News from the Legal Broadcast Network

Expansion Of Gun Rights

The LBN Team — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:22:02 +0000

Last month a court upheld Chicago’s ban on most handguns, while in April a California court completely disagreed on the constitutional issue. The differing opinions mean that the whole issue of city and state gun laws will probably head back to the Supreme Court for clarification, leading many legal experts to predict a further expansion of gun rights. Scott Drake interviews Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles on the issue of gun ownership rights and gun control, as well as the recent legal history and court decisions on the second ammendment.

Dr. Volokh is well known for his widely read blog, "The Volokh Conspiracy" and is a frequent guest on various talk radio shows nationally as a result of his expertise on both first and second ammendment issues. A noted liberatarian/conservative thinker, he clerked under Alex Kozinski and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

This review by a noted national law professor, writer and commentator is a special edition of Speaking of Justice for the 4th of July Holiday as we celebrate our independence and reflect on the documents and traditions that allow us to remain a free society. Enjoy your holiday, enjoy your freedoms, enjoy having the right to disagree and argue with out fear or reprisals and keep coming back to The Legal Broadcast Network for more of this same kind of thoughtful analysis from both sides of the political spectrum.

NYU Law Professor Cristina Rodriquez on Ricci v. DeStefano

The LBN Team — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:07:18 +0000

( The Hill) The Supreme Court on Monday narrowly reversed a controversial decision written by President Obama’s nominee to join the body, giving conservative groups a chance to take issue with Judge Sonia Sotomayor even as her confirmation looks increasingly likely.

Justices reversed the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Ricci v. DeStefano, a case that has been at the heart of conservative opposition to Sotomayor’s nomination.

Dr. Mehdi Noorbaksh Discusses Iran's Election

The LBN Team — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:51:11 +0000

Dr Mehdi Noorbaksh is an expert on Middle eeast politics and the son-in-law of 78 year old, former Iranian Foreign Minister, Dr Ebrahim Yazdi who was arrested last week in a hospital and put in prison by Iranian security forces.

Scott Drake interviews Noorbaksh who specializes in international politics, global energy and health and democratic movements in Middle East politics.

Flores v. Arizona Sent back to 9th Circuit

The LBN Team — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:49:51 +0000

(AZCentral) The U.S. Supreme Court took a major step toward ending a 17-year legal battle Thursday, saying lower courts made a mistake by focusing too much on forcing Arizona to spend more money to help students who haven't yet learned to speak, read or write English.

The court voted 5-4 to send the Flores vs. Arizona case back to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The instructions are to consider whether Arizona has complied with civil-rights law by improving both English-learner programs and K-12 education overall.

Mina Sirkin on Michael Jackson's Estate

The LBN Team — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:43:06 +0000

(PR Newswire) Mina Sirkin, a nationally recognized attorney reporting on inheritance matters, expects that the disputes around Jackson's children, estate and life insurance may have unexpected results.

Sirkin, who was the CBS2/KCAL9 expert on the death of Anna Nicole Smith and the guardianship of her child, and a media expert regarding the Conservatorship of Britney Spears, says it is likely that the nomination of guardian by Michael Jackson relating to the two children he had with his ex-wife, Debbie Rowe may fail because the court did not make the special findings necessary to terminate her paternal rights. Therefore, under California law, Rowe as the mother of those two children will have priority over any nominated "guardian of the person" by Michael Jackson. However, Debbie can't expect the same results when it comes to guardianship of the estate of the minors.

Obafemi Ayanbadejo Banned Substance Lawsuit

The LBN Team — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:56:46 +0000

(AZ Central) Femi Ayanbadejo knows that he messed up.

But he also wants people - especially those in the Cardinals organization - to know that he didn't lie to them, and that he didn't intentionally take a banned substance before he tested positive for one in January 2007.

That was shortly after the last of his three seasons as a fullback for the Cardinals. He learned of the positive test in April and was released in June. He then signed with Chicago, where he served a four-game suspension before being cut by the Bears.

He hasn't played in the NFL since.

U.S. Supreme Court Declares Strip Search Of 13-Year-Old Student Unconstitutional

The LBN Team — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:56:25 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that school officials violated the constitutional rights of a 13-year-old Arizona girl when they strip searched her based on a classmate's uncorroborated accusation that she previously possessed ibuprofen. The American Civil Liberties Union represents April Redding, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, whose daughter, Savana Redding, was strip searched by Safford Middle School officials six years ago.

"We are pleased that the Supreme Court recognized that school officials had no reason to strip search Savana Redding and that the decision to do so was unconstitutional," said Adam Wolf, an attorney with the ACLU who argued the case before the Court. "Today's ruling affirms that schools are not constitutional dead zones. While we are disappointed with the Court's conclusion that the law was not clear before today and therefore school officials were not found liable, at least other students will not have to go through what Savana experienced."

Medical Malpractice and Health Care (Video)

The LBN Team — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:15:33 +0000

( NY Times) Hoping to enlist support for his campaign for health care reform, President Obama told the American Medical Association this week that he would work with doctors to limit their vulnerability to malpractice lawsuits. That was a reasonable offer — provided any malpractice reform is done carefully.

The current medical liability system, based heavily on litigation, has a spotty record. It fails to compensate most victims of malpractice because most never file suit. When cases reach the courts, some juries do a decent job of sorting out whether there was negligence or preventable error; others are swayed to grant large damage awards based more on the severity of a patient’s injuries than on clear evidence of negligence.

Scott Drake interviews medical malpractice expert Barry MacBan in this video

Stories We're Following

The LBN Team — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:26:55 +0000

US Supreme Court Declares Strip Search of 13 year Old Student Unconstitutional.

Friday we'll talk with ACLU attorney, Adam Wolf, who argued the Supreme Court Case on behalf of the Redding family.

Wall Street Meltdown Impacting How Jurors View Attorneys & Business Clients

The LBN Team — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:08:35 +0000

Recent revelations about corporate greed and wrong- doing have significantly altered juror attitudes, says Dr. Noelle Nelson, a California trial consultant and author of the booklet, "101 WinningTips: How to Give a Good Deposition & Testify Well in Court."

Jurors who may have once rationalized, 'What the heck, everybody does it,"are now holding lawyers and their corporate clients to a higher standard,"notes Nelson. "Taking advantage of others by virtue of contractual technicalities and loopholes was viewed as flaky but an ordinary way of operating in the business world. Now, it's seen as an unacceptable moral failing. "