Category Archives: Civil Rights

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Blog, Civil Rights, Family, Legal News, Supreme Court

New York Women Can Now Get Legal Late-Term Abortions in More Cases

By Christina Cauterucci

New York medical practitioners can now provide abortions after 24 weeks of gestation in more cases, thanks to an opinion released by Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman on Wednesday. In response to a query from the state comptroller’s office, Schneiderman wrote that the state’s current abortion law runs counter to Supreme Court rulings by criminalizing abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy except to save the pregnant woman’s life.

Drawing from multiple Supreme Court decisions, the opinion concludes that, to stay within constitutional lines, New York must also make exceptions to the 24-week limit if the pregnant woman’s health is at risk and if the fetus becomes unviable. The state law, passed in 1970, will remain in effect until the state legislature decides to ax it, but the New York Times reports that Schneiderman’s opinion will allow hospitals and other abortion providers to perform late-term abortions without fear of prosecution.

 An OB/GYN at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center told the Times that hospitals have previously had to seek wisdom from ethics committees and sometimes wait until a pregnant woman’s health got so bad that her life was definitely at risk, just to give doctors “institutional cover to do what we thought was right all along.” Legislation proposed in 2013 would have modified the state’s abortion law to fit with court precedent, but Republicans in the state legislature blocked it.
Full Article – http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/09/09/new_york_women_can_now_get_legal_late_term_abortions_in_more_cases.html
Blog, Civil Rights, Drug Companies, International, Legal News, Personal Injury, Supreme Court

CNN Pressured Dr. Drew ‘Like the Mafia’ to Retract Clinton Health Comments

When HLN cancelled Dr. Drew in August, the network said the decision was “mutually agreed” upon by both network executives and the show’s host, Dr. Drew Pinsky — but according to a report, executives at CNN (HLN’s sister network) pressured Pinsky to retract comments he made about Hillary Clinton’s health before the show was cancelled a few days later.

“CNN is so supportive of Clinton, network honchos acted like the Mafia when confronting Drew,” a source close to Pinsky told the New York Post‘s Page Six. “First, they demanded he retract his comments, but he wouldn’t.”

During a radio interview with John McIntyre on August 16, Dr. Pinsky commented on the release of the Democratic presidential candidate’s medical records, saying that based upon the information he had reviewed with another doctor, he was “gravely concerned not just about her health, but her health care.”

“Both of us concluded that if we were providing the care she was receiving, we would be ashamed to show up in a doctors’ lounge,” Dr. Pinsky concluded. “We would be laughed out. She’s receiving sort of 1950s level care by our evaluation.”

Eight days later, CNN executive vice president Ken Jautz announced that the last episode of Dr. Drew would air September 22.

“Dr. Drew and his team have delivered more than five years of creative shows and I want to thank them for their hard work and distinctive programming,” Jautz said in a statementannouncing the show’s cancellation. “Their audience-driven shows, in particular, were innovative and memorable TV. And Dr. Drew has been an authoritative voice on addiction and on many other topical issues facing America today.”

The cancellation was framed as part of a broader shakeup at HLN, including the end of Nancy Grace’s long-running show on the network.

But a source close to Dr. Pinsky told Page Six that the host’s comments on Clinton’s health led to a series of “nasty” phone calls and emails from network executives that were “downright scary and creepy.”

“Both of us concluded that if we were providing the care she was receiving, we would be ashamed to show up in a doctors’ lounge,” Dr. Pinsky concluded. “We would be laughed out. She’s receiving sort of 1950s level care by our evaluation.”

Eight days later, CNN executive vice president Ken Jautz announced that the last episode of Dr. Drew would air September 22.

“Dr. Drew and his team have delivered more than five years of creative shows and I want to thank them for their hard work and distinctive programming,” Jautz said in a statementannouncing the show’s cancellation. “Their audience-driven shows, in particular, were innovative and memorable TV. And Dr. Drew has been an authoritative voice on addiction and on many other topical issues facing America today.”

The cancellation was framed as part of a broader shakeup at HLN, including the end of Nancy Grace’s long-running show on the network.

But a source close to Dr. Pinsky told Page Six that the host’s comments on Clinton’s health led to a series of “nasty” phone calls and emails from network executives that were “downright scary and creepy.”

