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Pet Court Cracks Down on Furry Delinquents

San Antonio dishes out fines for bites and other transgressions

(Newser) - Every dog has its day, sometimes its day in court. At least in San Antonio, where the city has set up a unique legal enterprise: a court just for pets, where transgressions of the law involving dogs, cats, and other animals are tried, reports the Wall Street Journal . The 10-month-old...

Lawyers Untangle Superhero Legal Issues

'Law and the Multiverse' blog a big hit thanks to nerdy questions

(Newser) - Criminals of Gotham take note: any evidence Batman gathers on you is probably inadmissible in court. His partnership with Commissioner Gordon makes him a "state actor," and hence subject to search and seizure restrictions. At least, that’s the conclusion of James Daily and Ryan Davidson, the lawyers...

Kagan Supports Cameras in Supreme Court

Public could watch "extraordinary" events

(Newser) - Would Elena Kagan support putting cameras in the Supreme Court? Looks like it. C-SPAN footage posted on Mediaite shows the nominee discussing the issue in July 2009. Having cameras in court would allow the public to see "an amazing and extraordinary event," she says. People would see "...

States Consider Uniting to Offer One Bar Exam

Move could save consumers money

(Newser) - Good news for aspiring lawyers: State bar associations are considering adopting a national bar exam. The move would allow lawyers trying to find a job in a competitive market to practice in any state; consumers would be able to use one lawyer for cases that span state lines, potentially saving...

Old Paris Law Still Stands: No Pants for Women

1800s rule prohibits ladies from 'dressing like men'

(Newser) - Turns out fashion-forward Paris has some rather retro regulations. Namely, a ban on women wearing pants. It's the type of law associated with the Sudan, not the Champs-Elysées, but more than 200 years after it was enacted by the city's police chief, the law stands. But today's cops may...

Calif. Holds Hearings on Legalizing Pot

Hopes high as 3 measures head for ballot next year

(Newser) - The push to legalize—and, especially appealing at the moment, tax—marijuana is picking up momentum in California, with legislators holding hearings today on what would be the first such law in the nation. Organizers are currently collecting signatures to put three separate pot legalization initiatives on the ballot next...

Japanese Law Prevents Boy's Life-Saving Transplant

(Newser) - A Japanese law prevents 11-year-old Hiroki Ando from receiving the heart he so desperately needs, CNN reports. Ando suffers from cardiomyopathy and will likely die—as his sister did 5 years ago—without a heart transplant. But the minimum age for organ donations in Japan is 15. "This stipulation...

Sentimental Souter: 'Just Give Them My Love'

(Newser) - Supreme Court Justice David Souter thinks the worth of a jurist is “not in the great moments, but in being part of the great stream,” he said in an emotional farewell today to appeals-court judges. Souter said he didn’t intend that news of his retirement be leaked...

Crowd Attacks Afghan Women Protesting New Marriage Laws

(Newser) - A group of some 1000 Afghans today swarmed a demonstration of 300 women in Kabul protesting a new conservative marriage law. The women were pelted with small stones as police struggled to keep the two groups apart. The law, passed last month, says a husband can demand sex from his...

New York to Roll Back Strict '70s Drug Laws

Gov., legislative leaders make deal to repel mandatory sentences

(Newser) - New York's governor and legislative leaders have agreed to repeal some of the nation's most draconian drug laws, the New York Times reports. The move to dismantle strict mandatory sentencing guidelines set down in 1973 means judges will have the option of sending many first-time nonviolent drug offenders to treatment...

NH Weighs 'Communism,' aka Seat-Belt Law

New Hampshire battles over finally passing a seat-belt law

(Newser) - The accusations of creating a "nanny state" are ringing out, which must mean it's time for New Hampshire to debate legislating the use of seatbelts. The only state without a law requiring adults to buckle up, the "Live Free or Die" state is embroiled in a battle over...

EU Rules Starve Spanish Vultures

(Newser) - Madrid’s regional government hopes to relax EU laws that call for rotting livestock to be removed from fields—a precaution against mad cow disease—because the removal denies carrion-munching vultures a meal, the AP reports. “When a sheep or cow dies in the countryside,” said one ornithologist,...

With Legal Gray Areas, Art Heists Go Digital

Point-and-click age makes for murky copyright arguments

(Newser) - A disconnect between the artistic and legal communities is reigniting the debate over copyright infringement, the Wall Street Journal reports. The law says an artist can adapt an existing work only if the resulting piece is “transformative,” or provides a new spin. “It’s meant to be...

Mayor Embraces Kissing in Public, Denies Ban

Mexican official starts ad campaign to prove that Guanajuato welcomes PDA, despite what people say

(Newser) - Planning a trip to Guanajuato, Mexico? You’d better bust out the lip balm, AP reports. Mayor Eduardo Romero has proclaimed his city “the kissing capital” to counter claims he’s against public displays of affection. Apparently, the wording of a local anti-obscenity law caused some people to believe...

Stalkers Terrorize 3M Americans a Year: Study

Statistics prompt new calls for updated laws

(Newser) - More than 3 million Americans, mostly women aged 18-24, are stalked each year, but it’s an abuse rarely prosecuted, the Chicago Tribune reports. The staggering figure from a first-ever Justice Department study highlights the need to strengthen laws and enforcement, especially with technology now making it easier for stalkers...

Bell, Carter's AG, Dead at 90
 Bell, Carter's AG, Dead at 90 
Jan 5, 2009 5:24 PM CST

Bell, Carter's AG, Dead at 90

Bell defanged Jim Crow as appellate court judge

(Newser) - Griffin Bell, a Southerner who opposed racial segregation and led the Justice Department under President Carter, died today at age 90, the New York Times reports. Bell handled damage control as a post-Nixon attorney general, de-politicizing the Justice Department and the FBI. His earlier rulings as an appeals court judge,...

US Moves to Boost Cases Against Key Iraqi Detainees

Accord will shift jurisdiction to Baghdad, and officials want evidence to stand up in trial

(Newser) - The US military has begun assembling evidence against 5,000 Iraqi detainees it deems most dangerous, USA Today reports, hoping to file charges that will stand up in court once Baghdad gains legal jurisdiction. Some 15,800 detainees remain in military custody, but when the Status of Forces Agreement kicks...

EU Repeals Straight Banana, Curvy Cucumber Laws

Rules set tight standards for produce size, shape, color

(Newser) - The EU took a U-turn on curved cucumbers and bent bananas and voted to repeal strict laws that ban the sale of imperfect produce, the Washington Post reports. Shops are barred from selling cauliflower less than 4.33 inches in diameter and not-green-enough asparagus until July, when such laws—long...

'Til Voters Do Us Part: What Happens to Gay Marrieds if Ban Passes?

(Newser) - If California’s gay marriage ban passes, “legal chaos” will ensue for those who tied the knot since it became legal to do so in June, lawyers warn. With no court precedents, experts are left guessing whether those marriages would remain valid, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ultimately, the...

Iraq Passes Election Law, But Skirts Key Issues

No deal on control over northern oil hub, representation of minority groups

(Newser) - The Iraqi parliament today passed a long-delayed law establishing provincial elections, a step the government hopes will protect recent security gains by opening the political process. The first elections are expected in January, the New York Times reports, but questions remain about how to ensure representation for Iraq’s religious...

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