Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline A Florida appeals court affirmed Monday a lower judge’s ruling that a 16-year-old minor in the state cannot get an abortion, based on a law requiring parental consent for minors, forcing the teenager to carry her pregnancy to term as such consent laws come under increasing scrutiny in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Key Facts A three-judge panel at the First District Court of Appeals in Florida sided with a circuit court judge in Escambia County, who ruled that the plaintiff “had not established by clear and convincing evidence that she was sufficiently mature to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy,” as Florida law requires. The state’s parental consent law , enacted in 2020, lets minors seek a “judicial bypass” and get court permission to get an abortion if they can’t get consent from a parent or guardian. The judges said their decision was based on the fact that … [Read more...] about Appeals Court Blocks Florida Minor From Getting An Abortion
Daca decision supreme court
NTC asks Court of Appeals to reconsider decision on Newsnet franchise
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) MANILA, Philippines —The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has urged the Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision to comply with the Anti-Red Tape Authority’s (ARTA) ruling on Newsnet’s application to operate interactive pay television and multimedia services in the country. In a motion for reconsideration made public Wednesday, the NTC, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), said ARTA’s order is already moot and academic since it reversed itself in an order dated June 17, 2022. The June 17 order states that “following the directives laid down in Secretary of Justice Resolution in OSJ Case No. 01-2020 dated July 9, 2021, which has become final and executory,” the declaration of completeness and order of automatic approval dated Feb. 12, 2020, for Newsnet are “hereby set aside.” ARTA’s reversal was based on a resolution by the Department of Justice (DOJ) which stated that ARTA does not have the authority to … [Read more...] about NTC asks Court of Appeals to reconsider decision on Newsnet franchise
Australia’s top court finds Google not liable for defamation
FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outs a Google offcie near the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Paresh Dave/File Photo SYDNEY – Australia’s highest court overturned on Wednesday a ruling that had found Google engaged in defamation by supplying a link to a contested newspaper article, throwing the spotlight again on how online libel cases are handled in the country. The seven-judge panel of the High Court of Australia voted 5-2 to throw out an earlier finding that the Alphabet Inc unit played a part in publishing the disputed article by acting as a “library” housing it, saying the website had no active role. The decision brings fresh confusion to a question that has been simmering in Australia for years about where liability rests for online defamation. A years-long review of the country’s libel law is yet to give a final recommendation on whether large platforms like Google and Meta Platforms’ Facebook should be accountable. The … [Read more...] about Australia’s top court finds Google not liable for defamation
Federal Court Upholds The Right To Carry Cash
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The federal government can’t use “circumstantial evidence” to permanently confiscate nearly $70,000 in cash, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday. “While it may be dubious to drive around with a large amount of cash in one’s car,” Judge Julius Richardson wrote for the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, “it does not create an inescapable inference of criminal activity. Not using a bank does not necessarily make one a criminal.” After Dereck McClellan passed out in his car at a South Carolina gas station in January 2019, police searched the vehicle. Inside they found a blunt in the ashtray, an empty liquor bottle riding shotgun, and a duffle bag stuffed with cash in the trunk. Their search also revealed a bundle of cash in the console. All told, Dereck was carrying $69,940.50 in cash. That money, Dereck said, came from a retail business he was running with his girlfriend. Although Dereck was arrested for public … [Read more...] about Federal Court Upholds The Right To Carry Cash
Georgia Abortion Ban To Stay In Effect, Judge Rules—Here’s Where State Lawsuits Stand Now
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Georgia’s six-week abortion ban will remain in effect as a court challenge against it moves forward, a state judge ruled Monday, as abortion providers file a string of lawsuits aiming to halt state-level bans that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Key Facts Georgia: A state Superior Court judge declined to block the state’s six-week abortion ban Monday while the litigation against it proceeds, rejecting a request from abortion providers and advocates who sued to overturn the law after a federal judge allowed it to take effect in July. Idaho: The Idaho Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state’s trigger law outlawing nearly all abortions can take effect August 25 as abortion providers’ litigation against it moves forward, and also allowed a six-week ban to take effect immediately, which is modeled after Texas’ six-week abortion ban and allows private citizens to … [Read more...] about Georgia Abortion Ban To Stay In Effect, Judge Rules—Here’s Where State Lawsuits Stand Now
