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BP Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Release of Benzene
Attorney Legal Opinions |
2010/08/09 07:52
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pA $10 billion toxic tort class action lawsuit has been filed against BP over alleged emissions from its troubled Texas City oil refinery, alleging that workers and residents in the area were exposed to benzene and other chemicals. nbsp;
More than 2,200 workers at the refinery and residents from the surrounding area filed the BP class action lawsuit on August 3 in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas. The complaint alleges that for 40 days earlier this year, the company illegally released the chemical benzene into the atmosphere./ppThe benzene lawsuit comes just as BP, formerly known as British Petroleum, was finally able to stop the flow of oil from a well a mile under the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, which has caused a massive oil spill that is expected to cost the company tens of billions of dollars in oil spill lawsuits and clean up costs. /ppPlaintiffs in the BP Texas City refinery class action lawsuit say the company has been releasing benzene into the atmosphere at the plant due to a hydrogen compressor that broke down on April 6. The 2,212 plaintiffs allege that they suffered serious injuries and illnesses from benzene exposure./ppBenzene is an industrial chemical that has been linked to the development of cancer, leukemia and other life-threatening health problems. It is a known carcinogen used as an industrial solvent in the production of plastic and synthetic rubber, as well as drugs and dyes./ppBP’s Texas City Refinery is the third-largest oil refinery in the United States, and has been the subject of several major safety incidents. As recently as September, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration hit BP with an $87.4 million fine for not complying with a safety agreement made after a March 23, 2005 explosion and fire that killed 15 workers and injured more than 170 others./p |
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Children in Dependency Proceedings Need Lawyers
Law Firm Legal News |
2010/08/09 06:52
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| pLawyers who represent children in dependency proceedings say it’s time for these children – regardless of which state they live – to have a right to legal counsel./ppMeeting yesterday at the 2010 American Bar Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco, a panel of children’s rights advocates discussed eliminating the barriers that prevent lawyers from representing these children in life-impacting legal proceedings. nbsp; /ppAccording to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services there are more than half a million children in foster care and under the jurisdiction of family courts.nbsp; These are children who have been, for example, removed from their homes, placed in temporary shelters and possibly separated from siblings. /ppWhen it comes down to who is looking out for the rights and interests of the children in the courtroom – a lawyer, a guardian ad litem or an attorney ad litem -- there is no clear-cut, uniform answer./pp“Every state has a different model,” says Hilarie Bass, a Miami commercial litigator who does pro bono work representing foster kids. /ppShe points out the obvious — that there are too many children who need help, without enough money in the system to serve them.nbsp; Despite those hurdles, Bass, who is also incoming chair of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation, says she expects the section to make a recommendation on the right to counsel for children that should come up for debate before the ABA’s policymaking body in 2011. /pp“It would be a recommendation to provide for counsel and representation of children in delinquency and dependency proceedings,” says Bass.nbsp; /ppABA President Carolyn Lamm says the ABA is an association interested in promoting the best interest of children and finding solutions “before we have a crisis situation.”/ppLamm adds, “These citizens are the most vulnerable of course, in terms of no one to defend their legal rights.nbsp; The ABA does so much work in the public interest.nbsp; This is a segment of the public that needs us and we are strong and forceful advocates for children and the rights of children to be represented. nbsp; /ppSo far, the U.S. Supreme Court has not spoken on the issue of whether children have a constitutional right to counsel in dependency proceedings. /ppGeorgia attorney Trenny Stovall directs the DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center and represents children in dependency proceedings every day.nbsp; She says children who don’t have their own lawyer do not have a voice. /pp“When children don’t have a lawyer, their ability to be considered a living being with rights is vastly diminished.nbsp; Without representation, they become a widget in the eyes of the court,” says Stovall./ppChildren like 16-year-old Trevor Wade — who has been through the dependency court system — will tell you that having a lawyer makes a difference.nbsp; He says his lawyer fought against a system that would have placed him back with an abusive father.nbsp; These days he’s an intern in a public defender’s office, helping kids who are going through the court system. /ppWade hopes to go to law school and is zealous in his advocacy on this issue. /ppHe says that when states and courts make decisions not to provide lawyers for children, the question that needs to be asked is, “What is the price of a child’s success?”/p |
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Nun's death rallies anti-immigration forces
Attorney Legal Opinions |
2010/08/09 03:53
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pIn Arizona, the shooting death of a rancher blew the lid off simmering anger over border security and helped solidify support for a tough new immigration law. A similar eruption threatens in Virginia following the death of a Catholic nun in a car accident involving a man in the country illegally and accused of drunken driving./ppThe Benedictine Sisters of Virginia tried to discourage using the death of Sister Denise Mosier as a forum of the illegal immigration agenda and pleaded for a focus on Christ's command to forgive./ppThe sisters' mission is peace and love, said Corey Stewart, chairman of Prince William County's Board of Supervisors. My mission is law enforcement and the protection of public safety./ppPrince William County, about 25 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., stepped up its immigration enforcement in 2007 amid explosive growth of its Hispanic and immigrant populations. Under Stewart's leadership, the county implemented a local policy requiring police to determine the immigration status of all people arrested on suspicion of violating state or local laws.
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Murder conviction of mom reversed in California
Trending Legal Issues |
2010/08/03 08:53
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pAn appeals court panel has reversed the murder conviction of a mother accused of driving her teenage son and his friends to a Southern California park where a 13-year-old rival gang member was stabbed to death./ppThe 2nd District Court of Appeal panel ruled 2-1 on Monday that jurors in the case of 33-year-old Eva Daley were given an impermissibly ambiguous jury instruction during the 2008 trial./ppAssociate Justice Laurie D. Zelon wrote that case records don't show the jury based its verdict on a legally valid theory, so the conviction should be reversed./ppDaley had been convicted of second-degree murder for the 2007 death of Jose Cano./ppProsecutors argued that Daley wanted revenge because Cano allegedly stabbed her son six months earlier.
