Bowman v. Monsanto, United States Supreme Court (5/13/13) Agriculture Law, Patents Monsanto invented and patented Roundup Ready soybean seeds, which contain a genetic alteration that allows them to survive exposure to the herbicide glyphosate. It sells the seeds subject to a licensing agreement that permits farmers to plant the purchased seed in only one growing season. Growers may consume or…
Bailey v. Callaghan, US 6th Cir. (5/9/13) Communications Law, Constitutional Law, Education Law, Labor & Employment Law Michigan’s 2012 Public Act 53 provides: “A public school employer’s use of public school resources to assist a labor organization in collecting dues or service fees from wages of public school employees is a prohibited contribution to the administration of a labor organization,”…
United States v. Tebeau, US 8th Cir. (4/30/12) Criminal Law Defendant owned more than 300 acres of land where he has held weekend music festivals at which drug use was widespread. Defendant invited various bands to perform at the festivals and he also performed with his own Grateful Dead tribute band. After law enforcement conducted an undercover investigation into the…
Abdouch v. Lopez, Nebraska Supreme Court (4/19/13) Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Injury Law Plaintiff was a resident of Nebraska. In 1963, Plaintiff received a copy of the book “Revolutionary Road,” which was inscribed to her by the late author Richard Yates. Plaintiff’s inscribed copy of the book was later stolen. Ken Lopez and his company, Ken Lopez Bookseller (KLB), bought…
Missouri v McNeely, United States Supreme Court (4/17/13) Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law McNeely, stopped for speeding and crossing the centerline, declined to take a breath test to measure his blood alcohol concentration (BAC). He was arrested and taken to a hospital. The officer never attempted to secure a search warrant. McNeely refused to consent, but the officer directed…
McCarthy v. Fuller, US 7th Cir (4/10/13) Constitutional Law, Contracts, Non-Profit Organizations In 1956, Sister Ephrem of the Most Precious Blood, experienced apparitions of the Virgin Mary, during which, Sister Ephrem claimed, she was told: “I am Our Lady of America.” The Archbishop supported a program of devotions to Our Lady of America. In 1965 Pope Paul VI approved creation…
Florida v. Jardines, United States Supreme Court (3/26/13) Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law Police took a drug-sniffing dog to Jardines’ front porch, where the dog gave a positive alert for narcotics. The officers then obtained a warrant for a search, which revealed marijuana plants. Jardines was charged with trafficking in cannabis. The Supreme Court of Florida approved the trial…
In re Bulger, US 1st Cir. (3/14/13) Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Legal Ethics James “Whitey” Bulger was the leader of a criminal organization in Boston from 1972 to 1999. An indictment returned by a federal grand jury charged Bulger with a number of federal offenses, including violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, and the indictment alleged…
We start off our picks this week with a dog sniff case from the Supreme Court. A side note that several opinions came down from the High Court this week – to check them all out go to Justia’s Supreme Court Center , or sign up for our USSC Summary Newsletter. Florida v. Harris, US Supreme Court (2/19/13) Civil Rights,…
Caldwell v. Cablevision Sys. Corp., New York Court of Appeals (2/7/13) After falling on the street and injuring her leg, Plaintiff commenced this negligence action against Communications Specialists, Inc. (CSI) for creating a hazardous condition in the road by failing to properly pave over a trench CSI cut to install high-speed fiber-optic cable underneath the street. To rebut Plaintiff’s testimony…