Legal links of interest for the week ending March 22, 2013

Some of the stories about courts, the law and lawyers in the news this past week:

·         Study on wrongful convictions finds prosecutorial misconduct and weak defense play a significant role: The report may be useful to practitioners to help understand how these factors come into play and how to ameliorate or alleviate them
 ·         Russia slams Texas prosecutors for not charging parents of dead adopted boy: A Texas coroner had declared the child’s death in January accidental, but Moscow demanded a complete report from U.S. officials.
 ·         Congressman objects to Seneca-Cayuga land-into-trust bid:  Rep. Tom Reed (R), Seneca County’s representative in Congress opposes the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma’s application to put 230 acres of land it owns in Seneca and Cayuga counties into federal trust.
 ·         Public Access Guide to NY Courts available:  The Guide contains an application for the media when they seek to conduct coverage of court proceedings and will be available at all court clerks’ offices in the District and available at security posts on each floor of the Hall of Justice in Rochester, NY.
 ·         Red-light camera firms get heat over tickets: Legal challenges, public outcry not slowing industry growth
 ·         Stricter laws due in July to govern underage kids on social media: Sites such as Facebook will likely be forced to remove photos, audio recordings or other personal identifiers of children -- or else face stiff fines, under updates to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
 ·         Justices apply copyright first-sale doctrine to foreign goods: Libraries, museums, retailers and others who buy copyrighted goods made abroad can resell them without violating federal copyright law, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday.
 ·         Just how bad off are law school graduates?  There are a surprising number of job postings for lawyers that offer no salary at all, including government law jobs.

For more on each of these stories, click the links above.

Legal links of interest for the week ending March 15, 2013

Some of the stories about courts, the law and lawyers in the news this past week:

Open meetings laws force public agencies to share more materials: The new requirement, an amendment to the state open meetings law, mandates that all public agencies make their agendas available to the public in advance of their meetings, as well as supplemental meeting materials such as resolutions or department reports.

Wife of millionaire LI real-estate mogul gets judge to ripup her prenup: Longtime divorce lawyer Raoul Felder, who has never overturned a prenup in his three-decade career and has no involvement in the Petrakis case, called the decision “really rare” and precedent setting.

Will FDA Use Obamacare to Tax Americans’ Smartphones and Tablets: Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are concerned that FDA may subject more smartphones and mobile apps to regulation as medical devices, which could result in their being taxed under Obamacare and harm the innovation and economic benefits of the U.S. mobile marketplace.

Attorney wants to exclude Jews from Abdel Hameed Shehadeh’supcoming terror trial: Lawyer Frederick Cohn will ask a judge to bar Jews from the jury hearing the case against Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, who’s accused of lying about trying to join jihadists in Pakistan.

Can lawyers ethically blog about their cases? According to the decision issued by the Virginia Supreme Court, not only can Virginia lawyers ethically blog about their cases, they can even list the names of their clients when doing so, as long as their blog includes an appropriate disclaimer.

N.Y. Schools See Decrease in U.S. News Rankings: Bob Morse, director of data research at U.S. News, attributed much of the churn to a revised methodology involving the weight given to schools' success at landing their graduates in jobs.

Judge halts mayor's soda ban, calls it 'arbitrary and capricious': Judge Tingling said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Board of Health overstepped their bounds, to enforce rules that should be established by the legislative bodies.

 For more on each of these stories, click the links above.

Hearing set in Seneca County assault weapons case

Finger Lakes Times

WATERLOO — A hearing will be held in the case of a Geneva man accused of having stolen assault weapons in Seneca Falls last September.During an appearance by Gary Goodman in Seneca County Court Monday, Judge Dennis Bender scheduled a suppression hearing for March 29. Goodman is being represented by local attorney Steven Getman.

Legal links of interest for the week ending January 25, 2013

Some of the stories about courts, the law and lawyers in the news this past week:

• Court strikes down Obama recess appointments: The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that President Obama’s appointment of three NLRB members was unconstitutional because Obama claimed them as recess appointments when the Senate was not in recess.
• Debt collectors posing as Facebook friends: Some collectors masquerade as friendly personalities to catch an alleged debtor’s attention.
• Sheriffs raise concerns about NY’s new gun law: Some sheriffs said the law takes positive steps to address mental health issues and access to illegal guns, but they said it also infringes on Second Amendment rights,
• Important IRS deadline for small businesses is just daysaway:  If your business paid any individual $600 or more in 2012, the IRS wants to know about it.
• Two sue Subway for 'short' footlong subs: Plaintiffs' lawyer says the company should either make their sandwiches 12 inches long or stop advertising them as footlongs.
• Reid, McConnell reach Senate filibuster deal: The agreement focuses on limiting the ability to stall action at the very beginning of debate and after a bill has passed the Senate and before negotiations begin with the House.
• Foes of New York City soda size limit doubt racial fairness:  The NAACP and the Hispanic Federation, a network of 100 northeastern groups, say minority-owned delis and corner stores will end up at a disadvantage compared to grocery chains. 
• Facebook $20 million “sponsored stories” class-action settlement could mean $10 for users:
  The lawsuit alleges that Facebook “unlawfully used the names, profile pictures, photographs, likenesses, and identities of Facebook users in the United States to advertise or sell products and services through Sponsored Stories without obtaining those users’ consent.”

