The Legal and Headline News Blog

According to a staff report in the superb ‘Rutland Herald’ print and online newspaper,
Federal authorities have blocked some seventeen different states, which are led by Vermont and California - from establishing their own seperate automobile emissions standards in order slow global warming
and improve breathing air for everybody.
States have been instructed to rely instead on a brand new national law, rather than implement their own standards, the EPA head Stephen Johnson said in a statement. In fact, they went as far as to deny a needed waiver which would have granted states their own authority
 for establishing standards in regards to how much in the way of harmful emmisions that different kinds of automobiles can potentially produce.

By the way if you are in California and require legal representation then by all means take a look at Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys. The folks at Ehline Law are among the best

los angeles criminal defense attorneys

 that are available, if not the best.  So whether you need a dui lawyer torrance or a dui lawyer newport beach you are in great shape. Back to the story: Governor James Dougless, however, whose office has placed the tougher standards in place in Vermont and, with the help of Attorney General William Sorrell’s office, has defended them, stated that they would mull over their various legal options.
He said that “The EPA ruling is out of touch with the reality of climate change and the innovative state policies that are emerging to address it. It is very unfortunate that this agency, (which is) charged with protecting the environment, opted not to act with the environmental stewardship American’s expect of it,”.
 The emissions standards have been a main flagship and primary pillar of the governors work to lower the stae of Vermonts’ contribution to the global warming and emissions problem which affects everyone throughout the nation and world as whole.
Despite these setbacks, there is some reason for environmental optimism, fortunately. For example,
many technology industries are pushing hard towards making a profit out of solving the whole global warming phenomenon.
Firms as varied and diverse as eSolar, Solel, Nanosolar, Honda, GE, Vestas, Aracruz, and numerous more are commiting a lot of time and capital into renewable energy, transportation, and various products which are aligned with intelligent and sustainable development.
As a matter of fact, each leading industry is making significant investments in the solutions that the planet so desperately needs.

For the Police Department, there are several pressing legal issues to be considered
for 2008. Among the top issues is the usage of Taser weapons. The Police Department may face more lawsuits regarding excessive force,
according to Law Enforcement writer Ken Wallentine of the Policeone dot com web site. It should also be noted that
It should also be noted that both Probation and parole search authority is increasing around the country. After all,
in the aftermath of the ‘Sampson v. California’ decision and some similiar trials, certain specific jurisdictions are weighing statutes which would permit
suspicionless searches of parolees.  In the Sampson decision, the Court ruled held that the police department can execute both a warrantless and
 suspicionless seach at any time for no obvious reason. That is fairly significanyt expansion of powers.  By the way if you live in Southern California and find yourself in need of a lawyer by all means atake a look at Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys Also look for brand new
legislation pertaining to various eyewitness ID procedures. This is all happening because
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers previosly launched a wide spectrum suit earlier in the year which challenged eyewitness identification procedures
 in the matter of ‘NACDL vs. Chicago Police Dept’.  They have made the claim that the various departments use certain line-up procedures in criminal investigations which are less than perfect.  
 Innocenceproject.org) states that “eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide.”  Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia
 have passed safegaurd measures to help right this apparent wrong. Another major legal factor for the upcoming year will no doubt be regarding the new
Security search authority which has been vastly increased under the fourth Amendment. As an example of this,
The NFL has recently enacted guidelines mandating certain pat down searches to prevent criminal elements from bringing explosives into football games,
and the courts supported them on this particular issue. Aslo, because of the landmark ‘Georgia v. Randolph’ case there should be a plethera of consent issues
which will come to the forefront. That case established that a physically present party with coequal habitation rights may under many circumstances exclude officers from a particular home, even should
another party (such as a spouse, for example) consent for them to enter the dwelling in question.  Apparently, the courts are restricting the Georgia v. Randolph ruling to a relatively narrow interpretation.
And another issue that you are certain to hear more about in the new year concerns the
Courts’ act of widening the authority of law enforcement officers to ask questions during otherwise routine traffics stops, based on the case ‘Muehler v. Mena’ it
used to be the case that questioning a passenger on issues unrelated to reasons for the traffic stop was a violation of the Fourth Amendment protections, unless there is reasonable reason to justify the questions.
Apparently, however, that is no longer necessarily the case.

