U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu ruled Monday that Sinatro and Prost have sufficiently shown they suffered an economic injury because they would not have purchased the pasta had they known it was not made in Italy.
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X 32 I get that the folks behind this are trolling for a class-action suit that can make the attorneys good money. The plaintiffs may be just providing a vehicle.
Judge's ruling puts restrictions on New Mexico Civil Guard
The New Mexico Civil Guard has been barred from publicly acting as a military unit without authorization or assuming the role of law enforcement by using organized force at public protests or gathering, according to a newspaper.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Tuesday that District Court Judge Elaine Lujan also has banned such activity by the group's directors, officers, agents, employees, members and any of their successor organizations and members.
Lujan granting a motion by Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez, who told the Journal that the decision, "fundamentally represents a victory for the rule of law….We're trying to prevent violent extremism."
A lawsuit alleged members of the New Mexico Civil Guard violated state law by exercising or attempting to exercise the functions of a peace officer without authority and have organized and operated as a military unit without having been called to military service by the governor, according to the Journal.
The newspaper said the governor has exclusive authority under the state Constitution to call on the militia to keep the public peace.
I'm not familiar with this group, but I gather from the article that this is another case of a bunch of self-styled "patriots" taking it upon themselves to "protect" us all from the brown-skinned people crossing the border, antifa and BLM protestors. This is not the legally constituted National Guard in NM.Tiredretiredlawyer wrote: ↑Wed Oct 19, 2022 10:15 am https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/202 ... 34564.html
Judge's ruling puts restrictions on New Mexico Civil Guard
The New Mexico Civil Guard has been barred from publicly acting as a military unit without authorization or assuming the role of law enforcement by using organized force at public protests or gathering, according to a newspaper.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Tuesday that District Court Judge Elaine Lujan also has banned such activity by the group's directors, officers, agents, employees, members and any of their successor organizations and members.
Lujan granting a motion by Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez, who told the Journal that the decision, "fundamentally represents a victory for the rule of law….We're trying to prevent violent extremism."
A lawsuit alleged members of the New Mexico Civil Guard violated state law by exercising or attempting to exercise the functions of a peace officer without authority and have organized and operated as a military unit without having been called to military service by the governor, according to the Journal.
The newspaper said the governor has exclusive authority under the state Constitution to call on the militia to keep the public peace.
Pretty much your typical group of "patriotic" nutbags. https://meaww.com/who-are-the-new-mexic ... e-protestsnoblepa wrote: ↑Wed Oct 19, 2022 10:21 amI'm not familiar with this group, but I gather from the article that this is another case of a bunch of self-styled "patriots" taking it upon themselves to "protect" us all from the brown-skinned people crossing the border, antifa and BLM protestors. This is not the legally constituted National Guard in NM.Tiredretiredlawyer wrote: ↑Wed Oct 19, 2022 10:15 am https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/202 ... 34564.html
Judge's ruling puts restrictions on New Mexico Civil Guard
The New Mexico Civil Guard has been barred from publicly acting as a military unit without authorization or assuming the role of law enforcement by using organized force at public protests or gathering, according to a newspaper.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Tuesday that District Court Judge Elaine Lujan also has banned such activity by the group's directors, officers, agents, employees, members and any of their successor organizations and members.
Lujan granting a motion by Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez, who told the Journal that the decision, "fundamentally represents a victory for the rule of law….We're trying to prevent violent extremism."
A lawsuit alleged members of the New Mexico Civil Guard violated state law by exercising or attempting to exercise the functions of a peace officer without authority and have organized and operated as a military unit without having been called to military service by the governor, according to the Journal.
The newspaper said the governor has exclusive authority under the state Constitution to call on the militia to keep the public peace.
X 4 X 32
Too close to Texas, too far from California.
We went for a ride, Law&Crime Network @LawCrimeNetwork wrote: "Don't nobody TELL me what to do!", #DarrellBrooks shouted at Judge #JenniferDorow after she was asking him to be quiet. "I am a grown man with grown kids. Don't nobody...ain't nobody gonna talk to me like that," Brooks said.