For more on each of these stories, click the links above.

Town Board continues battle over variance for Arcade Building

Finger Lakes Times:

The ongoing dispute between the town [of Seneca Falls] and the owner and a potential developer of the Arcade Building downtown will highlight tonight’s Town Board meeting.

The building, at 81-83 Fall St., is now owned by Jack Pross of Michigan. It is primarily a commercial building, with a single apartment in the rear of the street level floor.

Pross wants to sell it to Basil Vlahos of Ithaca for conversion to up to eight apartments on the building’s four floors.

The sale is contingent upon Vlahos getting approval for the residential use. He was granted a variance by the town Zoning Board of Appeals.

However, the town Planning Board opposed the variance.

The Town Board...voted in December to challenge the ZBA decision in court. [On the ground that] the residential use is inappropriate for downtown and would change the character of the downtown, among other reasons.

They also claim there is not enough parking for an eight-unit building.

The town has hired attorney Steven Getman of Ovid to handle the legal challenge.

New laws for the New Year

Nationwide, more than two hundred new laws will take effect January 1, according to Ovid Attorney Steven Getman.

In some states, the new laws include legalization of gay marriages and marijuana usage.

In New York State, the new laws include:

A new sales tax exemption designed to encourage solar energy use;

A law to provide new protections for domestic violence;

Laws to help craft brewers distribute their products;

A prohibition on the sale of e-cigarettes to minors;

New ways for colleges to provide health insurance for students.

According to Getman, residents with questions about their states' laws should contact a competent attorney of their own choosing in that state to make sure they understand their rights and responsibilities.

Town of Seneca Falls files petition against zoning board

Finger Lakes Times:

Attorney Steven Getman has served an order to show cause on the town Zoning Board of Appeals.

The Town Board objects to the ZBA’s decision to grant a use variance to the owner of the Arcade Building at 81-83 Fall St. that would allow the building to be converted to as many as eight apartments on its three levels, along with commercial uses in the street-level offices.

Seneca Falls Town Board retains Getman to file action against ZBA

Finger Lakes Times:

Following a 100-minute closed-door session Tuesday night, the Town Board voted to sue the town Zoning Board of Appeals over a recent decision regarding a downtown building.

The board takes issue with the ZBA’s decision to grant a variance to the owner of The Arcade Building at 81-83 Fall St., allowing it to have up to eight apartments.

Board member Emil Bove made a motion to direct Supervisor Donald Earle to hire attorney Steven Getman of the Franklin & Gabriel Law Firm in Ovid to take legal action challenging the ZBA’s Oct. 25 decision.

Town officials said the ZBA erred in granting the area variance to owner Jack Pross to convert the building, saying eight apartments is too many and there would not be sufficient parking for tenants.

New York law limits when businesses can demand your Social Security number

The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York):

On Dec. 12, a new state law limiting the rights of businesses to ask consumers for their Social Security number takes effect.

Companies, as well as individuals, will be barred from requiring individuals to disclose their Social Security account numbers except under certain circumstances. They also will be prohibited from refusing to provide any service based on a person’s refusal to disclose his Social Security number....

The exceptions include situations in which the use of a Social Security number is required by federal, state or local law or regulation, or the number is needed for internal verification, fraud investigations, banking and credit-related activities, or in connection with employment, insurance or tax purposes.

More on the new law can be found here.

State appellate court upholds permanent neglect by incarcerated father

Albany—An upstate appellate court has upheld a Tompkins County Family Court ruling that terminated the parental rights of a convicted felon and freed his children for adoption.

 

 In a decision released Thursday (November 29, 2012), the New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division held that the Tompkins County Department of Social Services (“DSS) had made “diligent efforts to encourage and strengthen [the father’s] relationship with his children,” and affirmed the decision of the local Family Court that held the father had permanently neglected his children.

According to the decision, the father is in state prison for “attempted assault in the first degree,” and will not be eligible for parole until October 2013.  In January 2010, the decision notes, the children (born in 2002 and 2003) were removed from their mother's home on neglect allegations and placed in DSS custody.

After the children were placed, the court held, the children’s caseworker provided the father with permanency reports and information about his rights and responsibilities, facilitated written correspondence between him and the children, and sent him photographs and sought his recommendations for a home for the children while he was in jail.  However, the father’s recommendations proved unsuitable, the court said.

“[W]hen his relatives were rejected, the only alternative he was able to propose was his homeless

girlfriend, who apparently had no relationship with the children,” the court wrote.

In addition, the court rejected the father’s argument that the DSS should have brought the children to his prison for visits, given their ages, emotional concerns, and the distance between the prison and their foster homes.

DSS “proved by clear and convincing evidence that it made affirmative, repeated and meaningful

efforts” on behalf of the father and the children, the court ruled.  Therefore, it upheld the Family Court’s ruling.

The real names of the father and the children were not released in the court order, to protect their privacy.

The father was represented in the appeal by Ithaca attorney Pamela B. Bleiwas.  The DSS was represented by Joseph Cassidy.  Ovid attorney Steven J. Getman was attorney for the children.

The complete court decision can be found here.