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US court: Parents cannot sue to enforce 'No Child'
Law Firm News |
2008/12/01 18:50
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| A federal appeals court says parents cannot sue school districts to force them to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act.pThe ruling Thursday comes in a case filed against the low-performing Newark Public Schools in New Jersey./ppParents say the district failed to notify them of the right to transfer out of failing schools and of other provisions required under the law./ppThe 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says enforcement of the act is up to state educational agencies./ppACLU attorney Scott Michelman says the decision is not in the best interests of parents or children. A school district lawyer did not return calls. /p |
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Court revives Ariz. tribes lawsuit over research
Legal News |
2008/12/01 18:48
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| An Arizona appeals court panel ruled Friday that the Havasupai Indian tribe can proceed with a lawsuit that claims university researchers misused blood samples taken from tribal members.pOverturning a judge's 2007 dismissal of the case, a split Arizona Court of Appeals panel said the Havasupai and other plaintiffs had provided enough information to go to trial or at least enough to go forward in trial court pending further proceedings./ppThe northern Arizona tribe, whose isolated village lies deep in a gorge off the Grand Canyon, claims Arizona State University and University of Arizona researchers misused blood samples taken from more than 200 tribal members for diabetes research in the 1990s by also using it for research into schizophrenia, inbreeding and ancient population migration./ppThe tribe claims the additional research was conducted without its permission and constituted an invasion of privacy. As a result, the tribe says, some members now fear seeking medical attention./ppAttorneys for the university system and individual researchers have argued that tribal members supplied the blood samples voluntarily and that there is legitimate public interest in data that can advance disease research. /pdiv id=hn-links-headerOn the Net:/divul class=hn-linksliHavasupai Tribe: a href=http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.havasupaitribe.com/amp;usg=AFQjCNGKGBps6rU8CCc9S6zN6L-eW3nMIwhttp://www.havasupaitribe.com//a liArizona Court of Appeals Division One: a href=http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.cofad1.state.az.usamp;usg=AFQjCNG7qPRLNFvqSHMXUY1jnXNgtRHCFAhttp://www.cofad1.state.az.us/a/li/ul |
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Jury convicts mom of lesser charges in online hoax
Law Firm News |
2008/11/26 18:47
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| A jury on Wednesday was unable to reach a verdict on the main conspiracy charge and instead convicted a Missouri woman of three minor offenses for her role in an Internet hoax that apparently drove a 13-year-old girl to suicide.pThe Los Angeles federal court jury rejected felony charges of accessing a computer without authorization to inflict emotional distress on young Megan Meier./ppHowever, the jury found defendant Lori Drew guilty of three counts of the lesser offense of accessing a computer without authorization. Each count is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine./ppThe jurors could not reach a verdict on a conspiracy count, and U.S. District Court Judge George Wu declared a mistrial on the charge. It was not known if she would be retried./ppShe could have been sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison if convicted of the four original counts./ppProsecutors said Drew violated the MySpace terms of service by conspiring with her young daughter and a business assistant to create a fictitious profile of a teen boy on the MySpace social networking site to harass Megan./ppMegan, who had been treated for depression, hanged herself with a belt in her bedroom closet in 2006 after receiving a message saying the world would be better without her. /p |
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Singapore rules Journal in contempt of court
Legal Line News |
2008/11/23 18:48
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| Singapore's High Court ruled the Wall Street Journal Asia in contempt of court for publishing two editorials and a letter to the editor that the government says damaged the reputation of the country's judicial system.pThe court also fined the newspaper 25,000 Singapore dollars ($16,400)./ppJustice Tay Yong Kwang ruled Tuesday against the newspaper and two of its editors, three weeks after Attorney General Walter Woon argued the editorials published in June and July questioned the judiciary's independence from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the ruling People's Action Party. Not meting out punishment in this case would undermine the country's rule of law, the court said./ppThe letter to the editor was written by Chee Soon Juan, head of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party./ppThe editorials and the letter contained insinuations of bias, lack of impartiality and lack of independence and implied that the judiciary is subservient to Mr. Lee and/or the PAP and is a tool for silencing political dissent, Tay wrote in the ruling./ppThere can be no doubt that allegations of the nature mentioned above would immediately cast doubts on the judiciary in Singapore and undermine public confidence./ppThe newspaper's lawyer, Philip Jeyaretnam, was not immediately available for comment. The Wall Street Journal is published by Dow Jones amp; Co., a part of News Corp./ppSingapore's leaders have sued journalists and political opponents several times in past years for alleged defamation. They have won lawsuits and damages against Bloomberg, the Economist and the International Herald Tribune./ppHuman Rights Watch called on Singapore last month to stop using defamation lawsuits to stifle criticism and bankrupt opposition politicians, citing the High Court's decision in October to order Chee and his party to pay $416,000 to Lee and his father, Lee Kuan Yew, in damages stemming from a 2006 defamation case./ppGovernment leaders justify suing political opponents, saying it is necessary to defend their personal and professional reputations since it bears on their ability to govern properly and command respect from Singaporeans. /p |
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