Friday, December 28, 2007
Jack MeeHoff

Columbus, Ohio - In a major victory for insurance companies and those who wish to be able to determine the financial risks associated with injuring people due to their own negligence; the Ohio Supreme Court rules that caps on damage awards in personal injury lawsuits , declaring them constitutional by a 5-2 margin this Thursday, December 27, 2007.

There were several business organizations who convinced - some say paid off - the Ohio legislature to cap damages awards to victims who are injured to a neglectful business economic in injuring others, effectively destroying hundreds of years of well settled law as it relates to the rights of man.  But health care organizations are gleeful that they can always know no matter how careless they are, it will only cost them a sum certain, rather that being exposed to what a jury believes the value of the case is. 

One dissenting justice stated it was a: “a sad day for the court” and “a tragic day for Ohioans.”

The Court actually upheld damages caps approved by the legislature way back in year 2004. One of the statutes has a cap on awards for pain and suffering and intangible injuries to a maximum of $350,000 unless the injured person loses bodily organ or a limb. The other statute limits punitive damages normally understood to be a sort of death penalty to businesses who put profits over people, to just two times the amount of compensatory damages awarded by juries for injuries.  The Court’s shocking ruling was the result of several years of litigation by Plaintiff  Melisa Arbino, a Cincinnati woman, versus Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Co.  The allegations were in part, that Johnson & Johnson was negligent, causing blood clots due to the use of a birth control patch manufactured and distributed by Defendant Johnson & Johnson.

An organization considered by many consumers to be an anti-victim, anti-plaintiff group, called the Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice, claims the ruling sets: “parameters that fairly award injured parties while providing a reasonable and predictable system for Ohio’s job creators.”

The Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice consistently argued that the tort damages caps have been long needed in order to encourage businesses to stay afloat and also to help businesses create jobs without being threatened by run away jury verdicts.  Consumer groups retort that if businesses followed the law to begin with, they wouldn’t get sued and there would be no fear.  “This simply acts as a get out of jail free card.”  According to California trial attorney, Michael P. Ehline.

Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, who wrote the majority opinion, said damages caps still let juries be  fact-finders in personal-injury lawsuits , but simply allows the General Assembly to determine how much the jury gets to award.

“We are charged with evaluating the constitutionality of their choices,” Wrote Moyer. “Issues such as the wisdom of damage limitations and whether the specific dollar amounts available under them best serve the public interest are not for us to decide.”

Moyer did seem to agree that the Court had in the past rejected damages in injury lawsuits in over 30 years, but now a bill had been written good enough to take away the historical role and right of the jury, stating the new legislation approved by the General Assembly three years ago fixed these constitutional “problems.”

Justices Maureen O’Connor, Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, and Judith Ann Lanzinger all joined in the Court’s majority opinion. Justice Robert R. Cupp wrote a separate and concurring opinion.

Justices Terrence O’Donnell, and Paul E. Pfeifer wrote dissents. They both agreed that the cap on intangible damages clearly violates the constitutional rights of injured victims because it lets the legislature, instead of juries determine damage awards in tort lawsuits.

“Today is a day of fulfilled expectations for insurance companies and manufacturers of defective, dangerous or toxic products that cause injury to someone in Ohio,” Pfeifer wrote in the dissent. <strong>”But this is a sad day for our Constitution and this court. And this is a tragic day for Ohioans, who no longer have any assurance that their Constitution protects the rights they cherish.”  O’Donnell wrote that the damages cap on pain-and-suffering awards by juries: “substitutes the judgment of the General Assembly for that of a jury.”

This victory for evildoers will certainly reverberate in California.  It’s up to educated consumers to see through the smoke screen. He who has the money makes the rules.  Businesses and corrupt insurance companies are on the move.  Paying off elected officials and making sure retired judges have plenty of work as arbitrators and referees when they retire, makes certain that wrongdoers will be able to kill you and limit how much they have to pay.  Now you are a mere calculable risk, instead of a potential death blow to their pocketbooks.  We hope you enjoyed this press report about how the Ohio Supreme Court destroys jurors’ role and fulfills dreams of greedy insurance companies by aggressive Los Angeles personal injury attorneys

