Public Interest Law

Almost 200 white firefighters rallied outside the Federal District Court in Brooklyn, New York earlier this month to face Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis to voice their outrage over his rulings that some have called “a perversion of justice.”  Judge Garaufis’ ruling will require an overhaul in hiring practices to hire more minority candidates, which could end up costing New York City $70 million.  Over the span of four days, Judge Garaufis heard grievances from 38 New York firefighters. “I [...]

Four years after splitting from actress Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise supposedly approached several actresses with an offer for a five-year marriage contract.  According to the Hollywood rumor, actresses including Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johansson, and Katie Holmes were all approached with an offer to marry Cruise and enter into a marriage contract with benefits for both parties.  In November 2006, Katie Holmes married the man who has been considered the world’s most famous actor.  In exchange [...]

On July 8, 2012, United States District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan issued an 87-page opinion giving Feld Entertainment Inc. (“FEI”), the parent company of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus (“Circus”) the green light to continue with its complaint against various animal rights activists groups, including the Humane Society of the United States (“HSUS”).  The lawsuit stems from a previous lawsuit in which these groups brought an action against FEI.  The previous lawsuits [...]

On May 2, 2011, United States Navy SEAL Team Six completed a decade-long mission: they killed Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda leader and 9/11 mastermind.  While members of the team remained quiet, the assassination effort garnered global attention and became a crowning achievement and campaign talking point for the Obama Administration.  The Commander in Chief spoke publicly about the death of Bin Laden, but those involved maintained anonymity. That anonymity, however, proved to be only temporary. [...]

Updated May 16, 2013: The Supreme Court unanimously decided in favor of Monsanto in an opinion (pdf) published on May 13, 2013 and authored by Justice Kagan, holding that “[p]atent exhaustion does not permit a farmer to reproduce patented seeds through planting and harvesting without the patent holder’s permission.” The Supreme Court of the United States granted Vernon Hugh Bowman’s Petition for Writ of Certiorari on October 5 to decide whether the Federal Circuit erred by: [...]

In September of 2010, the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) was served with a complaint filed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  The complaint responded to a change in WCPSS’ student assignment plan, and was not a surprise.  Many felt the new plan was a return to segregation in schools.  The previous assignment plan provided that students in Wake County were to be assigned to schools in such a way as to achieve socioeconomic diversity.  The [...]

  On June 12, 2012, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) notified Lance Armstrong that it had opened a formal action against him for violating anti-doping rules from 1998 through the present.  This notification followed the Department of Justice’s decision to drop its federal investigation against Armstrong in February.  To the surprise of his fans worldwide, Armstrong conceded his guilt. In response, the USADA reported that it would strip Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and [...]

It is questionable whether the common taxpayer would be comfortable with footing the bill for an inmate’s gender reassignment surgery.  Some may not consider this surgery to be medically necessary.  Such was not the case when a federal judge in Massachusetts ordered gender reassignment surgery be provided to inmate Robert Kosilek, as it was the only adequate treatment for his mental condition.  Kosilek was convicted of murdering his wife in 1990.  He was sentenced to life in prison [...]

According to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, competitive cheerleading cannot be considered a varsity sport for purposes of complying with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX).  Title IX was enacted to afford men and women equal opportunities in education and sports. The ruling comes from an appeal by Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut (Quinnipiac), who argued that competitive cheerleading should be counted as a varsity sport for Title IX purposes.  In [...]

On June 11, the Campbell Law Observer published my article, “The Problem with Breedism.”  As the owner of a bully breed mix, I had a clear bias in writing that article and I offer no apologies for my stance.  Now, a few months later, I offer an update on the issue of breed specific legislation (“BSL”) in the United States. It pleases me greatly to be able to say that the American Bar Association (“ABA”) resolved the following at their August 2012 meeting: RESOLVED, That the [...]

Legal concerns are present at nearly every stage of the Olympic games, beginning with initial bids entered by respective cities to host upcoming games and lasting well after the closing ceremony.  As for the 2012 Olympics, legal considerations began as early as 2004, when various United Kingdom law firms were hired by the the London 2012 Bid Team to advise and offer services to win 2012 summer games bid, and legal considerations will continue to play an important role after the games begin on [...]

You hear about the stories, see them on television, read about them on the Internet – tales of horrendous animal abuse and neglect.  Whether the story is of a dog being dragged behind someone’s car and fighting for his life or the cat who is lit on fire or stabbed during a domestic altercation and survives, there are regularly tremendous stories of harmed animals flooding our senses.  And it is more than companion animals.  There are the atrocities which surface through undercover video [...]