What happens to a state law after a court strikes it down as unconstitutional? In Utah, it seems, the law stays on the books. Such was the finding of a report by the The Salt Lake Tribune, Killed by courts, some laws live on in the Utah code.…
Labor Department revamps compliance site
The U.S. Department of Labor has redesigned and relaunched its Compliance Assistance Web Portal, a site designed to help workers and employers understand and comply with federal employment laws and regulations.
The redesigned site features enhanced navigation and content. Included within the site are fact sheets on a variety of employment law issues,…
New source for online dispute resolution
The latest entry in the field of automated, online dispute resolution is The Courthouse Steps. It appears to be similar in operation to one of the older kids on this virtual block, Cybersettle.com, in that offers and demands are compared electronically and the matter is settled if preset parameters are met.
Here is…
Lawyer’s jab at judge not protected speech
Over on my Media Law blog, I report on a case today from Massachusetts’ highest court holding that the First Amendment does not protect against discipline for a lawyer who criticizes a judge in a pending case unless the lawyer has “an objectively reasonable basis” for the criticism.…
Word of the year: ‘Podcast’
Earlier this week, Law.com posted my column proclaiming 2005 as Year of the Podcast. Now we learn that the New Oxford American Dictionary has selected “podcast” as the word of the year. The announcement explains:
…“Only a year ago, podcasting was an arcane activity, the domain of a few techies and self-admitted
Audiocast: Military recruiting at law schools
Coast to Coast this week looks at military recruiting at law schools and the case argued earlier this week before the Supreme Court, Rumsfeld v. FAIR. Our guest today was Lara Schwartz, chief legislative counsel for Human Rights Campaign, an organization devoted to promoting lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender equal rights. …
Gallup: Lawyers rank low in ethical standings
Gallup has released its annual poll asking Americans to rate the honesty and ethical standards of those in various professions, reports Editor & Publisher, and lawyers rank near the bottom of the list. The good news: lawyers rank higher than senators, congressmen, labor union leaders and car salesman. But they rank behind funeral directors,…
C-SPAN to air Rumsfeld v. Fair arguments
At 11 a.m. ET today, C-SPAN will stream the oral arguments in Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic & Institutional Rights, involving the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment, requiring universities to allow military recruiters on campus or lose federal funds.…
BlawgWorld: The (mixed) reviews are in
I wrote last week about BlawgWorld 2006, the TechnoLawyer e-book featuring representative posts from 51 “of the most influential” law-related blogs. Since then, I have found it interesting to read some of the reviews and comments posted around the blogosphere. While many had praise and kind words for the effort, others were…
2005: Year of the Podcast
Law.com today features my latest Web Watch column: 2005: Year of the Podcast.…
Search terms as evidence of murder
In the days leading up to his wife’s murder, Robert James Petrick used Google to search the terms “body decomposition,” “rigor mortis,” “neck” and “break.” He also went online to research the depth, currents and underwater topography of the lake in which his wife’s body was found. This evidence helped lead to Petrick’s conviction in…
New law school, new Web site
Next fall, a new law school will make its debut in Greensboro, N.C., with a charter class of 100 students. Recently, the new law school launched its new Web site, Elon University School of Law. The new school also announced that the American Judicature Society will open a new Institute of Forensic…