As 2008 begins in a few days, literally hundreds of legal changes will take effect in California
to usher in the new year. Law changes include an automobile smoking ban, minimum wage hike and a mandate
for more efficient lights, among numerous others.
The smoking ban is simply the latest effort out of Sacramento to protect individuals from the hazards of secondhand smoke.
As it stands now, the Golden State already forbids such smoking in enclosed working areas
 such as bars and clubs, or within twenty-five feet of a playground. This law underscores the touph stance the
state has on smoking. After all, only 2 other states—Arkansas and Louisiana—have such laws whiich forbid the smoking of cigarettes within automobiles in which
kids are passengers, according to the San Jose Mercury online newspaper. This laws initiator,
state Senator Jenny Oropeza, a Democrat from Long Beach, has agreed that there must be another reason for the traffic stop to ensure the approval in the Assembly. Incidentially if you reside in California and need a lawyer, by all means take a look at Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys for information
Yet another law aimed at drivers, the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving—goes into effect on the first of July. For drivers under the age of eighteen,
it also extends to the handsfree use of cell phones as well. Pretty strict stuff, but there really have been a lot of safety related complaints about
this activity and calls for it’s regulation. Regarding the minimum wage bill, the wages of salaried workers will go up by some fifty cents to $8 on the first of January,
making them the 2nd highest paid earners overall in the nation, with Massachusetts being the other such state.
 The Massachusetts minimum wage also will reach $8 an hour on the first, according to the U.S. Dept of Labor.
The state of Washington, which automatically adjusts their minimum wage every year to keep up with inflation, will have the highest overall at $8.07 an hour.

Globalism meets the legal realm as the
The Applied Materials corporation and the Chinese firm Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Incorporated (AMEC) are in a rather bitter legal battle concerning
a confidentially motion filed in court, according to reports from several news
outlets, The Applied Materials Corporation, which is based in
Santa Clara, California, is hoping to prove their lawsuit against AMEC (Shanghai) by turning over a certain”trade-secret list” which has been under wraps up to
this point in time. In a document filed this month, Applied Materials states that AMEC is in fact fighting this legal manuevre and thus delaying the motion.
Sounds like your typical feet dragging ploy straight from the handbook. By the way,

if you are in southern California and need a lawyer, by all means take a look at Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys for information.

The motion in question just one section of a lawsuit filed by the technology firm against it’s Chinese competitor several months ago. In fact, their suit,
filed in the United States District Court in the Northern California jurisdiction, states that the firm is in fact involved in misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract plus unfair competition.

The co-defendants in the suit include several AMEC executives and former employees at Applied Materials: Gerald Yin, Aihua Chen, Ryoji Todaka and Lee Luo. As a
matter of fact, the lawsuit states that some thirty former Applied engineers now work over at the Chinese firm.
All in all, The co-defendants in this lawsuit apparently have been employed at Applied at 1 time or another and had “access to highly sensitive Applied
trade secrets” involving etch and CVD, they maintain. “Defendants willfully breached multiple duties to Applied by transferring and converting Applied
inventions and trade secrets to AMEC.” 

Applied is seeking certain damages in this lawsuit. These 2 firms simply can’t seem to concur “as to whom and under what circumstances Applied’s trade secret
list can be shown,”

It is always important to host your website at the best web hosting you can find on the net. If you have a business website, it is even more essential to do so because downtime could mean a loss of reputation and sales.

www.ixwebhostingreview.org gave a good review on IX web hosting’s ecommerce business plan. The ecommerce plan allows you to payments through credit cards, however you will need to apply for a merchant account. It is fairly easy to do but if you are not familiar with how this process works, you can always contact their reliable support team that will guide you through getting your own merchant account for your online store. There are several free open source scripts for ecommerce stores such as zen cart or oscommerce that is compatible with IX web hosting’s accounts. Once everything has been set up, your customers can now proceed through payment gateways to pay for their website. There are also third party merchants that can help you accept payments such as 2checkout or paypal. These can easily be hooked onto your third party shopping cart depending on which features they have to offer. Prior to using a third party shopping cart, make sure it is very trustful and reputable. Those popular shopping carts are more trustful since many people have been using it as opposed to smaller ones that few people use. The importance is about security, you will be collecting private information from your customers and your private information is also there to accept the payments. Additional details can be found at the Hosting Review Blog

www.ixwebhostingreview.org explains how easy it is to set up your shopping cart. All you need to do is start off with an IX web hosting plan. After downloading your third party shopping cart, unzip it. Next, you will need to make sure the php.ini settings is set to register_globals=on. The next step is to go into the control panel to create a new MYSQL database user. To start the installation, you’ll need to find a folder to place the installer in (such as domainname.com/shop), the rest should be guided by your installer. It is quite easy to set up. More details at the Technology and Gadgets Blog

Even with all of this quality service and packages, there are web hosting rebate that are offered by IX web hosting. Rebates include web hosting coupon codes for purchases.

