun interview, from CPSC chair Inez Tenenbaum (“We think if we had a small-business ombudsman who was out there regularly educating small businesses, we could help them prevent problems in terms of compliance.”):
…The necessary implication is that we small businesses are just too stupid to understand their complicated rules – I guess she thinks only Mattel can read the English language. Of course, the pending testing frequency rule (which I believe will be implemented in the coming weeks, get ready for it) will cause our company to spend $15 million per annum on testing. This sum far exceeds our profits. Perhaps the ombudsman will help us terminate our people to pay for testing, or provide a shoulder to cry on.