Philadelphia – Overlawyered

Discrimination law and religious exemption at the high court

Walter Olson — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 11:05:57 +0000

Two big stories yesterday at the Supreme Court about the much-contested crossroads of discrimination law and religious exemption. In one, the Court “agreed to review a challenge to Philadelphia’s policy of excluding Catholic Social Services from its foster care system because of its refusal to place children with same-sex couples.” It’s not quite the case some readers will expect, though:

Note that Philadelphia was enforcing a local ordinance of its own making; the case is thus on a very different footing than if it were, say, a challenge to the Obama-era regulations (which HHS has since proposed to rescind) that tried to arm-twist all states and cities into adopting policies like Philadelphia’s. In the HHS episode, it was the liberal side of the controversy that was trying to impose a uniform standard from coast to coast; in this case, it is some conservative religious groups that hope to do that. Scott Shackford has more in a piece at Reason quoting my views, as does the Christian Science Monitor in a piece last week.

In the other case, Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, called on the Court to revisit a 1977 precedent in which it interpreted federal employment discrimination law so as not to require employers to accommodate workers’ religious beliefs if doing so would involve more than de minimis cost or disruption. Back then, it was mostly liberals who wanted a standard less favorable to employers than that; since then many liberals and conservatives have swapped places on the issue. The full piece is here.

Tags: foster care, Philadelphia, religious discrimination, religious liberty

Discrimination law and religious exemption at the high court is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Police misconduct roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 10:59:32 +0000

Crime victims’ rights enactment: “Florida cops who use force keep names secret with Marsy’s Law” [Tony Marrero, Tampa Bay Times, I’m quoted; earlier]
Sergeant’s Benevolent Association in NYC declares “war on” Mayor Bill de Blasio and I have something to say about that on Twitter;
Jeepers: “The chief also said Tuesday that someone forged his signature on Kidd’s 2015 agreement, which lowered his punishment from termination for cowardice to a 65-day suspension.” [George Hunter, Detroit News] “How San Antonio’s Worst Cops Get Their Jobs Back” [Zuri Davis]
“Nobody was physically injured in the Looking for [Guy] Who Was in Prison incident, but the plaintiff does allege that the grenades terrified her and her children, [who] also did not enjoy having assault rifles pointed at them by screaming officers.” [Kevin Underhill, Lowering the Bar]
Philly cop misconduct files rarely made public but here’s an exception [William Bender and David Gambacorta, Philadelphia Inquirer] Three links on Baltimore police misconduct [my Free State Notes post]
Deputy was drinking and crashed twice, but kept his job and county owes him $16K [Elizabeth Doran, Syracuse Post-Standard, related editorial]

Tags: Baltimore, Florida, Philadelphia, police, police unions

Police misconduct roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Crime and punishment roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 11:03:51 +0000

Three episodes of the Cato Daily Podcast, all with Caleb Brown: “A Survey of State-Level Criminal Justice Reform” with Robert Alt of the Buckeye Institute; “Reforming Parole and Probation” with Marc Levin of the Texas Public Policy Foundation; “Getting Honest on Bail Reform” with Josh Crawford of the Pegasus Institute;
In news of unconstitutional legislation, the lawmakers of Monroe County, N.Y. (Rochester) want to make it illegal to “annoy” a police officer [James Brown, WXXI, Eugene Volokh]
Jury unanimity is required in federal criminal trials, but does the Constitution also require it at the state court level? [Federalist Society SCOTUS Brief video with Jay Schweikert on Ramos v. Louisiana, argued at the Court Oct. 7]
In August New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law stripping state double jeopardy protections from Trump associates who may receive clemency in the future. It’s an improperly targeted enactment at best [Jacob Sullum, earlier]
Denison, Texas drunk with multiple priors, lying on gurney in hospital, kicks police officer and gets 99 year sentence for that [Stan Smith, KXII]
Lengthy profile of Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner, including his feuds with the local U.S. Attorney and Pennsylvania’s Attornry General. One disturbing data point: “Homicides in the city are up six percent and shootings are up 10 percent this year.” [Steve Volk, Philadelphia Magazine]

Tags: Andrew Cuomo, bail bonds, crime and punishment, double jeopardy, juries, Philadelphia, probation

