THE PUBLIC INTEREST: LEGAL NEWS
• Deal Reached on Immigration Reform
• Experts Worry About Shopping for Charity
• U.S. Justices Rule Against Consumers in Suit Against Phone Companies
• Diabetes Drug Linked to Heart Disease
• N.J. Gov. Releases Seat Belt Ad
• Supreme Court Sides with Parents of Disabled Children
• Legal Commentary: Cyberspace Prescription Crime
• Fed Wants to Clear Credit Card Confusion
• Rhode Island High Court to Take Up Gay Divorce Case
• Study: More Spam but Fewer Complaints
PUBLIC ACCESS: RESOURCE CENTER
• Parenting and the Law
• Domestic Violence
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THE PUBLIC INTEREST: LEGAL NEWS
DEAL REACHED ON IMMIGRATION REFORM
(FindLaw's Common Law Blog) Democratic and Republican senators have reached an agreement with the White House on proposed legislation that would reform current immigration law to -- among other changes -- allow immigrants who are currently in the U.S. illegally to begin the process of establishing permanent residency in the U.S., after paying a fine and processing fees. Read more...
Related Resources
• Immigration Bill Survives Attempt to Scrap Temporary Worker Program (AP)
• Immigration Law Center
EXPERTS WORRY ABOUT SHOPPING FOR CHARITY
(AP) Consumers who buy scented pink candles at retailer Pier1 Imports are supporting breast cancer research. Those who purchase bottled Ethos water at Starbucks are funding clean water projects around the globe. The buyers of certain RED products at The Gap are investing in the fight against AIDS in Africa. Shopping for charity - also known as cause-related marketing - has become an increasingly important way for some philanthropies to raise funds. . . But some experts worry that the trend is sending the wrong message to people about charitable giving. Read more...
Related Resources
• Charitable Trusts: Tax Breaks for Do-Gooders
U.S. JUSTICES RULE AGAINST CONSUMERS IN SUIT AGAINST PHONE COMPANIES
(AP) The Supreme Court on Monday sided with the largest U.S. local phone companies in a lawsuit by consumers alleging anticompetitive business practices. The court ruled 7-2 that the suit lacked any specifics in accusing the companies of secretly agreeing not to compete in each other's territories for local telephone and high-speed Internet service. Read more...
Related Resources
• Read Monday's U.S. Supreme Court Decision
• Are You My Phone Company?
DIABETES DRUG LINKED TO HEART DISEASE
(FindLaw's Common Law Blog) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a safety alert on the diabetes drug Avandia and its links to heart risks. The alert was issued shortly after a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) suggested a link between use of Avandia and an increased risk of heart disease and heart attack. Read more...
Related Resources
• Read the FDA Safety Alert on Avandia
• Avandia and the Law
• Diabetes Patients Weigh Options (AP)
N.J. GOV. RELEASES SEAT BELT AD
(AP) "I'm New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, and I should be dead." So begins Corzine's public service announcement promoting seat belt use, which was released Thursday ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. The governor was critically injured in an April 12 car crash in which he wasn't wearing a seat belt. Read more...
Related Resources
• Seat Belt and Child Restraint Violations
SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH PARENTS OF DISABLED CHILDREN
(FindLaw's Common Law Blog) On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion on the obligations of parents seeking to enforce the educational rights of their special needs children. The Court ruled that parents do not need to hire a lawyer in order to sue a school district under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), declaring that "[b]ecause parents enjoy rights under IDEA, they are entitled to prosecute IDEA claims on their own behalf," without having to hire a lawyer. Read more...
Related Resources
• Read the Decision
• Overview of Special Education Law
LEGAL COMMENTARY: CYBERSPACE PRESCRIPTION CRIME
(FindLaw's Writ) FindLaw columnist and U. Washington law professor Anita Ramasastry discusses a recent California appellate decision that affirmed a California state court's right to assert jurisdiction in a criminal case over a Colorado doctor. California prosecutors charged that the doctor, without a California license, prescribed Prozac to a California man whom he'd never met, through an online pharmacy that only required that the California man fill out a form to report his medical history; the man subsequently died, with the Prozac in his system. Read more...
Related Resources
• Taking Prescription Medications: Things You Should Know
FED WANTS TO CLEAR CREDIT CARD CONFUSION
(AP) Confused by the fees and terms of your credit card? The Federal Reserve wants to make your monthly bill and solicitations that arrive in your mailbox easier to understand. The Fed also wants companies to give people more than a month - 45 days - notice before making any changes to the terms of an account, including slapping on a higher penalty rate for missing payments or paying bills late. Read more...
Related Resources
• Protecting Your Credit
RHODE ISLAND HIGH COURT TO TAKE UP GAY DIVORCE CASE
(AP) Can a gay couple married in one U.S. state get a divorce in another? Rhode Island's highest court has agreed to hear arguments on whether a lower court judge can decide if a gay couple married in Massachusetts can get divorced in Rhode Island. Rhode Island law is silent on the validity on same-sex marriages. Lawyers for both parties say the divorce case will not decide whether gay couples can get married in Rhode Island, but it affects whether the state will recognize same-sex couples wed in Massachusetts. Read more...
Related Resources
• Same-Sex Couples and the Law
STUDY: MORE SPAM BUT FEWER COMPLAINTS
(AP) Spam messages are increasingly plaguing e-mail inboxes, but more Americans are accepting them as a fact of life, a new study finds. Thirty-seven percent of U.S. e-mail users say they are getting more junk in their personal e-mail accounts, and 29 percent see an increase in their work accounts. About half say they have not noticed a change, the Pew Internet and American Life Project said in its study, released Wednesday. Read more...
Related Resources
• You've Got Spam
PUBLIC ACCESS: RESOURCE CENTER
PARENTING AND THE LAW
(FindLaw for the Public) The new "Parenting and the Law" section of FindLaw's Family Law Center provides information and tips on legal topics including parental liability for children's actions, keeping your children safe, and termination of parental rights. Read more...
Related Resources
• Browse the Family Law Center
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
(FindLaw for the Public) If you or a loved one need help with a domestic violence situation, FindLaw's Family Law Center can help, with information on identifying domestic violence, tips on taking legal action for victims of domestic violence, state-specific laws and resources on domestic violence, and more. Read more...
Related Resources
• Domestic Violence Organizations
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