Legal Research

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USE OF EMPLOYER'S CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS NOT PROTECTED IN SEX-BIAS SUIT
"An employee who used copies of confidential company documents to bolster her gender-discrimination case did not engage in protected activity, an appeals court held Tuesday in a case of first impression. The court reversed a $10,649,117 judgment in Quinlan v. Curtiss-Wright Corp., A-5728-06, and remanded for a new trial because the trial judge erroneously told the jury that it was permissible for the plaintiff's lawyers to use the documents in pursuing her claims and that the company could not fire her on that basis. The court said that approach would encourage employees to copy confidential material, so long as it was later used in litigation."

ETHICS CHARGES LODGED AGAINST JUDGE FOR NAZI-RELATED COMMENT
"Union County Superior Court Judge William Wertheimer was charged Tuesday with violating ethics canons by creating the impression of religious and ethnic bias when he made a remark in court about an organization that has been linked to Adolf Hitler. The Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct also noted that the judge had been previously admonished and sent a letter of caution in unrelated matters. Considered as a whole, the behavior 'demonstrates a pattern of improper conduct' that calls into question his ability to follow the Code of Judicial Conduct, according to the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct."

JUDGE HIT WITH ETHICS CHARGES FOR PRESIDING OVER RELEASE OF A RELATIVE
"Mercer County's presiding Criminal Part judge has been charged with violating ethics rules by ordering the release of a relative who appeared before him as a criminal defendant. The judge, Gerald Council, initially said he could not handle the bail hearing because he recognized the defendant, but then changed his mind, according to the complaint made public on Monday by the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct. The committee said Council, who was serving as the judge for emergent bail hearings during a court recess, should have adjourned the matter for disposition by a different judge on the next available court date."

ACLU SAYS IT'S NOT KOSHER TO DEFINE KOSHER
"The ACLU and a pro bono team from Atlanta's King & Spalding are challenging the constitutionality of Georgia's Kosher Food Labeling Act. The 1980 law mandates that food sold as kosher must meet the 'Orthodox Hebrew religious rules and requirements.' But not all Jews in Georgia are Orthodox and not all have the same kosher standards, the ACLU argues. It contends that the state infringes on religious liberty when it decides which rabbis can decide kosher standards. The suit was filed on behalf of a Conservative Jewish rabbi who says he can't fulfill his duties to supervise food establishments."

NINTH CIRCUIT MAKES IT EASIER FOR EX-INMATES TO SUE OVER ALLEGED MISTREATMENT
"The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling in a case of first impression, has found that a former jail inmate was not required to exhaust administrative procedures under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) before suing for alleged violations of his constitutional rights that took place during his incarceration. The court held in Talamantes v. Leyva, No. 06-55939, that the exhaustion requirement in the statute applies only to prisoners, not former prisoners. Plaintiffs' lawyers say that not being subject to the PLRA means former inmates have a lower hurdle to prove injuries. The ruling aligns with opinions in at least five other circuit courts, including the Second and Third circuits."

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