Update: Hosts Discuss Civil Liberties Amid Pandemic —- United States Executive Authority Declares Emergency Powers The last point President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen made when he testified last year before Congress was that Trump would never leave office voluntarily. With the pandemic of Covid-19 virus upon us, Trump has the perfect excuse. Last week he […]

Hosts Update Now Is The Time To Fundamentally Transform America Doug Henwood wrote in a Jacobin magazine article last week that “. . . things could get very ugly, but it is also an opportunity to emerge from this crisis a better country.“ In his article Henwood articulates a vision, “a vision of solidarity and […]

Hosts Updates Chronic Underlying Conditions: Vunerability To Covid-19 10,239 Elderly Prisoners in New York State – Governor Cuomo’s Office – 518-474-8390 FOIA Suspended  —- Abuse Of Emergency Powers, The U.S. Constitution And Habeas Corpus The Department of Justice is now seeking to exploit the coronavirus calamity to get Congress to give it permission to pick […]

Host Updates: In Memoriam – Perry Rosenstein Law and Disorder warmly remembers Perry’s legacy. He passed on April 3rd, 2020 in Teaneck, New Jersey.  Navy Secretary’s Flight To Aircraft Carrier To Bash Fired Captain Cost Taxpayers $243,000 10,239 Elderly Prisoners in New York State – Governor Cuomo’s Office – 518-474-8390 —- Reevaluating “Normal” Once Again We […]

Speaking In Turkish: Denying the Armenian Genocide Around the world, April 24 marks the observance of the Armenian Genocide. On that day in 1915 the Interior Minister of the Ottoman Empire ordered the arrest and hangings of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople. It was the beginning of a systematic and well-documented plan to […]

EFF: Google And Apple Virus Contact Tracing And Privacy From China, to Israel, and now the U.S., governments seek to enact broad surveillance measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. Already a majority of the public has said it favors such tracking, even though leadership has not shown how this tracking might actually stop the […]

Nobody’s Child: A Tragedy, a Trial, and a History of the Insanity Defense Public opinion surveys of knowledge, attitudes, and support for the insanity defense show that Americans dislike the insanity defense. They want insane law-breakers punished, and believe that insanity defense procedures don’t protect the public. Polls also show that most overestimate the use […]

(United States Second Circuit) - Vacated and remanded. A complaint alleging claims for forced labor and human trafficking in violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act was improperly dismissed because the plaintiff plausibly stated claims.

(United States Second Circuit) - Affirmed. The admission of evidence, judgment of guilt, and sentencing were affirmed in a case arising out of the operation of an illegal Bitcoin exchange.

(United States Second Circuit) - Affirmed. Financial institutions that hold junior notes issued by the defendant, as trustee, appeal the grant of summary judgement. The district court erred in holding that ICA § 47(b) does not give rise to a private right of action. However, the district court ordered distribution of the assets of the trust according to the terms of the trust’s governing indenture, so summary judgment affirmed.

(United States Second Circuit) - Questions on appeal concern cross-jurisdictional tolling of a class action. Because the appeal presents state law questions that New York’s courts have yet to address, the court certifies the case to the New York Court of Appeals.

As Denver prepares to lift its stay-at-home order on Friday, a key business remains closed: restaurants.

Six Colorado restaurants and distilleries have been nominated for James Beard awards. Here's what to order from them.

In kitchens across the world, focaccia gardens are blooming. On top of the flatbreads, cherry tomatoes open like petals, with long scallion stalks for stems. Yellow-pepper sunflowers stand tall with Kalamata olives at their center. Red onions bud in bushes made from fresh herbs.

A running list of all the permanent Denver restaurant closures during the shutdown.

Independent Record Labels Now Represent 38.4% Of Global Recorded Music Market Share In 2016 With Global Revenues In Excess Of $6bn

A large lobbying effort mobilized almost immediately. Conducted outside the public’s view, its goal was to keep hundreds of stores open, thousands of Denverites employed, and entire industries functioning across the city.

Nearly 15% of the city of Aurora's employees will be forced to take furloughs because of the economic costs of the coronavirus pandemic, city officials announced Wednesday.

Of Glendale's roughly 5,000 residents, 16 voted in this month's city election, which was held amid a global pandemic and statewide stay-at-home order.

The U.S. Justice Department can not withhold millions of dollars in federal funding to Colorado law enforcement agencies by attaching immigration-related terms and conditions to securing the grants according to a federal judge's ruling.

The development manager accused of showing favoritism toward a construction bidder on the Colorado Convention Center expansion project has signed a $250,000 settlement with state investigators.

