Legal Radar

Lynch: Civil Approach on Police Agencies Can lead to System Changes

With Ms. Lynch awaiting a vote from the Senate, her opinion on law enforcement-community relations leaves a lot to be curious about. Such issue was a big deal for outgoing Eric Holder, the Attorney General,  whose civil right probe of a Ferguson, Mo. police department is among the cases Lynch will likely deal with.

Lynch spoke about how a civil approach against police departments can usher in new systematic changes regarding the recent widespread misconduct.

If confirmed, she would be the first black female in U.S. history to handle the job of America’s high ranking law enforcement official.

Lynch previously prosecuted police brutality claims made by Abner Louima, a victim who was sodomized in a bathroom of a Brooklyn precinct after being arrested for assaulting a police officer.

Lynch will take over the investigation of the Ferguson PD that was launched by the Justice Department in the wake of 18-year old Michael Brown’s shooting death.

Court Battle with Rolling Stones Makes it to Utah

Insurance underwriters who were part of a court battle with the Rolling Stones regarding a $12.7 million claim received permission to find proof in Utah on L’Wren Scott, Mick Jagger’s girlfriend, prior to her death early this March.

A Utah federal judge in the previous month gave 12 underwriters permission to gather evidence from Randall Bambrough, the brother of L’Wren Scott.

Scott was a Utah native and a fashion designer whose suicide caused the Rolling Stones to hold off their concert tour in New Zealand and Australia and filing a $12.7 million claim due to the tour postponement.

Prior to the concert tour, Rolling Stones took a policy worth $23.9 million in case shows were cancelled as a result of death within the family.

Underwriters believe that Scott may have suffered from a pre-existing mental condition. They believe her death may not be covered in the policy.

Underwriters are looking for evidence regarding Scott’s possible mental illness, treatments, and circumstances that led to her death.

Hyundai and Kia Make Payments on False Fuel Claims

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. aren’t just facing an embarrassing blunder on the gas consumption regarding their vehicles but they’re also paying a price on false fuel claims.

Wrapping up a 2-year probe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department, the firms made an agreement to pay an estimated total of $300 million for making false statements on fuel efficiency for their one million-plus vehicles. The settlement is said to be the biggest penalty yet in allegedly violating the Clean Air Act.

The EPA said that such false statements ranged between 1 to 6 miles per gallon. Based on fuel economy tests, engineers from Hyundai and Kia claim to have picked favorable results rather than the average ones from its numerous tests, according to the U.S. EPA.

Based on the settlement, both Korean manufacturers will give up 4.7 million greenhouse gas credits they created from the U.S. corporate average fuel-economy system from their 2013 and 20212 vehicle models.

Ebola-Quarantined Nurse Agrees to Settlement with Maine

The state of Maine came to a settlement early this week with attorneys representing a nurse who defied odds against a quarantine request for medical personnel dealing with Ebola patients.

Kaci Hickox, a 33-year old nurse who refused quarantine, will be able to move around in public, but she’ll be need constant monitoring and inform health officials if she happens to have developed symptoms of the virus. Hickox is one of the many nurses who treated Ebola patients in West Africa. She says she’s experiencing no symptoms.

The agreement ended a temporary order ordered by a Maine judge last week who said the nurse should never be confined against her will.

Both sides made an agreement on the restrictions made by a court judge which requires Hickox to be monitored daily regarding her health, inform health officials if travelling to continue monitoring, and update health officials if there are any changes with her health. The restrictions are only temporary until a full hearing on Tuesday.

Justice Department Settles with Albuquerque PD

The Albuquerque Police Department will be making changes on how it will enforce and review police shootings based on a settlement made with the United States Justice Department.

The Civil Rights Division from the Justice Department indicated earlier this year said that its investigation of the Albuquerque PD involved excessive and deadly force carried out by its officers. Fatal police shootings were abnormally high given the size of its city.

Since a few years back, the Albuquerque PD have been in  string of fatal shootings --- too high for a city with a population of a little over a half a million.

Based on the legal settlement, the department will carry out a number of changes which include new procedures, police training, and thorough investigations when officers utilize deadly force. The settlement will also ensure officers are equipped with body cameras, and enforcing disciplinary actions for officers who fail to wear body camera.

The city council and a federal judge are still in the process of approving the settlement.

Banning of Facebook Ballots by New Hampshire Creates Legal Issue

A legislator in New Hampshire suing the state said that a new law that bans voters from showing off their ballots is actually in violation of free speech in the First Amendment.

The suit is aimed at a new law that was recently passed by the state. The law prevents voters from snapping pics of their ballots and posting them on social media networking sites.

Individuals who are in violation of the law will face a maximum fine of $1,000.

The primary aim of the law is to curb vote buying. It also extends its ban in social media sites.

The New Hampshire ACLU who are representing the plaintiffs said the interest of the state in completely banning corruption will never trump the First Amendment rights of its citizens.

Leon, Rideout, Andrew Langlois, and political aspirant Brandon Ross, all took pictures of their ballots in the previous month and posting them on social media sites.

All three are currently under investigation.