Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Judge strikes down California's same-sex marriage ban, finding that "Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians."
U.S. v. Arizona
Arizona judge enjoins enforcement of a new immigration law's requirement that police determine the immigration status of
every person who is arrested.
McGuire v. United Airlines
Michigan woman says a United Express flight crew locked her in a plane for nearly four hours after it landed because they failed to ensure that all passengers had disembarked.
R.H. v. Schenectady Sch. Dist.
Middle school student says he was suspended for wearing rosary beads because the rosary "is considered a gang-related symbol" and cannot be worn in school.
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• Nevada man sues the Mormon church over a back injury he suffered performing baptisms for the dead. The church was negligent in not warning Daniel Dastrup that "the repetitive motion required for performing baptisms for the dead could cause serious damage to a person's back."
Dastrup v. LDS Church

• Attorney says he was harassed by his boss at a Newport Beach, Calif., law firm because refused to attend a seminar "where he would be stripped naked, not allowed to leave, be required to discuss details of his sex life, handle a wooden dildo, and potentially allow other men to touch his genitals."
Eggleston v. Bisnar/Chase

• Parents of a 10-year-old boy who witnessed a killer whale's fatal attack on a trainer sue Sea World Orlando for infliction of emotional distress. "Without question, it was reasonably foreseeable and in fact predictable that an attack such as this one by a killer whale with the tendencies of Tilikum was inevitable." Connell v. Sea World

• Denver judge dismisses Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols's civil rights claims against prison officials for denying him a high-fiber diet.
Nichols v. Federal Bureau of Prisons

• Illinois teenager with cerebral palsy sues the Special Olympics for refusing to let her play basketball with the help of a service dog.
Youngwith v. Special Olympics

• Montana judge sets aside a government decision removing protections for the northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf. The Endangered Species Act "was not intended to sow the dragon's teeth of strife or to plant the seeds of future conflicts that have given rise to this case."
Defenders of Wildlife v. Salazar

• San Francisco judge dismisses a cereal consumer's false advertising suit. "[T]here is nothing in the packaging or marketing of Cap’n Crunch that would in any way deceive a reasonable consumer into believing that the cereal contains or derives nutritional value from real fruit." Werbel v. PepsiCo

• 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.




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Injury Claims

Killer's Widow Drops Lawsuit Against Judge Print

 

Michael Richard

Just a day after filing it, the widow of a Death Row inmate dropped her civil-rights suit against a Texas judge who allowed her husband's execution to proceed after refusing to give his lawyers 20 extra minutes to file a last appeal.

Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller closed the courthouse doors promptly at 5 p.m. on Sept. 25 even though Michael Richard's lawyers had asked for more time because of computer problems. He was executed by lethal injection a few hours later.

Keller's conduct prompted 150 Texas lawyers to file a complaint against her with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. And Richard's widow filed suit Nov. 7 in Houston for unspecified damages and an injunction preventing Keller and her fellow appeals court judges “from again unlawfully interfering with the due process appeal rights of the condemned.”

Keller “without any authority to do so ... prevented a death penalty appeal to be filed with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, thereby causing the death of plaintiff's husband,” the complaint says.

But Marsha Richard filed a notice of dismissal Nov. 8. The court document gives no explanation and her attorney, Randall L. Kallinen of Houston, wasn't much more forthcoming when contacted by On Point.

“At this time, I can't divulge legal strategy that could help the other side,” he said cryptically. Asked if he would be refiling, he replied, “That would be divulging legal strategy.”

UPDATES

  • Kallinen now says he is refiling the suit in Austin, where most of the potential trial witnesses live. "I also want the jury to be able to walk into the Court of Criminal Appeals and see where that phone call came in," he told the Austin American-Statesman. He was referring to the call to the appeals court in which Michael Richard's lawyers asked for extra time to file his late appeal.

  • Kallinen refiled the case Nov. 13 in Austin.

  • The case had several glaring problems, among them the qualified immunity judges enjoy for their administrative acts. Moreover, with her husband dead, Marsha Richard has no standing to seek injunctive relief on behalf of the condemned.

    “Maybe her lawyer realized the suit has no merit,” speculated University of Houston law professor Peter Hoffman. By dismissing the case so quickly, he noted, Kallinen avoids any risk of frivolous lawsuit sanctions.

    Another possibility is that Kallinen, who is associated with a civil liberties group, will find a live Death Row inmate to act as plaintiff. But that would preclude suing for any damages.

    A wrongful-death claim in Richard's complaint alleges Keller is liable for the pain and suffering and “awareness of impending death” of her husband “before his untimely, painful and unnecessary death.”

    On the morning of Michael Richard's execution, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to the lethal injection protocol used by Kentucky. His attorneys were working on an appeal that raised a similar challenge when Keller closed the courthouse doors on them.

    The Texas criminal appeals court has said it will now accept emergency e-mail filings in death penalty cases in order to avoid a repetition of the Richard fiasco.

    By Matthew Heller
    11/9/07

     
    rc_insidestories
    • Court Raps Judge Over 'Moral' Views in Adoption Case

      The Georgia Court of Appeals has rejected the reactionary views of a family court judge who ruled that a foster parent could not adopt a child because her out-of-wedlock relationship with a man was “immoral.”
      Read more...
    • Off With His Head! Woman Sues 'Mad Hatter' Actor

      Experimental theater clashes with premises liability law in the case of a Kentucky woman who claims she was injured while watching a performance of a circus-inspired play when one of the actors balanced his knee on her head.
      Read more...
    • Charity Worker Accuses CEO of Hypnotic Seduction

      A former charity worker may be pushing the limits of sexual harassment law by alleging that her boss required her to participate in “relaxation sessions” on his “magic couch” during which he hypnotized and molested her.
      Read more...
    • Appeal is Expert's Latest Challenge to Judges

      Expert witness Dr. David Egilman was previously successful in showing he had standing to appeal a judicial order in a case in which he was not a party — but that case may not help him in his latest challenge to a trial judge.
      Read more...
    • Plaintiff's Expert Files Appeal in 'Popcorn Lung' Lawsuit

      A controversial expert witness for plaintiffs has filed an unusual non-party appeal of a Washington state judge's decision finding his theory that snackers can contract lung disease from exposure to microwave popcorn is not scientifically sound.
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    • Philly School Sued Over Race Attack on Student's Mom

      Taking civil rights law to what may be an extreme, an Asian-American woman is alleging a Philadelphia high school's tolerance of racism rendered her “helpless prey” to African-American students who attacked her when she picked her child up from the school.
      Read more...
    • 'McSteamy' Sex Tape Suit Cools off With Settlement

      Acting couple Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart have dropped a $1 million lawsuit against Gawker.com for publishing a videotape featuring them in a nude threesome with a friend after the gossip website agreed to take down the much-viewed posting.
      Read more...
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