In some cases, cities and counties have been hesitant to spend the emergency appropriations, because the federal government hasn't told them exactly how to.

(United States Federal Circuit) - Affirming the Court of International Trade's decision affirming a Department of Commerce ruling in the administrative review of an earlier anti-dumping order, the court held that no error occurred in the determination that a Chinese saw blade manufacturer was seeking to sell their products at less than fair market value in the United States.

(United States Second Circuit) - Affirming the denial of the North American Soccer League's motion for preliminary injunction seeking Division II designation pending the resolution of its antitrust case against the United States Soccer Federation because they had failed to demonstrate a clear likelihood of success on the merits of their claim.

(United States Third Circuit) - Affirming a district court dismissal of a case brought by numerous taxi associations seeking to prevent Uber from taking their business because Uber's conduct didn't arise to an antitrust violation, attempted monopoly, or other unfair business activity, even if it is killing the old taxicab businesses.

(United States Fourth Circuit) - Affirming the grant of summary judgment to a group of table saw manufacturers sued under antitrust laws because the acts upon which the complaint was based occurred prior to 2002, the claims expired in 2006, and the suit was not filed until 2014, refusing to apply the equitable doctrine of fraudulent concealment because the plaintiff was found to have had notice, at latest, by 2003.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Reinstated an antitrust claim against a wholly owned natural gas subsidiary that said it had no knowledge of its parent company's alleged price-fixing scheme that had pumped up the price of gas. The subsidiary argued that it could not be held liable for violating Wisconsin antitrust law because it was not involved in anything unlawful that its parent company may have done. Unpersuaded, the Ninth Circuit emphasized that a parent and a wholly owned subsidiary always act as a single enterprise whenever they engage in coordinated activity, and thus reversed the grant of summary judgment to the subsidiary.

(United States Second Circuit) - Affirmed that magazine publishers did not violate antitrust laws by trying to drive a wholesaler out of business. The wholesaler delivered magazines to retail stores and it alleged that when it tried to impose a surcharge on the publishers in 2009, they conspired to boycott and drive the wholesaler out of business. On appeal, the Second Circuit found that the wholesaler had presented insufficient evidence of a boycott scheme to survive summary judgment. The panel also affirmed summary judgment against the publishers' counterclaims.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Affirmed the dismissal of a private antitrust action brought by consumers seeking to enjoin the largest U.S. beer producer from acquiring the second largest. The consumers argued in this action brought under section 7 of the Clayton Act that the merger would lessen competition in the U.S. beer market. Concluding that they failed to state a claim, the Ninth Circuit emphasized that the U.S. Department of Justice, as a condition of approving the merger, had required the company being acquired to divest entirely its domestic beer business.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Held that the Federal Trade Commission Act could support an order compelling an online payday lender to pay more than $1 billion in monetary relief for unfair business practices. Two of the judges on the Ninth Circuit panel filed a concurring opinion to suggest that the court should rehear the case en banc to reconsider relevant circuit precedent.

(United States Fifth Circuit) - Held that the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board's petition for review was premature in a case where the Federal Trade Commission had charged it with adopting an unlawful policy that restrained trade. Dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

(United States Second Circuit) - Plaintiff brought suit against three dental supply distributors alleging that they conspired to violate antitrust laws. The trial court dismissed plaintiff's antitrust claims for lack of standing and tort claims for failure to state a claim. Second circuit affirmed the dismissal of the antitrust claims, but vacated the judgment for the tort claims. The case was remanded back to the district court for further proceedings.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - District court's granting of summary judgment and bench verdict for Defendant affirmed. Sherman Act claim fails where the only current feasible way to comply with Chicagoland area city commercial fire safety ordinances was to use an exclusive provider. Under Fisher v. City of Berkeley, government restraints on trade imposed unilaterally do not form the basis of a Section 1 or Section 2 claim.

Does having a woman in charge of a country impact how that country is dealing with the pandemic?   In the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, more than one commentator has noticed that it does.  From Forbes to The Atlantic in the U.S., to think tanks around the world, “feminist leadership matters.” Forbes Magazine wrote just … Continue reading Might the Pandemic (Finally) Change the Leadership Stereotype? →

I’m happy to share this reflection from my colleague Natalie Fleury who runs our small claims mediation clinic which, as elsewhere, was forced to distance mid-semester.  I expect we will all have lessons as we move forward and plan for the fall semester as well! “Could we try and mediate over the phone?” I was … Continue reading Student Lessons on Distance Mediation →

The ABA Journal recently published an article entitled Bar Exam Does Little to Ensure Attorney Competence, Say Lawyers in Diploma Privilege State, describing the experience in Wisconsin, the only state that currently has the “diploma privilege.”  Under the Wisconsin rules, in-state law school graduates can become licensed without taking a bar exam.  These graduates must … Continue reading The Coronavirus Crisis Provides an Opportunity to Adopt Better Systems for Licensing Lawyers than the Bar Exam →

Talking Heads leader David Byrne’s new project, “Theater of Mind,” will miss its scheduled world premiere in Denver later this year, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts said today.

