• Iowa judge says a sheriff denied the applications of a father and son for concealed weapons permits in retaliation for their political activism. "This is a great reminder that the First Amendment protects the sole individual who may be a gadfly, kook, weirdo, nut job, whacko, and spook, with the same force of protection as folks with more majoritarian and popular views." Dorr v. Weber
• 5th Circuit rules that a school district violated the religious freedom of a Native American boy by requiring him to wear his long hair in a bun on top of his head or in a braid tucked into his shirt. The boy "has a sincere religious belief in wearing his hair uncut and in plain view."
A.A. v. Needville Ind. Sch. Dist.
• 11th Circuit denies a challenge to an ordinance restricting handouts of food to the homeless in Orlando parks. "[W]e are unpersuaded that the conduct of simply feeding people ... is expressive for First Amendment purposes."
First Vagabonds Church v. City of Orlando
• Boston judge slashes a jury award in an illegal music downloading case from $675,000 to $67,500. "The award in this case ... lacks any rational foundation and smacks of arbitrariness." Sony v. Tenenbaum
• Iowa Supreme Court suspends a voyeuristic attorney indefinitely for peeping on women through windows. "[W]e cannot overlook the serious, egregious, and persistent nature of [Mark] Templeton’s misconduct and the effect it had on his victims."
Disciplinary Board v. Templeton
• Pennsylvania judge strikes down the state's blasphemy law in a case brought by a film producer who wanted to name his company "I Choose Hell Productions." "'Choosing hell' may be an irreverent choice for a corporate name, but under the Constitution, this fact alone cannot be the basis for its suppression from the public debate." Kalman v. Cortes
• Cancer patient sues Wal-Mart for firing him after discovering that he uses medical marijuana for pain relief. "[N]o corporation doing business in Michigan should be permitted to flout state laws protecting patients who use medical marihuana in accordance with state law." Casias v. Wal-Mart Stores
• 11th Circuit rules that the operator of an Internet porn dorm was engaged in illegally operating a business in a residential zone. "Business objectives are the sole reason individuals are paid to live and engage in sexual activities at the 27th Street residence."
Flava Works v. City of Miami
 
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Chastity by Name, Not Flagrantly Promiscuous by Law |
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The South Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled that a woman ironically named Chastity Chastain did not engage in “flagrant promiscuity” by having two extramarital affairs but still awarded custody of her children to her ex-husband.
Tyson Chastain, a former golf pro, filed for divorce in August 2005 after finding out that his wife was having an affair with a co-worker. Two months later, she began an affair with another co-worker, Lee Dotson, while separated from her husband..
Not to be outdone, Tyson had an affair with Dotson's wife, who was separated from Dotson at the time.
In awarding Tyson custody of the couple's three children, Florence County Family Court Judge Arthur E. Morehead found that Chastity engaged in flagrant promiscuity -– which, under Boykin v. Boykin, 370 S.E.2d 884 (1988), is considered detrimental per se to the welfare of a child.
The mother in Boykin was found flagrantly promiscuous after admitting she had sex with at least five men during a period of less than a year. “Flagrant promiscuity on the part of a custodial parent will, we hold, inevitably affect the welfare of the child and establish a watershed in the court's quest to protect the best interest of a minor child,” the South Carolina Court of Appeals said.
In a Jan. 12 opinion, the same court was more forgiving of Chastity Chastain's dalliances than Judge Morehead. Flagrant promiscuity, it said, “is meant to be invoked sparingly -- to embrace that rare situation of glaringly bad and outrageous conduct not present in these facts.”
Nevertheless, Chief Judge Kaye G. Hearn, writing for the court, upheld the custody award to Tyson Chastain. She cited evidence that Chastity “exposed her children to safety risks while they were in her care” and unlike her ex-husband, who doesn't play golf anymore, has a “very inflexible” work schedule.
Adding salt to Chastity's wounds, she must pay $2,500 to her ex-husband for fees he incurred having a private investigator snoop on her. “Wife never objected to the family court’s award of private investigator fees to Husband at trial or in a post-trial motion,” Hearn said, finding she did not preserve the issue for appellate review.
By Matthew Heller
1/21/09 
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Sex Harassment Claims Hit Actor Affleck, 'Bones' Star
A producer of a film about actor Joaquin Phoenix, an extra on the set of the TV show “Bones,” an assistant property master, and a makeup artist are among the plaintiffs in a recent epidemic of lurid Hollywood lawsuits.
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Jury Goes 'Wild' in Woman's Privacy Case Over Video
A Missouri jury has gone wild in a case of involuntary nudity, finding that a woman consented to appearing topless in a “Girls Gone Wild” video by playing to the camera before another person pulled her top down.
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Actress Facing $750K Award to Therapist
Soap opera star Hunter Tylo may have to pay more than $750,000 in damages and attorney fees to a psychotherapist whom she sued more than four years ago for negligent treatment of her children, On Point has learned.
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Reporter Sues Hotels Over Peephole Videos
In an unusual premises liability case, ESPN reporter Erin Andrews has sued the operators of three hotels for allowing a stalker to surreptitiously videotape her naked through peepholes in the doors to her rooms.
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Students Challenge Rubber Fetus Ban
The suspensions of seven pro-life students at two Roswell, N.M., high schools for distributing rubber fetuses have given birth to a lawsuit that takes the First Amendment protections for student speech into uncharted territory.
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Distress Claim Barred in Hotel 'Ménâge à Trois' Case
A former employee of a luxury Miami Beach hotel who says her billionaire boss invited her to join him in a “ménâge à trois” cannot sue him for infliction of emotional distress, a judge has ruled, finding his alleged behavior, while “obnoxious,” was not “objectively outrageous.”
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Chuck E. Cheese Settles Molesting Mascot Suit
A Missouri woman who claimed a Chuck E. Cheese mascot groped her breast has settled her lawsuit against the operator of the restaurant chain, On Point has learned.
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Stovell v. James
Subject: LeBron's paternity
Document: Complaint
U.S. v. Arizona
Subject: Illegal immigration
Document: Complaint
Rosenberg v. Google
Subject: Negligent navigation
Document: Complaint
Smith v. Hooters
Subject: Weight discrimination
Document: Complaint
City of Ontario v. Quon
Subject: Text-message privacy
Document: Opinion
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Rosenberg v. Musical Arts Assn.
Court: Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Common Pleas
Subject: Defamation, age bias
Mecozzi v. City of Los Angeles
Court: L.A. Superior
Subject: Police brutality
Verdict: $1.7 million
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Jose Padilla v. John Yoo
Date: 6/14/10
Court: 9th Circuit
Hearing: Oral arguments in human rights case.
Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Date: 6/16/10
Court: USDC, N. Calif.
Hearing: Closing arguments in trial of challenge to gay marriage ban.
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