Catholic Group Unveils Ad Slamming Biden For ‘Failure’ To Protect Churches, Pregnancy Centers From Attacks
CatholicVote, a Catholic advocacy organization, released a seven-figure ad campaign Wednesday targeting President Joe Biden for failing to protect Catholic churches and pregnancy resource centers from escalating attacks since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. There have been 64 incidents against pro-life organizations and 69 against Catholic churches since the court’s decision to overturn Roe was leaked May 2, according to CatholicVote. The ad shows a clip of Biden , who is Catholic, encouraging pro-abortion protesters alongside a video of John F. Kennedy, America’s only other Catholic president, condemning attacks on churches. Post-Roe attacks on pro-life groups and Catholic churches have included at least three firebombings along with numerous threats spray-painted on walls and two churches set on fire . The White House condemned one of the attacks and violence generally June 9. WATCH: Kennedy called the burning of churches in the 1960s … [Read more...] about Catholic Group Unveils Ad Slamming Biden For ‘Failure’ To Protect Churches, Pregnancy Centers From Attacks
Misappropriating justice: Taking the law into our hands is never an answer
“We are a government of laws, not of men.” Associate Justice George Malcolm misattributed this adage when he wrote a Supreme Court decision back in 1927. Justice Malcolm thought he was quoting Thomas Jefferson when it was actually John Adams who said that. And even then, Adams merely borrowed this idea from James Harrington. But before we lose ourselves with names, let’s think about the word misattributed. You know what else was recently misattributed? Justice was misattributed. Last month, three people were killed and a student was wounded. The perpetrator was caught, and a community was shocked to its core. What was supposed to be a joyous occasion was cut short by several gunshots. And then the social media posts came. Ideally, in this society, we put murderers behind bars and the criminal act is condemned. But social media paints a more nuanced picture. I have read people posting comments online arguing in favor of the murder. Others went as far as to congratulate … [Read more...] about Misappropriating justice: Taking the law into our hands is never an answer
Democratic Degradation Is Law’s Ultimate Disruptor
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The legal industry has been remarkably buoyant in a tumultuous world. It has weathered 9/11, the global financial crisis, economic downturns , automation, digital transformation , domestic and international instability, and the Pandemic. Through it all, the legal sector has prospered financially , even as its resistance to change has misaligned it with business and distanced it from society . Law’s financial success has come at a steep price—the health and well-being of its workforce, an obscured purpose, and high profits but low customer satisfaction. Public trust in lawyers , legal institutions , and the vitality of the rule have law are historically low. Most Americans believe the legal system is accessible only to the wealthy and the data confirms this. The legal system is widely perceived as lacking accessibility impartiality, transparency, diversity reflective of the society it purports to serve, … [Read more...] about Democratic Degradation Is Law’s Ultimate Disruptor
‘A Scandal Of Epic Proportions’: Judge Orders Two Fellow Judges To Pay $200 Million Over ‘Kids-For-Cash’ Scandal
U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner ruled Wednesday that two Pennsylvania judges were liable for $106 million in compensatory damages and $100 million in punitive damages to 300 people after orchestrating a “kids-for-cash” scheme. The ruling regards former Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan, who sent young children to a for-profit jail in exchange for $2.8 million in payments from the owner of the penitentiaries, while shutting down a county-run juvenile detention center, according to The Associated Press (AP) . Pennsylvania’s “kids for cash” judges, who orchestrated a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks, have been ordered to pay more than $200 million to hundreds who fell victim to their crimes. https://t.co/yTjWKmCijp — Michael Rubinkam (@michaelrubinkam) August 17, 2022 “Ciavarella and Conahan abandoned their oath and breached the public trust,” Judge Conner wrote in his judgement, according to AP. “Their … [Read more...] about ‘A Scandal Of Epic Proportions’: Judge Orders Two Fellow Judges To Pay $200 Million Over ‘Kids-For-Cash’ Scandal
Should SMEs take sexual harassment at workplace seriously?
Representative image. Many SMEs approach us for consultation on how to implement PoSH (prevention of sexual harassment) provisions at workplaces, especially when new investors scrutinise such provisions. The new-age investors understand the need for making the workplace safe and congenial and the PoSH guideline is the first step to inclusion and diversity. Diversity on the other fronts comes later. Though the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act has been notified, the details on its administration are not clear. We hear about sordid cases of harassment every now and then. These grab the headlines, especially if the people involved are high profile. SMEs can have a major challenge if things blow over and their major ethical customers stop dealing with them due to their poor record on this front. This can also present a risk because while details of how to submit compliance reports are nebulous, the fines prescribed can create an … [Read more...] about Should SMEs take sexual harassment at workplace seriously?