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Story Archives of 'Law'
Fight Over Blog Comments Hits High Court
By Josh Rogers on Thursday, November 5, 2009.Case could decide if bloggers have the same first amendment rights as traditional journalists and determine if media websites can protect the identities of those who post comments anonymously.
The Chicago Gun Case
By Laura Knoy on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.After ruling last year that the right to bear arms in the Constitution’s Second Amendment is an individual right, the Supreme Court could now decide in McDonald vs. City of Chicago whether or not that right applies only to the Federal Government, or whether it also applies to the laws of all 50 states. We’ll look at what the Court might say and how a decision might affect the Granite State’s gun laws.
Guests
- Richard Feldman, president of MLS Communication, a former lobbyist for the National Rifle Association and author of Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist
- Jon Lowy, Senior Attorney for the Legal Action Project at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence
- Buzz Scherr, Professor at Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord
Scanning for Criminals
By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, October 28, 2009.
It just got a lot harder to go on the lam in North Carolina. The FBI has teamed-up with the Department of Motor Vehicles there to help them track down suspects. They’re using new facial-recognition software that compares drivers license photos in the DMV database to pictures of alleged criminals.
So even if a suspect changes his name and gets a new drivers license, the feds can find him and track him down based on his facial structure. If successful, the program could prove to be a huge boon for law enforcement, but it’s also a big concern for privacy advocates.
Steve Morris is Deputy Assistant Director in the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division. We’re also joined by Jared Kaprove, a Domestic Surveillance Fellow with the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
The Associated Press: FBI delves into DMV photos in search for fugitives
(Photo by buhny via Flickr/Creative Commons)
State Appeals to Court for Cash
By Dan Gorenstein on Thursday, October 15, 2009.Lawyers today argued in front of the Supreme Court that the state should be entitled to $110 million surplus dollars from a medical malpractice insurance program.
New Hampshire is relying on that money from the Joint Underwriting Association, or JUA, to balance the current budget.
But attorneys for the policyholders told the justices, the state has no authority to take that money at all.
New Hampshire Public Radio’s Dan Gorenstein reports.
Speaking Truth To Power
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, October 15, 2009.
Dianna Ortiz, an American nun, went to Guatemala in the 1980s to educate children. There she was abducted, raped and tortured. Ortiz is one of dozens of people profiled by Kerry Kennedy in the book Speak Truth to Power. The book, with photographs by Eddie Adams, is based on interviews with people who've devoted their lives to free expression, women's rights, the rule of law, environmental defense, and eradicating slavery.
On Saturday, Speak Truth to Power: Voices From Beyond the Dark, playwright Ariel Dorfman’s adaptation of the book, makes its New Hampshire premiere. The staged reading includes poet Maxine Kumin, novelist Andre Dubus III, the actors Gloria Rubin and Richard Backus and many more -- including me. I’ve become so engrossed and shocked by Kennedy’s profiles that we invited her on for more. We welcome Kerry Kennedy, who, in addition to working in several countries, established the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights in her father’s honor. We’re also joined by Dana Biscotti Myskowski, producer and director of the New Hampshire production of Speak Truth To Power.
Firefighters Push For LGC Documents Hits High Court
By Josh Rogers on Friday, October 9, 2009.Firefighters want non-profit that serves cities and towns to disclose the salaries of all its employees and the meeting minutes of a subsidiary that manages public-employee health plans.
The Supreme Court's Shrinking Docket
By Virginia Prescott on Monday, October 5, 2009.
Today marks the beginning of the new Supreme Court term. (The campaign finance case heard last month was left over from the 2008 term.) On the 2009 docket? Disputes over anti-terrorism laws, gun rights, animal cruelty, prison terms for juvenile offenders, and separation of church and state are among the dozens of issues the court will consider this year.
It sounds pretty jam packed, right? Not compared to thirty years ago. In the early 1980's, the Supreme Court decided more than 150 cases a year. In 2007, it decided a mere seventy cases, or less than half as many. It’s a downward trend that research scholar David Stras from the University of Minnesota Law School is keeping an eye on. He joins us with more.
The New York Times: "The Case of the Plummeting Supreme Court Docket"
OnTheDocket.org: 2009 Supreme Court cases
(Photo by dbking via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Ballot Problems Surface In State Contract Vote
By Josh Rogers on Tuesday, September 29, 2009.Some workers say they were mailed multiple contract ballots. Union officials say they don't know extent of the problem, but don't think it's widespread.
Supreme Chick Lit
By Virginia Prescott on Monday, September 21, 2009.
Dahlia Lithwick is no stranger to deadlines and drama. She’s about to cover her 10th Supreme Court term for Slate.com, where she is senior editor. Dahlia writes about complicated storylines, sharp dialogue, and memorable characters. She chronicles battles being waged, won, lost and then entrenched in the American system of justice.
Dahlia Lithwick had never taken to her keyboard to invent characters, plots and scenes, until now. Dahlia is trying her hand at what’s been called the fast-food of fiction: chick lit or mommy lit. She’s spending the month of September writing a story called Saving Face. It comes out in installments, a chapter every few days, and she’s writing it with the help of her readers and followers on Facebook and Twitter.
Slate: Saving Face? Or Losing My Mind?
The latest installment of Saving Face
(Photo by Lucius Beebe Memorial Library via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Legal Battles over Tax Caps
By Laura Knoy on Tuesday, September 15, 2009.Those for a cap say tying the town or city’s spending to the rate of inflation would protect citizens against large scale tax hikes, while opponents suggest it would only hurt community services. In Manchester, a local group is in court looking to take off a proposed tax cap from the November city ballot. In Concord, a similar bill was struck down because a judge said it interferes with the city managers duty to create a budget. Other fights in Somersworth and Claremont are just as contentious. We'll look at these cases and how the tax cap debate may play out this year.
Guests
- Zandra Rice Hawkins, executive director at Granite State Progress
- Matthew Murphy, executive director of the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition
We'll also hear from
- Josiette White, president of Keep Manchester Moving
- Phil Greazzo, candidate for alderman in Manchester's 10th ward; he's one of those suing to get the tax cap on the ballot