Crime and punishment roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Philadelphia jury orders J&J to pay $8 billion in claim of male breast growth from psychiatric drug

Walter Olson — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 04:05:38 +0000

“A Philadelphia jury [October 8] ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $8 billion in damages to a Maryland man who said his use of J&J’s antipsychotic Risperdal as a child caused enlarged breasts and the company failed to properly warn of this risk.” [Peter Loftus, Wall Street Journal] According to the company, the jury in the case had not been allowed to hear evidence of Risperdal’s benefits or the adequacy of its labeling, and the plaintiff’s attorney never introduced evidence that the allegedly improper warning made a difference in whether the client would have been exposed to the side effect. [Brendan Pierson and Nate Raymond, Reuters; Mihir Zaveri and Katie Thomas, New York Times] A recusal motion filed by the company also claims that the judge high-fived jurors after the verdict. [Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal] Update Oct. 31: judge denies high-five allegation.

Tags: pharmaceuticals, Philadelphia, problem jurisdictions

Philadelphia jury orders J&J to pay $8 billion in claim of male breast growth from psychiatric drug is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Liability roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 09:59:12 +0000

Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, long a forum-shopping destination, draws lawyers to sue over cladding after London’s Grenfell Tower fire [David Murrell, Philadelphia magazine]
Georgia lawprof Elizabeth Chamblee Burch argues in new book that lawyers are enriching themselves at the expense of their clients in mass tort multidistrict litigation [her site; Katheryn Tucker, Fulton County Daily Report; Leigh Beeson, UGA Today, more]
“Court cases reveal secret litigation networks for trucking accidents” [Aaron Huff, Commercial Carrier Journal]
U.S. Chamber report on private rights of action and privacy claims by Mark Brennan, Adam Cooke, and Alicia Paller of Hogan Lovells;
“Is PFAS the next asbestos? Probably not, lawyers say, but it may come close” [Daniel Fisher, Legal NewsLine]
Uh-oh: “Progressive advocates have recently begun working with legislators in a handful of states to provide a qui tam mechanism for enforcing state statutory rights.” [Myriam Gilles and Gary Friedman, SSRN]

Tags: ethics, litigation finance, Philadelphia, privacy, product liability, qui tam

Liability roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Police union roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 09:51:32 +0000

New research finds Florida extension of collective bargaining rights to sheriff’s deputies correlated with increase in violent incidents when compared with municipal forces, for which law did not change [Dhammika Dharmapala, Richard H. McAdams, and John Rappaport, Cato Research Briefs in Economic Policy #171]
“This Cop Is Getting $2,500 a Month Because Killing an Unarmed Man in a Hotel Hallway Gave Him PTSD” [Scott Shackford; Mesa, Arizona] “A Portland police sergeant was fired last year for suggesting to his fellow officers that they should shoot black people for no reason. More than a year later, he’s in line to receive a $100,000 settlement from the city.” [Joe Setyon]
“Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner drew up a list of cops he wouldn’t put on the stand because of their history of misconduct, and the local Fraternal Order of Police union sued.” [Scott Greenfield]
California police groups fight to stop new law making misconduct records public [Scott Shackford, and more, and yet more]
“Police Officer Claims He Feared For His Life After Shooting Family’s Roomba To Death” [humor/satire, Babylon Bee]
Camden, N.J.’s start-over-from-scratch approach to police employment seems to be producing some favorable results [Alex Tabarrok with charts from Daniel Bier]

Tags: California, Philadelphia, police, police bill of rights laws, police unions

Police union roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Dodgy deeds in Philadelphia, cont’d

Walter Olson — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 15:58:33 +0000

Last July we noted (“How To Steal a House In Philadelphia”) some remarkable journalism by Craig R. McCoy for the Philadelphia Daily News about the theft of real estate through forgery and other skullduggery. Now he’s back with more amazement: “In at least seven deals involving [the protagonist] or his associates, there’s a simple reason to be sure that the deeds were forged. In each case, the ‘signers’ were dead at the time. At the most extreme, someone forged the name of a woman who had died 36 years before.” [Craig R. McCoy, Philadelphia Daily News]

Related: “Man Charged After Allegedly Stealing 6 Philadelphia Homes From ‘Poor, Elderly, And Deceased,’ DA Says” [CBS Philadelphia]

