Legal Research

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Subscription required for online access:JUDGE TELLS POLICE TO LOOK HARDER FOR MISSING DNA EVIDENCE FROM 1985 CASE
"DNA evidence, which has been used to overturn hundreds of convictions in the 20 years since it was introduced, can't do much good if can't be found. That's been the dilemma for Stephen Brooks, who for over two decades since his rape conviction has been trying to locate missing genetic evidence that he and his lawyers believe may exonerate him. The items ? the victim's bedding and a rape kit ? were last seen in an evidence room during Brooks' 1988 trial. On Monday, Brooks won a partial victory as an Essex County judge ruled that East Orange police must try to find the evidence, and he left the door open for similar relief against the county prosecutor's office if the police fail to do so."

NO UPWARD LIMIT TO TOWNS' FAIR-HOUSING DUTY, COURT SAYS
"The fact that a municipality has met its state fair-share housing obligation does not mean it may reject low- and moderate-income housing projects, since they are "inherently beneficial" to the community and the state at large, a New Jersey appeals court ruled on Monday. The panel, in Homes for Hope Inc. v. Eastampton Land Use Planning Board, A-5551-07, affirmed a Burlington County judge's decision that the Eastampton Land Use Planning board should have granted an application from the non-profit group Homes for Hope Inc. to build an eight-unit multi-family affordable housing complex on .848-acre plot of land zoned for single-family housing. The township had already complied with its affordable housing obligation under the Fair Housing Act, as assigned to it by the Council on Affordable Housing, and indeed had a surplus through 2014."

AG NAMES PROSECUTOR FOR REVIEW OF CIA INTERROGATION
"Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. on Monday afternoon tapped career federal prosecutor John Durham, who is overseeing the investigation of the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes, to explore potential violations of anti-torture laws rooted in the interrogation of certain detainees. The Department of Justice's internal watchdog, the Office of Professional Responsibility, submitted to Holder a report Monday that recommended the department re-examine earlier decisions, made under the Bush administration, to decline to prosecute apparent violations of anti-torture laws. In reaching his decision to appoint a prosecutor, Holder also reviewed a 2004 report compiled by the CIA inspector general's office."

3RD CIRCUIT SACKS DELAWARE SPORTS LOTTERY
"It?s game over for Delaware?s planned Sept. 10 launch of a state-sponsored sports lottery, now that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a proposed expansion of its gaming would violate the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Delaware's lawyers argued the new lottery fell under a PASPA exemption that grandfathered existing sports betting schemes in four states. But on Monday, after hearing oral argument, a unanimous three-judge panel ruled on the merits for the challenger sports leagues, who argued Delaware was strictly limited to restarting the sort of sports betting it had conducted for a few months in the mid-1970s ? a multi-game football pool limited to betting on three NFL games at once. "

SHARP INCREASE IN MORTGAGE-RELATED LAWSUITS REPORTED
"Legal fights over loan modifications, appraisals and foreclosures drove a 54% second-quarter spike in mortgage-related lawsuits, according to a joint analysis by MortgageDaily.com and Washington-based law firm Patton Boggs. The organizations' joint Second Quarter 2009 Mortgage Litigation Report tracked 125 active state and federal cases filed by regulators and private parties, compared to 81 active cases during the first quarter. This year's first and second quarter activity totaled 206 cases, nearly matching last year's 207 cases. Lawsuits against mortgage modification firms, filed primarily by regulators, surfaced for the first time during the second quarter, with 22 cases compared to none during the first quarter or in 2008. Foreclosure cases more than doubled to 26, up from a dozen during the first quarter. "

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