Tires have a large impact on vehicles’ fuel economy. At an event in New York City last week, executives at Michelin tire said that after discounting engine and other losses, tire rolling resistance accounts for about 20 percent of the energy needed to operate a car. Overall, Michelin figures that tires account for about 3 to 5 percent of the nation’s CO2 emissions and about 9 percent of U.S. oil consumption.

Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen!    Today we will go and visit the Yuelu Academy! Yuelu Academy is one of the four famous academies in China, and it was established by Zhudong, magistrate of Tanzhou prefecture in 976A.D at the time of Northern Song Dynasty. The academy accepted disciples throughout the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was only in 1903 that the academy was transformed from a school of traditional Confucian learning to an institute of higher learning and in 1926 it was officially named Hunan University.

Early in 1015, Emperor Zhen Zong of the Song Dynasty awarded the academy hid Majesty’s own handwriting Yuelu Academy on a tablet. Form then on many famous scholars and great thinkers gave lectures here, among them were Zhangshi, Zhuxi and WangYangming, thus making a great impact on the province’s culture and education. Most of the existing buildings here were constructions of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the bulk of the engraved stone plates and inscribed tablets have all been kept intact, In 1956 the academy was listed as a historical site at the provincial level and later, in 1988 it became a historical site at the state level. The last restoration project started in 1981 and the major part was completed in 1987.

Now, here we are at the He Xi Platform, He Xi means the the splendour of the sunrise, It was named by Zhuxi, a great idealist philosopher of the Confucian school during the Song Dynasty, The platform was first built on the top of Yuelu hill, by Zhanshi, and later in 1528, a pavilion was built on it, But it became deserted with the passing time. In 1790 Luodian, the master of the academy, built a platform at the present site, In 1820, the succeeding master, Ouyang Houjun, renamed it He Xi Platform in order to memory Zhuxi and Zhanshi. It was restored in 1868.

On the inner walls of the platform are two big Chinese characters Fu and Shuo, which mean blessing and longevity respectively. Legend has it that the Character Shuo was written with a broom soaked in yellow mud by a Taoist master at the time Master Luodian was attending a banquet in honour of the examination officials and those dispels who had passed the civil exam Hence it has been regarded as having celestial touch The character Fu was written by Luodian, the master himself.

This gate in front of us is the Main Gate, the gate was formerly built at the time of the Song Dynasty, and was then called Central Gate. The main gate underwent both destruction and reconstruction in the course of time. The present structure was once thoroughly renovated in 1868.

The characters Yuelu Academy on the horizontal tablet were inscribed by Emperor Zhen Zong of the Song Dynasty. It was presented as an award to Zhoushi, the master of the academy, when he was summoned to the emperor’s presence. On both door posts are couplets which read The kingdom of Chu, unique home of the talents, The Academy of Yuelu, the very cradle of all . It was composed in the Qing Dynasty by the master of the academy, Yuan Jiangang and his disciple Zhang Renjie. This gate was the Second Gate, It was first built in 1527 during the Ming Dynasty. It underwent repairs and restoration many times .It was completely devastated during the Anti-Japanese War .In 1984, the gate was restored to its former state. More educational resources may be found over at The Tutorial Blog

This is the Lecture Hall, where the students had lessons here, it was first built at the time of the Song Dynasty and was once named Jing Yi Hall. Now, it has a more elaborate name The Hall of the Loyalty, Liability, Honesty and Integrity, because on the inner walls of the hall are engraved four big Chinese Characters: loyalty, Liability, honesty and integrity. They were handwriting by the great scholar, Zhuxi, who once lectured here. Others, such as the School Regulations, the Administrations and Way to Read were masterpieces of the masters of the academy. On the two horizontal tablets hanging on top were written:

Learn before you can probe the infiniteness of the universe.

The doctrines taught here in the south are genuine Confucian doctrines.

