http://jurist.org/paperchase/ JURIST's weblog of legal news and resources worth thinking about, by Professor Bernard Hibbitts and law students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. 2013-05-18T12:47:00-04:00 en-US http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/illinois-senate-approves-medical-marijuana-bill.php [JURIST] The Illinois Senate [official website] passed a bill [text] on Friday that would allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes in the state, subject to strict regulations. The bill indicates that marijuana may only be used for specified medical conditions, and is intended to be regulated through dosage limits and background checks. The state would license 22 growers and 60 dispensers across the state to provide the drug. Those who qualify will be prohibited from smoking marijuana in... 2013-05-18T12:47:00-04:00 2013-05-18T12:47:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/colorado-sheriffs-challenge-new-gun-control-laws.php [JURIST] A group of Colorado Country Sheriffs filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] in the US District Court for the District of Colorado [official website] on Saturday challenging two new gun control laws [HB 1224, PDF; HB 1229, PDF] passed earlier this year. The challenged laws, signed by Governor John Hickenlooper [JURIST report] in March, ban high capacity magazines, limiting them to a maximum capacity of 15, and establish a required universal background check for all sales and transfers of guns... 2013-05-18T11:08:00-04:00 2013-05-18T11:08:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/federal-judge-blocks-arkansas-12-week-abortion-ban.php [JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas [official website] on Friday temporarily blocked enforcement of a law law banning abortions 12 weeks into a pregnancy. US District Judge Susan Webber Wright granted a motion for preliminary injunction [AP report] against the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act [Act 301, PDF; materials], which bans abortions "of an unborn human individual whose heartbeat has been detected ... and is twelve (12) weeks or greater gestation." The... 2013-05-17T14:58:00-04:00 2013-05-17T14:58:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/federal-judge-allows-challenge-to-arkansas-abortion-law-to-proceed.php [JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas [official website] on Wednesday rejected [order, PDF] Arkansas' attempt to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the state's law banning abortions 12 weeks into a pregnancy. US District Judge Susan Webber Wright denied the motion to dismiss, ruling that the lawsuit made a strong enough case to warrant allowing it to go forward. The court also found that the abortion providers bringing the suit have standing. The case,... 2013-05-17T11:06:00-04:00 2013-05-17T11:06:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/us-appeals-court-denies-asylum-to-german-family-wanting-to-homeschool.php [JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit [official website] on Tuesday denied an appeal [opinion, PDF] by a German family seeking asylum in the US in order to homeschool their children for religious reasons. The Romeike family alleged that Germany's ban against homeschooling caused them a well-founded fear of persecution based on their membership in a "particular social group"—homeschoolers. In the opinion, Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote that US immigration law [text] for asylum-seekers only applies for those... 2013-05-17T09:56:00-04:00 2013-05-17T09:56:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/--dnp-1.php [JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] on Wednesday denied a motion to certify a putative class action against Google's YouTube [corporate website] involving copyright owners from around the world. Named plaintiffs included the English Premier League, the French Tennis Federation, the National Music Publishers' Association [corporate websites] and several other music publishers. The plaintiffs asserted that YouTube infringed on copyrighted materials [Reuters report] by allowing unauthorized hosting of certain... 2013-05-16T14:02:00-04:00 2013-05-16T14:02:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/wells-fargo-ordered-to-pay-203-million-for-misleading-customers.php [JURIST] A federal judge on Tuesday reinstated a $203 million penalty against Wells Fargo [corporate website] in a class action suit alleging that the bank affirmatively misled customers and then charged excessive overdraft fees. Rather than processing purchases in a chronological order, as is the common practice, the bank processed its customers' purchases from largest to smallest. The penalty was originally ordered in August 2010, but the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] tossed [text, PDF]... 2013-05-16T11:44:00-04:00 2013-05-16T11:44:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/north-dakota-abortion-law-challenged.php [JURIST] The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) [advocacy website] on Wednesday challenged [supplemental complaint, PDF; motion, PDF] a North Dakota law that places additional requirements on abortion clinics. SB 2305 [text PDF], passed [JURIST report] in March, restricts abortion providers to those doctors recognized by a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic. Although the providers at Red River Women's Clinic [clinic website] sought such recognition, pre-existing hospital policies prevented them from complying with the statute. Without such recognition, the... 2013-05-16T10:38:00-04:00 2013-05-16T10:38:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/holder-orders-criminal-investigation-of-irs.php [JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday that the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into allegations that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [official websites] unfairly scrutinized tax-exemptions for conservative groups. The agency initially singled out groups with applications containing the names "Tea Party" or "Patriots," but expanded to target groups that promoted Constitutionalism. The practice of subjecting conservative groups to extra scrutiny went on for 18 months. The Treasury Inspector General's report [text, PDF] suggests that poor... 2013-05-15T14:27:00-04:00 2013-05-15T14:27:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/south-carolina-sued-over-sex-assignment-surgery-performed-on-child.php [JURIST] The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) [advocacy website] sued the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS) [official website], social workers and doctors on Tuesday on behalf of a couple whose adopted child underwent sex assignment surgery while in the state's custody. The child, M.C., was born with "ambiguous genitals," possessing both testicular and ovarian tissue. When M.C. was 16 months old, and in the custody of the SCDSS after his biological parents were deemed unfit and relinquished their... 2013-05-15T11:36:00-04:00 2013-05-15T11:36:00-04:00