The law is meant to reach anyone who buys or otherwise deals in used items at least once a month, and requires noncash payment methods. And that’s just the start: [Ackel & Associates]
…For every transaction a secondhand dealer must obtain the seller’s personal information such as their name, address, driver’s license number and the license plate number of the vehicle in which the goods were delivered. They must also make a detailed description of the item(s) purchased and submit this with the personal identification information of every transaction to the local policing authorities through electronic daily reports. If a seller cannot or refuses to produce to the secondhand dealer any of the required forms of identification, the secondhand dealer is prohibited from completing the transaction.
P.S. According to James in comments, the quoted account exaggerates the stringency of the law in question as well as its novelty. More: Volokh, Opposing Views, Greenfield, Masnick.
Tagged as:
Louisiana,
police
Kathryn Johnson, 92, “was shot and killed by police during a botched drug raid in 2006,” resulting in a payout of millions of dollars by the city. Now Rev. Markel Hutchins, who made public appearances as spokesperson for Johnston’s family, is suing her estate, saying he had an understanding to receive 10 percent of any recovery. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, WABE] (& note commented controversy over whether “botched raid” is accurate.)
Tagged as:
Atlanta,
contingent fee,
police
The First Circuit federal court of appeals has ruled that the First Amendment protects the right to record police officers’ public activity, notwithstanding a Massachusetts law banning “wiretapping.” Meanwhile, in Chicago, a jury speedily acquitted Tiawanda Moore on charges that she had committed a similar offense by using her Blackberry to record the visit of officers who were attempting to talk her out of a sexual harassment complaint against a member of the force. [Glenn Reynolds, Examiner, Gizmodo; earlier here, here]
Tagged as:
First Amendment,
police
The police chief of Long Beach, Calif. defends as consistent with department policy the detention of photographers who snap such shots. [Romenesko]
Tagged as:
California,
photography,
police
“He disrespected me” is a frequent but never acceptable motive for misbehavior, particularly unlovely when found among public servants and protectors [Coyote]
Tagged as:
police,
public employment
Better lock ‘em up? A Florida appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit against the city of Boca Raton over its police department’s decision to release from police custody a highly intoxicated 24-year-old, Christopher Milanese, who then walked onto railroad tracks and was fatally struck by a train. [South Florida Sun-Sentinel; opinion courtesy Leagle]
Tagged as:
alcohol,
Florida,
police
Follow the bouncing blame: “Pleasantville police officer Aaron Hess, who shot and killed Pace University football player Danroy Henry, Jr., is suing a local liquor store for allegedly providing Henry with alcohol. … Hess has been cleared of any wrongdoing by a grand jury but the U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing the case and Henry’s family has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Hess and the police department.” [News12, NY]
Tagged as:
dramshop statutes,
New York,
police
- The appalling reign of California’s prison guards union [Tim Kowal, League of Ordinary Gentlemen via Tim Cavanaugh; Steven Malanga, City Journal; earlier]
- Defense side, including dozens of sued bloggers, begins to respond in “Rakofsky v. Internet” case [Turkewitz, Popehat, earlier]
- Point/counterpoint on class action arbitration clauses [Karlsgodt]
- Group plans to Twitter-fy the novel Ulysses via crowdsourcing in time for Bloomsday, but let’s hope nobody tells litigation-prone Joyce heir [Ulysses Meets Twitter 2011 via BoingBoing]
- Battle over reform of joint and several liability continues in Pennsylvania legislature [Wajert]
- From Miami, latest dramatic tale of cops vs. citizen video-taking [David Rittgers, Cato at Liberty] New Jersey bill would criminalize taking photos of kids in many circumstances [Nicole Ciandella, CEI, see also]
- Australia: “Man Gets Workers’ Comp for Injury Sustained When Punching Customer” [Lowering the Bar]
Tagged as:
Australia,
California,
joint and several liability,
labor unions,
Pennsylvania,
police,
prisoners
- Prospects dicey at best for CPSIA reform as Waxman, Dems toe consumer-group line [Woldenberg, more, Nord, Northup] If AAP is going to posit 49,000 poisonings from lead in recalled jewelry, shouldn’t it try to document a couple of them? [Woldenberg] Credit at least to House Commerce Committee majority for trying to tackle mess with this law [Mangu-Ward, ShopFloor, AtC]
- “Lawsuit claims Jay-Z’s ‘Big Pimpin’ violates Egyptian ‘moral rights’” [DBR]
- My Cato Institute colleague Gene Healy reviews new Eric Posner/Adrian Vermeule book on executive power [AmCon]
- Subpoena filed by class-action lawyer Stephen Tillery demands contributor list of Chicago-based think tank critical of litigation [Madison County Record] Judge quashes subpoena as chilling of First Amendment liberties [same]
- Suits filed by its own officers, often those accused of misconduct, have cost LAPD $18 million since 2005 [L.A. Times via Dave Krueger, Agitator]
- “Do Menthol Cigarettes Taste Too Good to Be Legal?” [Sullum, earlier]
- “Motion Claims Buxom Woman with Opposing Counsel Is Intended as Jury Distraction” [ABA Journal] More: Ken at Popehat, Lowering The Bar, Above the Law.
Tagged as:
CPSIA,
CPSIA and Congress,
music and musicians,
police,
tobacco
Your home no longer your castle: “Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes.” [NWI Times] James Joyner rounds up outraged blog reaction, and Scott Greenfield has some thoughts on the gradual erosion of the right to resist.
Tagged as:
Indiana,
police
A would-be police officer sued the city of Bridgeport, Conn., contending that the police chief had described her behavior as “irrational, irate, and uncooperative as well as paranoid,” which she said should trigger the provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act protecting persons “regarded as” disabled, in this case psychologically disabled. She lost when a court — applying the law as it stood at the time of her termination in mid-2008, before Congress expanded it — deemed the chief’s alleged comments to be colloquial rather than an attempt at a clinical evaluation. As the court noted, however, since 2008 the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) has greatly liberalized the definition of what counts as being “regarded as” disabled — which means her case might have a better chance if it arose today. [Daniel Schwartz]
Tagged as:
disabled rights,
police,
workplace
