Welcome to your Tuesday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer, which also includes this week’s edition of Pennsylvania Law Weekly. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)
Today’s top story is the Pennsylvania Supreme Court hearing redistricting arguments on Monday, as the justices heard appeals to the state Legislative Reapportionment Commission’s final decision on new districts for the House and Senate. As reporter Ben Present writes, Justice Joan Orie Melvin, who reportedly received a target letter from an investigating grand jury recently, remained on the bench for the arguments. The most substantial arguments came from an attorney representing a band of citizens led by an Allentown piano teacher, along with the lawyer for Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, the lone objector on the five-member commission.
Also on Page 1 today, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that a court hearing Monday in the Philadelphia grand jury investigation into alleged sexual abuse by priests was held over whether any evidence of prior “bad acts” can be admitted at trial. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has charged the priest’s supervisor, former personnel director for the Catholic Archdiocese Monsignor William Lynn, with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly failing to move two accused sexual offenders to new assignments.
Today’s Regional News continues on Page 3, as reporter Gina Passarella writes that the Commonwealth Court has ruled that workers’ compensation judges have no vested rights in pay increases, finding that Pennsylvania’s WCJs had no recourse to collect on a rescinded raise.
As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sister publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.
On Page 5 is today’s Legal Marketing column, in which Stacy West Clark writes about marketing items your firm should have on its priority list, beginning with deciding on a plan.
In a look at the U.S. Supreme Court, Stephen A. Miller writes on Page 7 about the case of United States v. Jones, in which a narcotics defendant challenged the admission of evidence at his trial obtained from a GPS device installed on his car without his knowledge or a warrant.
As it is Tuesday, it’s also your chance to read this week’s Pennsylvania Law Weekly. The lead story for PLW comes from Ben Present, who writes that the Penn State scandal highlights the statute of limitations debate that continues to carry on.
On the bottom of Page 1, Ben Present writes that a Clearfield County judge has granted the motion of a corporate methadone clinic and its doctors to file an interlocutory appeal, stemming from claims by the estate of two third-party women who were killed by one of the clinic’s patients in a car crash.
On Page 3, reporter Zack Needles writes an open records story, as the Commonwealth Court has ruled that e-mails sent between borough council members are public record and therefore subject to public disclosure under the state’s Right-to-Know Law.
There’s much more inside this week’s PLW, including Samuel C. Stretton’s Ethics Forum, in which he tackles whether lawyers can accept work product from law students; Brandon Swartz’s Medical Malpractice column, which takes a look at diagnostic testing technologies; Jeff Jubelirer’s Public Relations commentary; and articles about state police being denied immunity after allegations of beating a prisoner and a Philadelphia judge removing trustees from two trusts worth $27.9 million.
If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.
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