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Court: Private email exempt from open records law
Headline News |
2014/04/03 23:03
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A California appeals court has ruled that private text messages, emails and other electronic communications sent and received by public officials on their own devices are not public records regardless of the topic.
The 6th District Court of Appeal in San Jose ruled last week that the state's Public Records Act doesn't extend to officials' private devices.
The California Supreme Court is expected to be asked to step in and settle this long-simmering debate.
State laws do require the communications of elected officials and other officials involving public issues to be retained and turned over upon request.
Since the coming of email, activists and others in the state have been battling at all levels of government over whether public issues discussed on private devices with personal accounts are covered by the Public Records Act. Similar legal battles and political debates have sprung up across the country as well.
The March 27 ruling reverses a lower court decision in favor of environmental activist Ted Smith, who sought access to messages sent on private devices through private accounts of the San Jose mayor and City Council members
Smith's attorney James McManis said he will ask the state Supreme Court to review the case. If the high court refuses to take it, the appeals court ruling will stand. |
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U.S. Supreme Court voids overall contribution limits
Firm News |
2014/04/03 23:00
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The Supreme Court struck down limits today in federal law on the overall campaign contributions the biggest individual donors may make to candidates, political parties and political action committees.
The justices said in a 5-4 vote that Americans have a right to give the legal maximum to candidates for Congress and president, as well as to parties and PACs, without worrying that they will violate the law when they bump up against a limit on all contributions, set at $123,200 for 2013 and 2014. That includes a separate $48,600 cap on contributions to candidates.
But their decision does not undermine limits on individual contributions to candidates for president or Congress, now $2,600 an election.
Chief Justice John Roberts announced the decision, which split the court's liberal and conservative justices. Roberts said the aggregate limits do not act to prevent corruption, the rationale the court has upheld as justifying contribution limits.
The overall limits "intrude without justification on a citizen's ability to exercise 'the most fundamental First Amendment activities,'" Roberts said, quoting from the court's seminal 1976 campaign finance ruling in Buckley v. Valeo.
Justice Clarence Thomas agreed with the outcome of the case, but wrote separately to say that he would have gone further and wiped away all contribution limits. |
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Court rejects new cases on birth control coverage
Top Legal News |
2014/03/31 23:27
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The Supreme Court has turned away an early look at a challenge by religiously affiliated not-for-profit groups to the new health care law's provision on birth control coverage.
Lawsuits filed by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and others are making their way through the courts. The justices on Monday declined to weigh in on them before any federal appeals court has reached a final decision.
The Obama administration has devised a compromise to the law's requirement that contraception be included in health plans' preventive services for women. The compromise attempts to create a buffer for religiously affiliated hospitals, universities and social service groups that oppose birth control. Their insurers or the health plan's outside administrator would pay for birth control coverage and creates a way to reimburse them. |
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The Law Offices of Tenecia P. Reid, PLLC
Firm News |
2014/03/31 23:27
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The Law Offices of Tenecia P. Reid, located in Northern Virginia and is here to provide you the best legal service to you and your loved one. With years of experience in divorce cases and family matters, Tenecia is both strategic and aggressive. We will give you an honest assessment of your situation and together discuss the ways we could help achieve the goals and outcomes you want.
Specializing in family law for her entire career, Attorney Tenecia P. Reid stands ready to skillfully guide you through the divorce litigation process.
Divorce litigation can be frustrating, confusing, and emotional, so it is imperative to have an attorney who both listens and treats you with respect as you face major life decisions. Widely experienced, Attorney Reid has negotiated and litigated cases that include complex marital assets, tax issues, business valuations, underwater joint mortgages, adultery, abuse, protective orders, and bankruptcy issues.
Attorney Reid is also intimately familiar with the laws governing fault-based divorce cases, and can help you to determine whether you have one or more fault grounds against your spouse and how you may prove them.
Ms. Reid will be able to confidently assess your case and situation to help you obtain the best possible results. Don't hesitate to call today! |
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Levin & Curlett LLC
Firm News |
2014/03/31 23:26
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New York - Baltimore - Washington, D.C. White Collar Criminal Defense
Levin & Curlett LLC was formed by former prosecutors who created a small, high quality litigation boutique. Levin & Curlett LLC has extensive experience in all facets of criminal and civil litigation. Whether clients are involved in contractual disputes, business litigation, or qui tam whistleblower cases, our trial experience allows the firm to work effectively with clients to achieve their goals. Similarly, extensive prosecutorial backgrounds allow the firm to represent clients who are involved in criminal proceedings as targets, subjects, witnesses, recipients of grand jury subpoenas, or defendants.
The firm puts its skills to work representing: - clients who are targets, subjects, or witnesses in criminal investigations,
- clients who are facing criminal charges
- clients who are involved in complex civil litigation at the trial and appellate levels
- whistleblowers in qui tam and False Claims Act litigation.
The attorneys at Levin & Curlett concentrate their practice representing individuals and businesses in criminal matters and civil litigation, and representing whistleblowers in False Claims Act and Qui Tam litigation.
Our attorneys have decades of combined experience serving as prosecutors in the Department of Justice and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and leading practices in complex civil and criminal litigation at a national law firm.
We are uniquely positioned to represent the interests of those confronting the nation’s largest corporations, insurance companies, or the power of the federal government. |
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Appeals court sides with Alaska on roadless rule
Attorneys News |
2014/03/28 18:25
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A divided federal appeals court panel on Wednesday sided with the state of Alaska in reversing a decision that reinstated prohibitions on road-building and the harvesting of timber in the nation's largest national forest.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, found that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had articulated "a number of legitimate grounds" in a 2003 decision to temporarily exempt the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska from the Roadless Rule, which contains the prohibitions.
A lower court judge, in 2011, had found the decision to be arbitrary and capricious.
The appeals court panel sent the matter back to the district court to determine whether additional environmental review is required. Ninth Circuit Court Judge M. Margaret McKeown dissented, saying the justification for the overturning the lower court's decision was missing. |
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The Davis Law Group, PLLC
Attorneys News |
2014/03/28 18:24
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Southfield MI Criminal Defense Lawyer
The Davis Law Group, PLLC is an aggressive criminal defense firm. We handle cases throughout the Metro Detroit area including Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb County. Our attorneys are former prosecutors and have handled cases ranging from minor traffic violations to homicide offenses.
Having gone through numerous trials, our attorneys know the Metro Detroit courtrooms and the procedures they follow. This works as a major advantage for our clients as we are able to fight against the evidence and change the course of where your life is headed. We are dedicated and willing to do what it takes to get a successful outcome in your case.
We concentrate on defending our clients’ constitutional rights both in and out of the courtroom. If you or a love one has been charged with a crime you know your freedom is on the line. You need as experienced attorney that can get results.
Available 7 days a week 24 hours a day for free phone consultations. For urgent matters we always have at least one attorney on call.
The Davis Law Group, PLLC
27600 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 215
Southfield, MI 48034 |
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