Recent Updates
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Man Says Social Security Guards Beat Him
Recent Cases 07/11/2008Private contract guards hired by the Social Security Administration assaulted a man, fracturing his hand, and maliciously prosecuted him because he clipped his fingernails while waiting in the Social Security office, the man claims in Federal Court. ...
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Forced Sterilization Is Persecution, Court Says
Recent Cases 07/10/2008A Chinese citizen should not be returned to her homeland due to the high probability that she would be forcibly sterilized, the 7th Circuit ruled. Xiu Zhen Lin, the mother of three, protested a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals that she ha...
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Anthrax settlement may moot contempt case
Recent Cases 07/01/2008The US Department of Justice announced Friday that it has settled a lawsuit brought by former US Army germ-warfare researcher Dr. Steven Hatfill, a development that may moot a landmark contempt case against former USA Today reporter Toni Locy now awa...
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Drunken Groom's Marriage Declared Invalid After 30 Years
Recent Cases 06/26/2008An Australian bridegroom was horrified to learn after he had walked down the aisle that he was already married — after a drunken holiday romance he could barely remember.The husband has had to confess in the Family Court that he spent 28 days partyin...
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"Naked Cowboy" Wins Court Shoot-Out with Candy Cowboy
Recent Cases 06/25/2008A ruling in a trademark infringement case filed by a New York street entertainer who performs as “The Naked Cowboy” is another indication that judges may be taking parodies too seriously when the parody conveys a commercial message.Robert Burck alleg...
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Court to rule on pension credit for old maternity leaves
Recent Cases 06/22/2008The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether decades-old maternity leaves should count in determining pensions.The issue has split federal appeals courts and could become increasingly important as women who took maternity leaves in the 1960's and 7...
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Social Security Mismatch Wasn't Grounds To Fire
Recent Cases 06/18/2008Thirty-three janitors at the Los Angeles Lakers' arena were wrongfully fired for not responding quickly enough to a request to provide a correct Social Security number, the 9th Circuit ruled. Aramark Facilities Services received a "no-match" letter f...
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Court Overturns $101M Tax Refund To Texaco
Recent Cases 06/17/2008The 9th Circuit rejected Texaco's bid for a $101 million tax refund on the $1.25 billion settlement it paid the government for selling oil and gas above the price ceilings set by federal regulations. The judges reversed judgment for Texaco, now a sub...
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Court OK's Discrimination Suit Against Restaurant
Recent Cases 06/12/2008A California appeals court reinstated the discrimination claims of a disabled customer who was ridiculed and denied service at a restaurant. Ron Wilson followed his occasional visits to Murillo's Mexican Food with letters to owner Frances Murillo, su...
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Shareholders Sue Baker Hughes For Bribery
Recent Cases 06/09/2008Directors of Baker Hughes, worldwide oil services, failed to stop bribing foreign officials despite a court order to do so, shareholders claim in Federal Court. Shareholders say the "Code of Conduct" the company instituted in 2002, after the SEC sued...
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Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon Can't Block Movie
Recent Cases 06/03/2008A federal judge has denied Yoko Ono's and Sean Lennon's request that producers of the movie, "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" be prohibited from distributing it because it contains 15 seconds of the John Lennon tune, "Imagine." U.S. District Judge...
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Fire Paramedics In Philly Win Overtime Pay Appeal
Recent Cases 06/02/2008More than 300 paramedics for the Philadelphia Fire Department won the right to receive overtime pay in a 3rd Circuit ruling. The court voted 2-1 to reject the city's argument that fire service paramedics fall under an exemption from Fair Labor Standa...