How Discovery Channel’s ‘MythBusters’ Helped a Wrongly Convicted Man Prove His Innocence
John Galvan was arrested at 18 and spent 35 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
In September 1986, a fire broke out in a two-flat apartment building in Southwest Chicago, killing brothers Guadalupe and Julio Martinez. Their siblings Blanca and Jorge managed to escape the fire and told police that a female neighbor had threatened to burn the building down as retaliation for her own brother’s death. The woman believed her brother had been killed by the street gang Latin Kings, of which Jorge may have been a member.
When police questioned the woman, she denied any involvement and instead pointed to Mr. Galvan. Police also interviewed neighbors in the area, including Jose Ramirez and Rene Rodriguez, who alleged that Mr. Galvan, his brother, and the brother of Arthur Almendarez (Mr. Galvin’s neighbor) had been involved in starting the fire.
Although Mr. Galvan had been asleep at his grandmother’s the night of the fire and no other evidence indicated his involvement in the fire, police ultimately arrested him and his brother, as well as Mr. Almendarez and his brother.
Detective Victor Switski, who led the interrogation, handcuffed Mr. Galvan to a wall and proceeded to interrogate and intimidate him for hours, pressuring the 18-year-old to implicate others in the crime in order for him to return home. Deceptive tactics — like offering leniency in exchange for a confession or falsely telling children they can go home if they confess — have been identified as risk factors for false confessions, and young people are especially vulnerable to falsely confessing as a result of these tactics.
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I don't think that a tattoo falls under the copyright actMan sues Cardi B for $5m for using his back tattoo in lewd cover art
Kevin Michael Brophy says his back tattoo was superimposed on to a male model who seemingly performs oral sex on the cover of Gangsta Bitch Music Vol 1
Sammy Gecsoyler
Wed 19 Oct 2022 17.56 BST
A “man of faith” is suing Cardi B for superimposing his back tattoo on to a male model who seemingly performs oral sex on the rapper on the cover of her debut mixtape.
Kevin Michael Brophy is suing the Grammy-winning musician in a copyright-infringement lawsuit in federal court in southern California, seeking $5m in damages. Belcalis Almánzar, the rapper’s real name, was in court and is expected to testify during the trial.
The cover art for Gangsta Bitch Music Vol 1, the rapper’s debut mixtape, was displayed to jurors. Almánzar is shown sitting in the back of a car, staring into camera, drinking a bottle of Corona beer while a man with a back tattoo has his head between her open legs.
Brophy’s lawyer A Barry Cappello told the court that his client’s life had been “disrupted” and that the image had also disturbed his wife, who initially questioned if her husband was the model on the cover art.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/ ... -cover-art
It does, but the copyright is typically held by the tattoo artist unless the person bearing the tattoo was the original creator of the art. Even then, it can get murky.RTH10260 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 20, 2022 1:07 amI don't think that a tattoo falls under the copyright actMan sues Cardi B for $5m for using his back tattoo in lewd cover art
Kevin Michael Brophy says his back tattoo was superimposed on to a male model who seemingly performs oral sex on the cover of Gangsta Bitch Music Vol 1
Sammy Gecsoyler
Wed 19 Oct 2022 17.56 BST
A “man of faith” is suing Cardi B for superimposing his back tattoo on to a male model who seemingly performs oral sex on the rapper on the cover of her debut mixtape.
Kevin Michael Brophy is suing the Grammy-winning musician in a copyright-infringement lawsuit in federal court in southern California, seeking $5m in damages. Belcalis Almánzar, the rapper’s real name, was in court and is expected to testify during the trial.
The cover art for Gangsta Bitch Music Vol 1, the rapper’s debut mixtape, was displayed to jurors. Almánzar is shown sitting in the back of a car, staring into camera, drinking a bottle of Corona beer while a man with a back tattoo has his head between her open legs.
