Legal Research

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Subscription required for online access:FEDERAL JUDGES GIVEN GUIDANCE ON USE OF INTERNET SOURCES
"Judges, like the rest of us, can be lured by the treasure trove of information on all kinds of topics available on the Web. Now federal judges have a set of guidelines to help them decide when and how to use Internet sources. The Judicial Conference of the United States has sent the chief judge in every federal district five pages of 'suggested practices' on the subject. The ephemeral nature of the Internet ? with online sources like Wikipedia that anyone can edit ? was a prime concern for the guideline writers, who say that a judge, before citing a Web page, should take into account whether the information is 'stable and likely to remain accessible' via the citation used."

COURT MAKING LEMON LAW ADR A PERMANENT FIXTURE
"The state judiciary's pilot alternative dispute resolution program for Lemon Law cases has proved so successful that it's being made permanent, the state Supreme Court says. The pilot program, which allows parties to choose between early mediation and binding or non-binding arbitration, led to settlement of over half the cases tracked during a three-year study period, running from January 2006 to December 2008. Prior to 2006, Lemon Law cases were automatically steered into early mediation, which resolved only 20 percent of the cases, court officials say. In a notice to the bar, the AOC says non-binding arbitration will be the default form of ADR in Lemon Law cases when parties fail to select or cannot agree on a method."

FRIVOLOUS LAWSUIT SANCTIONS AFFIRMED AGAINST PRO SE PLAINTIFF IN AUTO CASE
"A pro se litigant was properly sanctioned to the tune of $4,237 for pursuing court claims over a garden-variety car accident rather than just having his carrier pay for repairs, a state appeals court says. Ruling in two consolidated cases on Wednesday, in Bandler v. Progressive Specialty Ins. Co., A-3953/0197-07, the Appellate Division said plaintiff Michael Bandler 'inexplicably paid for the loss himself, and then embarked on a pro se campaign of litigation that has lasted nearly seven years [and] needlessly consumed a large amount of judicial resources.' A trial judge found Bandler had plenty of time to realize the frivolous nature of the claim before Progressive Ins. Co. sought sanctions."

FEDERAL CIRCUIT LIMITS OVERSEAS PATENT LIABILITY
"An en banc ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has narrowed the reach of U.S. patent laws covering companies' overseas sales and production. Wednesday's decision in the closely watched Cardiac Pacemakers Inc. v. St. Jude Medical Inc. determined that patents for methods or processes are not subject to patent infringement liability if the products are assembled and sold overseas. Patents for products, however, are not exempt. The plaintiffs in the case accused a company that sells implantable cardioverter defibrillators, which detect and correct abnormal heartbeats, of infringing on a patent for a 'method of heart stimulation.' The method uses a programmable, implantable heart stimulator."

IN PHOTO ID CASE, SECURITY CONCERNS WIN OUT OVER RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
"In a case that pitted religious beliefs about photographs against ramped-up security concerns following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a federal judge has ruled that an oil refinery had no duty to accommodate a worker who refused on religious grounds to pose for a photo ID. Plaintiff John Cherry, a Black Israelite and a member of the Church of the True and Living God, argued in Cherry v. Sunoco Inc. that the Second Commandment prohibits him from posing for pictures or photographs and from carrying the same upon his person. But U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe in Philadelphia found that the 2002 Maritime Transportation Safety Act and Coast Guard regulations passed in its wake specifically mandated that all workers in port facilities carry photo ID, and Sunoco had no power to waive that requirement"

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