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Court schedules night deer hunting arguments
Top Court Watch |
2014/08/06 09:58
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Wisconsin's Chippewa tribes will get a chance next month to tell a federal appeals court why members should be allowed to hunt deer at night.State officials have long banned night hunts out of safety concerns.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in the early 1990s that the ban applies to Chippewa hunters.The tribes asked Crabb in 2012 to reconsider her decision but she refused.
The Chippewa have since asked the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to allow tribal night hunts, arguing night hunting has become more common and the state can't argue it's unsafe.
The court has set oral arguments for Sept. 16. The tribes and state attorneys will each get 20 minutes to speak. It's not clear when the court might rule. |
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Court: Caregivers can't sue Alzheimer's patients
Top Court Watch |
2014/08/06 09:58
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People with Alzheimer's disease are not liable for injuries they may cause their paid in-home caregivers, California's highest court ruled Monday in a case involving a home health aide who was hurt while trying to restrain a client.
The California Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that people hired to work with Alzheimer's patients should know the disease commonly causes physical aggression and agitation in its later stages. The court majority concluded it would therefore be inappropriate to allow caregivers who get hurt managing a combative client to sue their employers.
"It is a settled principle that those hired to manage a hazardous condition may not sue their clients for injuries caused by the very risks they were retained to confront," Justice Carole Corrigan wrote for the majority.
The law in California and many other states already establishes that caregivers in institutional settings such as hospitals and nursing homes may not seek damages from Alzheimer's patients who injure them. To have a different standard for caregivers working in private homes would give families a financial incentive to put relatives with Alzheimer's into nursing homes, Corrigan said. |
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German court: chronically ill could grow marijuana
Top Court Watch |
2014/07/22 14:03
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Some Germans may soon be able to grow their own marijuana to relieve chronic pain after a ruling from a court in Cologne.
The Cologne administrative court ruled Tuesday in favor of three plaintiffs who had sued for the right to grow marijuana for therapeutic purposes, sending the cases back to the government agency responsible for approving medical marijuana products.
The court says the three demonstrated they could not combat their pain any other way and could not afford to purchase medical marijuana, which is permitted in Germany but not usually covered by the country's health insurance system.
The court also stipulated that allowing marijuana cultivation should depend upon a "thorough and individual" examination of each case, and rejected two other claims. |
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Fla. man pleads guilty to rhino horn trafficking
Top Court Watch |
2014/07/08 14:25
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A South Florida man has pleaded guilty to illegally trafficking in the horns of the black rhinoceros in violation of the Endangered Species Act.
A federal judge is scheduled in September to sentence 76-year-old Gene Harris of Miami following his guilty plea this week. Harris could get up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to court records, Harris sold a variety of wildlife products, including taxidermy mounts. In 2011, he arranged for a customer in California to buy two black rhinoceros horns from a seller in Phoenix, Arizona, for $60,000.
Court documents show Harris was paid a $10,000 finder's fee.
Black rhinoceros horns are prized commodities in many Asian countries, where they are turned into ornamental carvings and other items. |
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Iowa high court reinstates major pollution lawsuit
Top Court Watch |
2014/06/17 11:08
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| In a major environmental case, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that residents can bring a nuisance lawsuit against a Muscatine manufacturer accused of routinely blanketing their properties with soot and chemicals. The court reinstated the class-action lawsuit against Grain Processing Corp., which operates a plant that turns corn kernels into products ranging from corn syrup to ethyl alcohol. The plaintiffs' claims of nuisance, negligence and trespass are not barred by the federal Clean Air Act or state rules governing air emissions, Justice Brent Appel wrote in a 6-0 decision that was applauded by environmentalists but criticized by business interests. A regional economic force, the company buys $400 million in corn from farmers annually and is one of the area's largest employers. But Muscatine residents have complained for years that it spews harmful chemicals into the environment that get blown onto their homes, yards and cars. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of up to 17,000 residents who live within a 3-mile radius of the plant, contends the pollution undermines their ability to enjoy their property and causes metals in everything from swing sets to air conditioning systems to corrode. |
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