Brophy’s lawyer A Barry Cappello told the court that his client’s life had been “disrupted” and that the image had also disturbed his wife, who initially questioned if her husband was the model on the cover art.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/ ... -cover-art
Murder For Hire At The McDonald's Drive-Thru: Larchmont Man Guilty
Following six weeks of trial, a federal jury in Brooklyn on Wednesday convicted Anthony Zottola, Sr. and Himen Ross of murder-for-hire conspiracy and murder-for-hire in the October 4, 2018 killing of 71-year-old Sylvester Zottola as he waited to pick up a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-thru in the Bronx. The jury also found the defendants guilty of causing Sylvester Zottola’s death through the use of a firearm and unlawful use and possession of firearms. They face mandatory life terms when sentenced in U.S. District Court.
A third defendant, Alfred Lopez, was acquitted on all counts.
"Over the course of more than a year, the elderly victim, Sylvester Zottola, was stalked, beaten, and stabbed, never knowing who orchestrated the attacks," Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said in a statement announcing the verdict. "It was his own son, who was so determined to control the family’s lucrative real estate business that he hired a gang of hit men to murder his father. For sentencing his father to a violent death, Anthony Zottola and his co-defendant will spend the rest of their lives in prison where they belong as a result of today’s verdict. I thank our prosecutors, the FBI Special Agents and NYPD detectives for their tremendous investigative work solving this cold-blooded crime and bringing the defendants to justice."
Anthony Zottola repeatedly plotted to kill his father and his brother so that he could take control of the family business, according to federal investigators.
Salvatore, who testified at trial, endured several violent attacks on his life. On November 26, 2017, Sylvester Zottola was menaced at gunpoint by a masked individual. On December 27, 2017, three men invaded Sylvester Zottola’s residence, struck him on the head with a gun, stabbed him multiple times, and slashed his throat. Zottola survived the attack. Then on July 11, 2018, a gunman shot Salvatore Zottola in the head, chest, and hand in front of his residence. Zottola survived the shooting.
A tracking device was placed on Sylvester Zottola’s car, allowing Ross to track him to the McDonald’s restaurant on Webster Avenue where Ross fatally shot the victim multiple times.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/nationa ... s/3918458/RTH10260 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 17, 2021 2:45 pmFamilies of Boeing crash victims say the U.S. failed to consult them.
By Niraj Chokshi
Dec. 16, 2021
More than a dozen families of people killed in two Boeing 737 Max crashes are accusing the Justice Department of illegally leaving them in the dark when it reached a settlement with the company this year.
In a court filing on Thursday, 15 families accused the department of denying them an opportunity to weigh in on a criminal investigation into Boeing under a 2004 law meant to protect victims of crime and their representatives. They are asking a federal judge to force the department to turn over documents related to that investigation and to revoke the company’s protection from further criminal prosecution on the matter.
“What happened here in the waning days of the previous administration was a complete short circuit of the congressionally mandated process for the victims to be conferred with and have an opportunity to influence the outcome,” said Paul Cassell, a former federal judge who is representing the families.
The 15 families who brought the motion were joined by dozens more who signed on in support of it, representing a significant share of the 346 people killed in two Max crashes, in Indonesia in 2018 and in Ethiopia in 2019. The episodes led to a global ban of the plane for nearly two years, a debacle that cost Boeing billions of dollars and prompted investigations around the world.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/busi ... ilies.html
Families of Passengers Killed in Boeing MAX Crashes Are Crime Victims, Texas Judge Rules
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth said the crashes were a foreseeable consequence of Boeing’s conspiracy, making the relatives representatives of crime victims
The full impact of the ruling is not yet clear, however. The judge said the next step is to decide what remedies the families should get for not being told of the talks with Boeing.
Some relatives are pushing to scrap the government’s January 2021 settlement with Boeing, and they have expressed anger that no one in the company has been held criminally responsible.
Boeing Co., which is based in Arlington, Virginia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Boeing, which misled safety regulators who approved the Max, agreed to pay $2.5 billion including a $243.6 million fine. The Justice Department agreed not to prosecute the company for conspiracy to defraud the government.
The Justice Department, in explaining why it didn’t tell families about the negotiations, argued that the relatives are not crime victims. However, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, said the crashes were a foreseeable consequence of Boeing’s conspiracy, making the relatives representatives of crime victims.