Full Article – http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2016/09/04/report-cnn-demanded-dr-drew-retract-clinton-health-comments-cancelling-show/

Blog, Business Law, Civil Rights, Divorce, Family, Legal News, Supreme Court

Appellate Court Rules Mel Gibson’s Ex-Wife Violated Confidentiality Agreement

by | 5:58 pm, August 12th, 2016

On Tuesday, California’s 2nd Appellate District ruled (PDF) on a celebrity case that had been out of the public eye for a while:Mel Gibson’s disputes with his ex-wife, Oksana Grigorieva. The case is technically titled ““M.G. v. O.G.,” but the numerous details in the order make it perfectly clear who’s involved. The court affirmed a previous ruling in Gibson’s favor to the effect that that Grigorieva violated the terms of an out of court settlement between the two by addressing her domestic abuse allegations against Gibson.

TBT TAPES

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You may recall that in 2010, Grigorieva recorded her phone conversations with a disturbingly unhinged Gibson, including one (embedded above) where he threatened to kill her, saying “I’ll put you in a f—ing rose garden you c–t! You understand that? Because I’m capable of it. You understand that?” If he had much of a career left, that changed. Grigorieva sued Gibson in separate cases (one for paternity of their child, one for battery and defamation), and according to the appellate ruling, here’s how those were resolved:

At the same time, the parties entered into a separate settlement agreement to resolve O.G.’s civil claims, pursuant to which M.G. agreed to pay O.G. a total of $750,000 in three equal installments spread over the course of five years. As part of the settlement agreement, O.G. agreed to keep confidential “any and all information and facts related to the asserted claims and events underlying this Agreement.” The agreement specified that a breach of the confidentiality obligation would result in O.G.’s forfeiture of all outstanding installments of the $750,000 settlement payment.

From there, nothing really happened until Grigorieva appeared on The Howard Stern Show on May 21, 2013:


Howard Stern – Oksana Grigorieva – 5/21/13 by MrBenjyBronk

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While Grigorieva never outright said in the interview that Gibson physically abused her, in the context of the interview, it’s clear that she’s giving credence to Stern’s statements about Gibson hitting her. That’s where Gibson objected, and that’s why the appellate court agreed with Gibson. From the ruling:

Full Article – http://lawnewz.com/high-profile/appellate-court-rules-mel-gibsons-ex-wife-violated-confidentiality-agreement/

Blog, Civil Rights, Legal News, Supreme Court

Federal agency hit with lawsuits over land plan for Oregon

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The federal government is already facing two lawsuits over its plan to manage about 2.5 million acres of land in western Oregon that would increase the potential timber harvest by an estimated 37 percent.

The Statesman Journal reports (http://stjr.nl/2baidqt ) the American Forest Resource Council and Earth Justice have both filed suits against the Bureau of Land Management since the plan was enacted Friday.

The agency spent years working to update the Northwest Forest Plan, trying to strike a balance between the interests of the timber industry and environmentalists. The original plan developed in the mid-1990s failed to deliver promised yields of timber, in part because of federal laws to protect species like salmon and the northern spotted owl.

BLM spokeswoman Sarah Levy said the agency does not comment on pending litigation, but says the agency’s analysis showed it could sustainably harvest 278 million board feet of timber a year and still meet its legal obligations under the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act.

Full Read – http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/Federal-agency-hit-with-lawsuits-over-land-plan-9130688.php

Blog, Civil Rights, Legal News

Civil Rights Coalition Calls For Improving Police-Community Relations In Milwaukee

Area Groups Urge State Legislature, Milwaukee To Take Action
Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 9:20am
By Chuck Quirmbach

Prominent civil rights groups have banded together to ask Wisconsin and Milwaukee to take steps to improve police-community relations in Milwaukee.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the League of United Latin American Citizens have formed a civil rights coalition calling for change.

Fred Royal, president of the NAACP Milwaukee chapter, said the state Legislature should create a diverse board of Milwaukee citizens to oversee investigations and make recommendations pertaining to officer-involved shootings and other “critical incidents.” The board would be different from the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission, Royal said.

“I think a community-driven board that is non-partisan, that does not have ties to the appointing person – frankly the Mayor – would be a much more open and transparent practice to use,” he said.

Royal also wants to replace retiring police officers with a more diverse group of local recruits.

“Bring people in? No. Hire people from within who understand the cultural competencies, who aren’t afraid of black men, of brown men,” Royal said.

The coalition is also asking Milwaukee to evaluate the impact of surveillance technology like body cameras and to allow the public to testify before a city council panel that’s looking at public safety issues.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said he appreciates the efforts to improve police-community relations, and looks forward to discussing the ideas.

Sourced From – http://wpr.org/civil-rights-coalition-calls-improving-police-community-relations-milwaukee