Tags: Philadelphia, real estate

Dodgy deeds in Philadelphia, cont’d is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Wage and hour roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 10:58:36 +0000

Decision time coming up for administration on whether to reverse one of Obama’s worst initiatives, overtime for junior managers [Veronique de Rugy; Robin Shea]
California observes different rule on overtime for offshore oil workers than does federal government, exposing employers to huge retroactive back pay liability [Washington Legal Foundation, Supreme Court granted certiorari last month in Newton v. Parker Drilling]
Today in bad ideas: Philadelphia becomes latest jurisdiction to regulate shifts and scheduling in retail, hospitality [Juliana Feliciano Reyes, Philadelphia Inquirer/WHYY, Drinker Biddle/National Law Review, Max Marin/BillyPenn]
“I’m a restaurant employee in a city with a $15 minimum wage; here’s how it’s hurt me” [Simone Barron, Washington Examiner] Virginia could wind up with a $15 minimum law before long, tough luck for rural parts of state [Hans Bader]
“Nurses allege Corona, Calif. underpaid them, rounding down their time to the nearest quarter hour. Ninth Circuit: This can proceed as a class action. Five judges, dissenting from denial of en banc review: The only evidence in support of the nurses’ claim is a declaration from plaintiffs’ lawyers’ paralegal, which is plainly not admissible. ‘This doesn’t pass the straight-face test.'” [Short Circuit on Sali v. Corona Regional Medical Center, Ninth Circuit panel, denial of en banc rehearing]
“The Impact of The New German Minimum Wage” [Ryan Bourne]

Tags: California, Germany, minimum wage, Philadelphia, wage and hour suits

Wage and hour roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Asset forfeiture: Philly, Texas, South Carolina, Mississippi

Walter Olson — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 16:59:30 +0000

Investigation of asset forfeiture outrages in Philadelphia, where the D.A. “pursued nearly door-to-door confiscation of real estate” on some blocks [Ryan Briggs, Plan Philly] Texas police made more than $50 million in 2017 from seizing people’s property, but not everyone was guilty of a crime [Texas Tribune] How police departments in South Carolina make millions by seizing property [Anna Lee, Nathaniel Cary and Mike Ellis, Greenville News] “Civil Asset Forfeiture: An Overview & Conversation”, short video featuring Stefan Cassella and Darpana Sheth [Federalist Society] And this is how the Governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant, defends forfeiture [@PhilBryantMS on Twitter]

Tags: forfeiture, Mississippi, Philadelphia, South Carolina, Texas

Asset forfeiture: Philly, Texas, South Carolina, Mississippi is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Food and paternalism roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 25 Jan 2019 10:59:52 +0000

“Sandwiches and main meal salads will be capped at 550 calories, ready meals will be capped at 544 calories and main courses in restaurants will be capped at 951 calories.” Guidelines from Public Health England aren’t mandatory yet, but expect U.K. government pressure on supermarkets and restaurants [Christopher Snowdon, Baylen Linnekin, Scott Shackford, Ryan Bourne]
“We are not saying they can never give children a chocolate or biscuit ever again,” says the Public Health England official. “But it cannot be a daily occurrence.” And more from “2018: The [mostly U.K.] nanny state year in review” [Snowdon]
Research paper on Philadelphia soda tax: cross-border shopping completely offsets in-city reduction in beverage sales, “no significant reduction in calorie and sugar intake.” [Stephan Seiler, Anna Tuchman, and Song Yao, SSRN via Caron/TaxProf] More: owner blames tax for closure of Philly supermarket [Eric Boehm]
Alternative headline: feds act to curb food waste by giving local schools more freedom to offer lunches kids will willingly eat [Jaden Urbi, CNBC]
“Los Angeles councilmember Paul Koretz [has] introduced a bill that, if passed, would require entertainment and travel venues around town to put at least one vegan dish on their menus.” [Clint Rainey, Grub Street; Scott Shackford]
“Dollar stores are the latest target of advocates who want to improve food offerings by limiting them” [Baylen Linnekin]

Tags: eat drink and be merry, Los Angeles, nanny state, obesity, Philadelphia, school lunch, soft drinks, United Kingdom

Food and paternalism roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system