9th Circuit says telemarketing texts sent to mixed-use cells phones fall under TCPA
October 19, 2022
Courts Appellate Ninth Circuit Autodialer TCPA FCC Telemarketing
On October 12, a split U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of a TCPA complaint, disagreeing with the argument that the statute does not cover unwanted text messages sent to businesses. Plaintiffs (who are home improvement contractors) alleged that the defendants used an autodialer to send text messages to sell client leads to plaintiffs' cell phones, including numbers registered on the national do-not-call (DNC) registry. The plaintiffs contented they never provided their numbers to the defendants, nor did they consent to receiving text messages. The defendants countered that the plaintiffs lacked Article III and statutory standing because the TCPA only protects individuals from unwanted calls. The district court agreed, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked statutory standing and dismissed the complaint with prejudice.
On appeal, the majority disagreed, stating that the plaintiffs did not expressly consent to receiving texts messages from the defendants and that their alleged injuries are particularized. In determining that the plaintiffs had statutory standing under sections 227(b) and (c) of the TCPA, the majority rejected the defendants’ argument that the TCPA only protects individuals from unwanted calls. While the defendants claimed that by operating as home improvement contractors the plaintiffs fall outside of the TCPA’s reach, the majority determined that all of the plaintiffs had standing to sue under § 227(b), “because the statutory text includes not only ‘person]’ but also ‘entities.’” With respect to the § 227(c) claims, which only apply to “residential” telephone subscribers, the appellate court reviewed whether a cell phone that is used for both business and personal reasons can qualify as a “residential” phone. Relying on the FCC’s view that “a subscriber’s use of a residential phone (including a presumptively residential cell phone) in connection with a homebased business does not necessarily take an otherwise residential subscriber outside the protection of § 227(c),” and “in the absence of FCC guidance on this precise point,” the majority concluded that a mixed-use phone is “presumptively ‘residential’ within the meaning of § 227(c).”
Writing in a partial dissent, one judge warned that the majority’s opinion “usurps the role of the FCC and creates its own regulatory framework for determining when a cell phone is actually a ‘residential telephone,’ instead of deferring to the FCC’s narrower and more careful test.” The judge added that rather than “deferring to the 2003 TCPA Order which extended the protections of the national DNC registry to wireless telephones only to the extent they were similar to residential telephones, a reasonable interpretation of the TCPA, the majority has leaped over the FCC’s limitations to provide its own, much laxer, regulatory framework and procedures that broadly allow anybody who owns a cell phone to sue telemarketers under the TCPA.”
https://buckleyfirm.com/blog/2022-10-19 ... under-tcpa
The jury pool of jury candidates is not chosen by defendant or plaintiff. They only get to sift thru the candidate pool by the questionaire and Q&A where both sides can determine if a candidate has a certain political leaning. Dominions lawyers get to ask questions like "if the former guy still your president"...Kriselda Gray wrote: ↑Mon Oct 24, 2022 5:27 pm In the defamation case by Dominion against Fox, if it goes to trial, it would seem that there's a serious risk of them getting election deniers on the jury. They could try to avoid those during voir dir (sp?), but Fox would likely be trying to seat them. Would Dominion be able to request a bench trial or is that something only the defendant can ask for?
Arizona Charitable Giving
Woman challenges Arizona city's ban on feeding people for "charitable purposes"
In Bullhead City, Arizona, your kindness might cost you your freedom. It nearly did for Norma Thornton, a 78-year-old grandmother who was arrested and criminally charged for feeding those in need in Bullhead City. Under a new ordinance, the city has deemed it a criminal misdemeanor—punishable by fines and even imprisonment—to share prepared food in a public park “for charitable purposes.” As the city attorney clarified, people may freely share food in public parks at “social events, which would include a party.” But be sure your “party” doesn’t include any homeless people, or you might go to jail.
