Legal Research

Selections from National Law Journal Daily Headlines March 18, 2009

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: NLJ.com, March 18, 2009

FROM THE UPCOMING ISSUE  |  Study concludes a well-worn gripe may be right: ABA ratings are biased against conservative nominees
"After eight years 'out in the cold,' the American Bar Association is back in the role of evaluating the qualifications of potential judicial nominees on a prenomination basis. The ABA's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary had evaluated prospective nominees for every president from 1952 through 2000. In 2001, the Bush administration announced it would break with that tradition and no longer submit names in advance of nominations."

WEB-ONLY  |  A compensation attorney talks about the AIG furor, and why punitive action by Congress could backfire
"The chief executive officer of AIG is expected to testify today about why the insurance firm, which has accepted more than $170 billion in bailout funds, paid $165 million in bonuses to its employees during the past week. Yesterday several Democratic senators proposed legislation that would tax the bonuses as a means of reimbursing taxpayers. White & Case's Andrew Oringer said the legislative proposals could run afoul of constitutional issues and that other financial firms receiving bailout funds are taking notice of AIG's predicament."

WEB-ONLY  |  Law school cannot be required to recognize and fund a religious student group that discriminates
"The University of California Hastings College of the Law cannot be required to recognize and fund a religious student group that discriminates in the selection of members and officers, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday. "

WEB-ONLY  |  Internet 'cybersquatting' complaints continue to climb
"Internet domain-name arbitration disputes, or so-called cybersquatting cases, continue to climb even as a global Internet policy organization plans to expand Web address options. Many of the disputes involve allegations of typosquatting, which involves registering misspelled versions of a well-known Internet site or brand name to capture Web traffic and advertising revenue."

WEB-ONLY  |  An attorney who huddled with the IRS over giving break to victims of Madoff and other Ponzi schemes talks about the new rules
"A new IRS ruling expands the tax deduction options for Ponzi scheme victims and promises some financial relief for victims of Bernard Madoff's massive $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Chadbourne & Parke tax partner Donald Schapiro explains the details of the ruling".

WEB-ONLY  |  After review of crime lab, Detroit's top prosecutor identifies 147 cases that need retesting
"Detroit's top prosecutor has released some results of her ongoing investigation of the now-closed Detroit Police Crime Lab, shut down because of shoddy police work. And the results aren't pretty, she says."

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on March 19, 2009 (boomark / email).