Legal Research

Selections from National Law Journal Daily Headlines July 21, 2008

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: NLJ.com., July 21, 2008.

Subscription needed for online access                                 http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/subscribe.jsp

Suits roll in over recalled drugs
"Plaintiffs' attorneys recently filed dozens of lawsuits involving two recalled drugs, generic blood thinner heparin and prescription medication Digitek, that could signal a clean break from past actions that were far less successful against drugs Vioxx and Paxil. In contrast to past pharmaceutical tort litigation, plaintiffs' lawyers aren't alleging that a company's "failure to warn" about possible risks of a drug caused injuries and deaths. Lawyers anticipate that the new defective-product claims could duck the federal pre-emption argument altogether, increasing the chances of success for more plaintiffs."

Rising debt cases reveal erratic system
"State judicial officials across the United States and attorneys who specialize in suing people behind in their bills are coming together with debtor advocates to change how cash-strapped courts handle a rising tide of debt-collection lawsuits. Massachusetts is drafting new court rules, California implemented a revised court system last year, and talks on revisions are underway in Connecticut, Illinois and Michigan. New or revived creditor bar associations in Florida, Indiana, Iowa and Pennsylvania are also planning to initiate changes."

EMPLOYMENT LAW  |  Waivers limiting workers time to sue draws fire
"A growing number of employers are adding a controversial element to their job applications: a waiver in tiny print that says employees can sue the company only within six months of a particular incident. That waives their rights to any contrary statute of limitations provided under state and federal laws, a tactic that is stirring yet more workplace controversy and litigation"

DETROIT  |  Embattled mayor seeks refuge in 'texting' case
"The Motor City's embattled mayor, who is embroiled in a scandal in which text-messaging triggered criminal charges against him, is seeking refuge in a recent federal appeals court ruling in California. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that a wireless phone company violated federal law when it released a police officer's text messages ? some of them sexually explicit ? to his employer."

EMPLOYMENT LAW  |  Third-Party Retaliation
"Anti-retaliation provisions are increasingly invoked in a new context: by disciplined employees who didn't complain about discrimination but are connected in some way to another employee who did. Plaintiffs have been mostly family members who work for the same employer. The high court will hear a case that would extend such third-party retaliation claims further ? to unrelated co-workers who participated in an internal investigation of a bias complaint but who did not ever object to perceived discrimination."

TRIAL STRATEGY  |  Cross-Examination
"Beyond the conventional guidelines for cross-examining a witness at trial is the most challenging aspect of cross-examination ? determining the topics on which a particular witness should be questioned. No doubt determining the topics on which to question a witness during cross-examination is like many other tasks at trial, or even dieting for that matter ? it is much easier to describe what should be done than to actually do it. That said, several simple principles often prove helpful in selecting topics for cross-examination and in deciding how to elicit the desired testimony."

VOIR DIRE
"A 33-year-old Michigan man faces felony charges for allegedly arranging online to have sex with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl and showed up wearing a T-shirt that read: "World's Greatest Dad." Plus, lawyers who get CLE credit in virtual reality and a legal education at fast food restaurants in this week's offbeat news."

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on July 21, 2008 (boomark / email).