Little Richard, the self-proclaimed “architect of rock ‘n’ roll,” has died Saturday. He was 87.

(United States First Circuit) - Affirmed the denial of a medically ill defendant's request for a downward departure under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The defendant, who had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess five kilograms or more of cocaine with intent to distribute, sought a shorter sentence due to his chronic liver ailments. However, the First Circuit found no abuse of discretion in the sentence of 180 months.

(United States First Circuit) - Rejected a petition for review of a decision of the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB). The basic issue here was whether a local government could regulate certain activities at a rail-to-truck transloading facility. The petitioners, who lived near the facility, argued that the STB did not have exclusive jurisdiction and thus local regulation was permitted. Finding no basis to reverse the STB's ruling regarding the scope of its exclusive jurisdiction, the First Circuit rejected the petition for review.

(United States First Circuit) - Affirmed the conviction and sentence of a former Puerto Rico superior court judge for receiving bribes and participating in a conspiracy to bribe an agent of an organization receiving federal funds. On appeal, the former judge cited a number of alleged trial and sentencing errors, including the upholding of a witness's invocation of his Fifth Amendment privilege. However, the First Circuit found no reversible error and affirmed.

(United States First Circuit) - Vacated an order denying a request by Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) bondholders for relief from an automatic stay. The bondholders argued that a statute enacted by Congress to address Puerto Rico's financial crisis did not preclude them from obtaining relief so that they could petition another court to place PREPA into receivership. Agreeing, the First Circuit held that the district court erred in concluding otherwise.

(United States First Circuit) - Affirmed the fraud-related convictions of a man who falsely promised to provide professional legal assistance to individuals who were behind on their court-ordered child support payments. On appeal, the defendant made several claims of trial and sentencing error. The First Circuit affirmed his convictions and the order of restitution but remanded for resentencing using the proper version of the Guidelines Manual.

(United States First Circuit) - Affirmed a conviction on drug-smuggling charges. The defendant, who was caught with two other men aboard a vessel carrying 70 kilograms of cocaine, argued that he was a mere transporter of the contraband and thus was entitled to a minor participant reduction under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Finding no error in the sentence, the First Circuit affirmed.

(United States First Circuit) - Affirmed the dismissal of a homeowners' action to void a mortgage and enjoin their property's foreclosure sale. The lenders argued that the homeowners had waited too long to assert their claims under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Truth in Lending Act, RICO and other statutes, because they entered into the mortgage in 2005 and defaulted on it in 2009. The First Circuit agreed that their claims were time-barred, rejecting the homeowners' fraudulent concealment argument and other attempts to escape the time bars.

(United States First Circuit) - Denied an undocumented immigrant's petition for review of a decision ordering her removed from the United States. The El Salvador national sought asylum relief and protection under the Convention Against Torture Act, citing gang death threats she had received in her home country that had prompted her to leave. However, the First Circuit found no basis to overturn the Board of Immigration Appeals' conclusion that she did not have a well-founded fear of future persecution or satisfy other requirements for the relief she sought.

(United States First Circuit) - Affirmed the dismissal of an Indian tribe's complaint against federal and Rhode Island agencies concerning a highway bridge reconstruction. The tribe argued, at base, that the state of Rhode Island broke a promise to give the tribe three parcels of land as mitigation for the expected negative impact on historic tribal land of an I-95 bridge replacement project. Agreeing with the district court, the First Circuit held that the tribe's claims were barred by federal sovereign immunity and lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

(United States First Circuit) - Affirmed the denial of a retail chain's motion to compel arbitration of a proposed class action brought by blind customers. The retailer moved to compel arbitration of the discrimination lawsuit, citing an arbitration provision in the terms and conditions of a loyalty program of which the individual plaintiffs were members. However, the district court concluded that the arbitration provision was not enforceable here, and the First Circuit found no error in that ruling.

Which Names Spring To Mind When You Think Of Folk Rock Music? Jethro Tull, Perhaps?

Bongo Boy Music Group/Bongo Boy Records Are Very Excited To Sign A Complete Full-length Album By Talented Canadian Recording Artist Frank Trousdell.