
• 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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Court Backs Teacher's Firing for Online Chat |
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A Connecticut high-school teacher went too far in trying to get on the same level as his students by communicating with them on his MySpace page, a judge has ruled in upholding the school's decision to terminate him.
U.S. District Judge Dominic J. Squatrito singled out an exchange in which one student told the teacher, Jeffrey Spanierman, “Don't be jealous cuase [sic] you can't get any,” and Spanierman replied,
What makes you think I want any? I’m not jealous. I just like to have fun and goof on you guys. If you don’t like it. Kiss my brass!
“[I]t appears that the Plaintiff would communicate with students as if he were their peer, not their teacher,” Squatrito said in dismissing Spanierman's wrongful termination case. “Such conduct could very well disrupt the learning atmosphere of a school, which sufficiently outweighs the value of Plaintiff’s MySpace speech.”
School officials did not renew Spanierman's contract to teach at Emmett O'Brien High School in Ansonia, Conn., after a guidance counselor reviewed his “Mr. Spiderman” profile page on MySpace. She testified that she was disturbed by his conversations with students, which she described as “very peer-to-peer like.”
In another exchange, he joked with a student about keeping him in “detention sooooo long that your great grandchildren will have to finish it out.”
Spanierman alleged in his suit filed in August 2006 that officials retaliated against him for exercising his First Amendment rights. “All of his communications were entirely appropriate and personal,” the complaint said, citing the popularity of MySpace with “people under the age of thirty.”
But Squatrito said “it was not unreasonable for the Defendants to find that the Plaintiff’s conduct on MySpace was disruptive to school activities.”
The online exchanges with students, he continued in his opinion, “show a potentially unprofessional rapport with students, and the court can see how a school’s administration would disapprove of, and find disruptive, a teacher’s discussion with a student about 'getting any' (presumably sex), or a threat made to a student (albeit a facetious one) about detention.”
Spanierman also posted an anti-Iraq war poem on his MySpace page. “The commander and [sic] chief much like a thief/will steal away at the dawn of the day,” it rhymes. “But how many will die, for America’s apple pie.”
“Leaving aside the question of whether one could call this bit of poetastry an 'elegant articulation' of the current conflict in Iraq,” Squatrito said it “could constitute a political statement.” Nevertheless, “[T]here is nothing in the record to indicate that the Defendants intended to retaliate against the Plaintiff because of the political views expressed in his poem.”
Spanierman's case is unusual in that it involves a teacher getting in trouble for using MySpace. In other cases (see ), students have been accused of misusing the social networking website.
A Texas appeals court in August dismissed a case involving high-school students who created a bogus MySpace page in the name of an administrator in which they falsely identified her as a lesbian. Anna Draker had sued both the students and their parents.
By Matthew Heller 10/21/08 
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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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