They were inscribed by the emperor Kangxi and Qianlong respectively during the Qing Dynasty.

The building in front of us is the Yushu Library, yushu literally means imperial books, so Yushu Library, built in 999A.D in the early Song Dynasty, was a place to keep imperial books. Books were continuously sent here during the succeeding dynasties. The library was first named Classics Treasuring House in the Song Dynasty, Classic Venerating House in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and finally Yushu Library in the Qing Dynasty. It had been repaired and expanded many times, and now it has a collection of over twenty thousand Chinese classics. This building was rebuilt on its original site in 1986.

The two small pavilions Xi Quan and Ni Lan, built during the Song and Ming Dynasties, were restored to the right and left of the compound galleries in order to display cultural relics.

As the new American election approaches, there are many candidates that will potentially make American History. One of these candidates is Barack Obama. If elected as the next present, he will be the first ever African American president in history. For those who do not know about Obama, here is a brief yet insightful biography.

Obama was born in August 4, 1961. His first experience in politics was when he was the junior United States Senator for his state under a Democratic Party. While receiving such role, he already contributed to history by being labeled the fifth African American Senator in a whole history of the United States. More related news at the IFIP News Blog

In 2008, Obama will be running for Presidency. His Democratic Party’s mission is to end the Iraq War, which is quite turn around for the country. It will be quite interesting to see how the election plays out, which may ultimately show the nation’s current stand on the war. Of course each candidate has their own view on the war and it will not be the sole reason why the American citizens will be voting in favor of a specific candidate.

Barack Obama also wants to implement a universal health care system which allows the right to all citizens (and some permanent residents) to health care, regardless of the fact that they can afford to pay for the services or not. This is essential for the United States since they are the only industrialized country that does not grant all of their citizens the right to health care.

If Barack Obama were to be elected as president, it will show how much the United States has gone through pass their decades of discrimination against the African American. Of course racism has already decreased since the 70’s and 80’s but it still lingers within the country if we admit it or not. The sole purpose of voting for a certain senator is not to chose whether he or she is in a specific group (such as race, class or gender) but rather look through such things into their values as a person and goals for the country. This election will be one of the most important elections as there is lots of potential for history to be made and of course, a major impact in the country’s direction.

The results of Barack Obama’s campaign for presidency is not as predictable since the vote is going to be determined by generations of people who have new mindsets. As opposed to decades ago, if a similar election would be held (with a female and black senator running) the results would be quite obvious because of the discrimination between the two. However, the United States are in a new state, but of course those with the discriminating generation are still alive and voting.

As each candidate tour the country hoping to convince voters to vote for them through their campaign, Obama New York as a win would greatly benefit is campaign along with California Obama majority. Tune into the 2008 election as history will surely be made.

Are you one of the 47 million without health insurance? Do you realize that over half of all the bankruptcies in the USA occur as a result of an emergency medical cost? Many medical insurance plans are too costly for people on a modest income. COBRA monthly premiums are shocking to people who are between jobs. Graduating students do not have extra cash to spend on expensive health insurance plans before they get benefits from their jobs.

Short term health insurance plans are designed to give you the coverage of health insurance at a fraction of the cost. These medical insurance plans do not have co payments for doctors’ visits. They also do not generally have prescription drug benefits, nor do they cover pre-existing conditions. The Medical Directory also has a lot of good resources in this regard.

The temporary medical insurance plans do offer major medical coverage for catastrophic situations for a fraction of the cost of co pay plans or COBRA plans. They have a deductible which you choose and an out of pocket maximum. Once the maximum is met, the insurance covers medical expenses at 100%. This coverage could be all you need to keep you out of bankruptcy in the event that you need medical care. While these plans are considered ‘temporary insurance’, they are designed to cover the individual or family for as long as the client pays the premium.

If you don’t know how long you will need the coverage, you can opt for a month-to-month payment plan. But if you know you will have coverage at a certain date, you can save money by selecting the single payment option for the insurance. This is a good idea if you are in a waiting period for a new job before the health benefits begin.

You can get coverage in as little as 5 minutes effective as early as midnight tonight, and apply directly online at several websites. Compare several different options and you will be surprised at how little it costs to insure you in the event of a medical emergency. There is no need to be one of the 47 million Americans in danger of bankruptcy in the event of a medical emergency. These plans are affordable for everyone.