Posts under ‘statutory construction’

Today the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued this opinion.
The case, styled Flava Works, Inc. v. City of Miami, concerns “CocoDorm.com, which operates an internet-based website of the same name. The CocoDorm website transmits images, via webcam, of the residents of 503 Northeast 27th Street, Miami, Florida, over the internet.” The question is whether Flava Works [...]

Paul Braley (“Braley”) has a leasehold interest in property in Forest Park, Georgia, where he operates a retail salvage store. Since 1984, he has displayed merchandise for sale to the public in front of the store in an area where there is a sidewalk and places to park.
In March 2007, the City of Forest Park [...]

“The Federal Communications Commission fined Rocky Mountain Radar for producing two types of police radar jammers. The Commission alleged that the jammers harmfully interfered with authorized radio communications – a violation of FCC regulations,” begins this opinion from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued today.  As framed, the issue “is whether C450 and S201 are ‘intentional radiators’ [...]

Let’s say that one day, you’re banned from a casino (for hitting a slot machine and breaking its “belly glass”). Years later, somehow, you’ve worked yourself back into that casino (hitting the slots and winning thousands).
How, exactly, should you cash in those chips?  
The issue: Whether a casino (here, Prairie Meadows) had the authority to withhold winnings [...]

Location schmocation.
A couple of items in the news. First, a provocative piece from the talented David Hudson of the First Amendment Center, entitled “Obscenity online: Do we need a national standard?”
Second, the Iowa Court of Appeals delivered this decision yesterday. Iowa charged Clarence Judy, owner of a strip club in Hamburg, Iowa, with three counts of public indecent [...]

A pair of decisions to start the week.
“The town of Clarksville’s legal case against Theatair X was dismissed Monday as a judge ruled the town’s ordinance is not valid and therefore cannot be enforced,” reports the NewsAndTribune.com (which, oddly enough, is a “.net” Web site)  here. The Clarksville Town Court held that the ordinance regulating sexually oriented businesses [...]

Something about Georgiacarry.org’s mission seems backwards to me.
Fired up after SCOTUS’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, organizations like Georgiacarry.org are funding challenges to an assortment of gun laws. No problem with that, in a First Amendment sense. What’s got me scratching my head is how these organizations project the scope of the Second Amendment. They’ve argued a right to carry guns on [...]

Pro’s Sports Bar & Grill is not happy with the City of Country Club Hills.
When Pro’s applied to the City for a liquor license, the City claims, it was given a license that allows it to operate, but only with more restricted hours than is typical. (The City says it conditioned a license on Pro’s closing at 12:30 a.m., almost 3 hours earlier than [...]

Tow-truck drivers are either saviors or serpents. There is no in-between, in most eyes. 
If your car leaves you stranded on the Interstate, you rejoice when those yellow lights arrive. Hero. If, on the other hand, you leave your car unattended in a restricted public parking lot, you recoil when those yellow lights disappear – with your car. Crook.
You might wonder how a private company is permitted take [...]

Tandem opinions from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals were released yesterday. 
In the first case, Entertainment Productions, Inc. and others sued Shelby County, challenging the constitutionality of the Tennessee Adult-Oriented Establishment Registration Act on First Amendment grounds. EP argued four points: First, the definitions of “adult cabaret,” “adult-oriented establishment,” and “adult entertainment” render the Act unconstitutionally overbroad; and [...]