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PAUL M. SMITH TO RECEIVE 2010 THURGOOD MARSHALL AWARD
Top Attorney News |
2010/08/02 08:51
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| font face=ArialThe /fonta href=http://ABA.pr-optout.com/Url.aspx?515903x5327057x-2672609font face=ArialAmerican Bar Association Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities/font/afont face=Arial will honor civil liberties and human rights attorney Paul M. Smith with the span style=mso-spacerun: yes /span/fonta href=http://ABA.pr-optout.com/Url.aspx?515903x5327056x-3188603font face=ArialThurgood Marshall Award,/font/afont face=Arial which will be presented Saturday at the st1:place w:st=onst1:city w:st=onABA/st1:city/st1:place /fonta href=http://ABA.pr-optout.com/Url.aspx?515903x5327055x-3704597font color=#606420 face=ArialAnnual Meeting in San Francisco/font/afont face=Arial.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanThe event will be held at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis beginning at 8 p.m.o:p/o:p/fontp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pto:p /o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10ptA partner in the st1:place w:st=onst1:city w:st=onWashington/st1:city, st1:state w:st=onD.C./st1:state/st1:place office of Jenner amp; Block, Smith is one of the country’s leading lawyers in the areas of First Amendment litigation and appellate advocacy.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanHe has presented oral argument in more than a dozen Supreme Court cases, including his groundbreaking advocacy in em style=mso-bidi-font-style: normalLawrence v. Texas/em, the landmark gay rights case that is often compared in significance to the em style=mso-bidi-font-style: normalBrown v. Board of Education/em case, which was argued and won by Thurgood Marshall.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spano:p/o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pto:p /o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10ptSmith has not only led the way in advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights, but has also been st1:personname w:st=ona l/st1:personnameeading advocate in addressing voting rights issues, including arguing three times before the U.S. Supreme Court in voting rights matters since 2004. span style=mso-spacerun: yes /spanHis most recent argument was in em style=mso-bidi-font-style: normalCrawford v. Marion County Election Board/em, a 2008 case challenging an st1:state w:st=onst1:place w:st=onIndiana/st1:place/st1:state voter ID law.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanThe case has been called the most significant election law case to reach the court since em style=mso-bidi-font-style: normalBush v. Gore/em in 2000. span style=mso-spacerun: yes /spanSmith has also been st1:personname w:st=ona l/st1:personnameeader in advancing freedom of speech issues, especially with regard to the application of the First Amendment to the Internet and video games.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spano:p/o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pto:p /o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10ptThe Thurgood Marshall Award recognizes substantial, long-term contributions to the advancement of civil rights, civil liberties and human rights in the st1:country-region w:st=onst1:place w:st=onUnited Stst1:personname w:st=onat/st1:personnamees/st1:place/st1:country-region.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanThe section established the award in 1992, conferring the inaugural award upon U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanSince that time, a href=http://ABA.pr-optout.com/Url.aspx?515903x5327054x-4220591recipients/a have included:o:p/o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pto:p /o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt1993span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanJudge Frank M. Johnsonspan style=mso-tab-count: 2 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; /spanspan style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;/span1994span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanOliver W. Hillo:p/o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt1995span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanRalph S. Abascalspan style=mso-tab-count: 3 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; /spanspan style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;/span1996span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanJack Greenbergo:p/o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt1997span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanJudge Damon J. Keithspan style=mso-tab-count: 2 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; /spanspan style=mso-tab-count: 2 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;/span1998span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanStephen B. Brighto:p/o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt1999span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanAssociate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgspan style=mso-tab-count: 2 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; /span2000span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanJudge Revius Q. Ortique, Jr. o:p/o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt2001span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanJudge William Wayne Justicespan style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanspan style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; /spanspan style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;/span2002span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanJudge Don Edwardso:p/o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt2003span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanDale Minami span style=mso-tab-count: 3 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; /spanspan style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; /spanspan style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;/span2004span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanFred D. Grayo:p/o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt2005span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanJudge Abner J. Mikvaspan style=mso-tab-count: 2 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; /spanspan style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; /spanspan style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; /span2006span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanJulius Chamberso:p/o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt2007span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanJudge Matthew J. Perry, Jr.span style=mso-tab-count: 2 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; /spanspan style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; /span2008span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanJudge Nancy Gertnero:p/o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt2009span style=mso-tab-count: 1 nbsp; nbsp; /spanFormer Attorney General Janet Renoo:p/o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pto:p /o:p/span/pp style=margin: 0in 0in 0pt class=MsoNormalspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10ptThe keynote speaker for this year’s event will be Pamela S. Karlan, the Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law at st1:place w:st=onst1:placename w:st=onStanford/st1:placename st1:placename w:st=onLaw/st1:placename st1:placetype w:st=onSchool/st1:placetype/st1:place, and the founding director of the school’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanOne of the nation’s leading experts on voting and the political process, Karlan has served as a commissioner on the California Fair Political Practices Commission and an assistant counsel and cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanShe is a former law clerk of Justice Harry A. Blackmun of the st1:country-region w:st=onst1:place w:st=onU.S./st1:place/st1:country-region Supreme Court and Judge Abraham D. Sofaer of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. o:p/o:p/span/ppspan style=font-family: Arial; font-size: 10ptWith nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.nbsp; As the national voice of the legal profession, the st1:place w:st=onst1:city w:st=onABA/st1:city/st1:place works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.o:p/o:p/span/p |
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