That’s the city’s lesson for Norma Thornton. Norma operated a restaurant before retiring to Bullhead City in 2017. Bullhead City is a city of 40,000, neighboring the Colorado River on Arizona’s western border. In Bullhead City Community Park, Norma encountered people in need—that is, people who could barely afford housing nearby, as well as people experiencing homelessness. Though no one spends nights at the park (retreating to federal land nearby), some come together in the day in the public park, where they can take advantage of shade, benches, and restrooms. She learned that the nearest shelters and food pantries are miles away, and their resources and availability are limited, leaving dozens hungry each night. So Norma decided to use her career skills to share nutritious, hot, homecooked meals with people in the park. For more than four years, Norma would regularly bring her food to the picnic tables there, sharing with anyone who asked.
That all changed on March 8, 2022. Just as she was performing her usual cleanup of the area, Norma was arrested and criminally charged with violating the city’s ordinance. Norma refused to plead guilty as she felt she’d done nothing wrong; months later (after hearings in criminal court), the city dropped the charge—but only while clarifying that if Norma does it again, the city would throw her in jail. Now, Norma shares her food in a private alley—without shade in the scorching heat, without tables or a seating area, without a place for people to wash their hands, and out of sight of people who could use her help.
Homelessness is, of course, a complicated and serious problem. But criminalizing acts of charity isn’t the solution. What’s more, it’s unconstitutional. That’s why on October 25, 2022, Norma joined with the Institute for Justice (IJ) in filing a new federal lawsuit against Bullhead City. The lawsuit asks the court to strike down the city’s ordinance and allow Norma, and people like her, to share food in the park.
https://ij.org/case/arizona-charitable-giving/
Florida judge rules against Gov. DeSantis on migrant flight records
A Leon County circuit judge Tuesday ruled that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration did not comply with the state’s public-records law after an open-government group sought records about a controversial decision to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
Judge J. Lee Marsh gave the administration 20 days to provide records sought by the Florida Center for Government Accountability. Marsh pointed, at least in part, to requested phone or text logs that could provide information about communications by DeSantis Chief of Staff James Uthmeier about the flights.
Marsh said the governor’s office did not show “any steps, direct steps taken to gather what this court finds are public records” related to state business conducted on personal devices.
Michael Barfield, director of public access for the center, said Marsh’s verbal ruling held the governor accountable for delays in providing public records.
“The public’s right of access was vindicated,” Barfield said. “The governor is not immune from being held accountable.”
Before the ruling, Andrew King, an attorney for DeSantis, argued the administration was working to fulfill numerous records requests stemming from the migrant flights. He accused the center of “weaponizing” the public-records law to get ahead of other people or organizations seeking records.
'Scrubs’ Writer Eric Weinberg Pleads Not Guilty to 18 Counts of Sexual Assault, Denied Bail
TV producer Eric Weinberg has been remanded into custody after being denied bail at a bench warrant hearing in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, Weinberg "pleaded not guilty and was remanded into custody and being held without bail. He is scheduled to return to court on November 15 for a preliminary hearing setting."
The former TV producer pleaded not guilty to 18 charges of sexual assault, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He had previously been out on $5 million bail.
According to the LAPD, Weinberg allegedly "targeted women in grocery stores, coffee shops, and other public places." Police allege that the producer "would approach the women who were in their 20-30s, under the guise of being a photographer and would set up photo shoots with them."
Kroger reaches $180K settlement in religious discrimination case over company uniform
The EEOC sued Kroger in 2020 on behalf of two former employees, who were ultimately fired for refusing to wear a uniform with a logo that they believed resembled a Pride flag. The two employees — Brenda Lawson and Trudy Rickerd — said that wearing the uniform would violate their religious beliefs.
Lawson and Rickerd were working at a Kroger store in Conway, Ark., in April 2019 when the store adopted a new apron as part of its uniform. The apron featured a multi-colored heart that several employees believed was a symbol of support for the LGBT community.
Rickerd refused to wear the apron, and Lawson wore the new uniform but covered the symbol with her nametag. Both were written up for dress code violations.
In response, the two employees requested religious accommodation from Kroger. However, Kroger determined that “there was nothing to accommodate” since the symbol was not meant to represent support for the LGBT community.
As part of Thursday’s settlement in the case, Kroger agreed to pay $180,000, create a religious accommodation policy and provide enhanced training to store management on religious discrimination.
