XOb (USSC Decision: Forest Grove v. T.A.)

USSC Update - IDEA permits reimbursement for private sped services even though child never attended public school Link

Sotomayor on Child Porn – U.S. v. Falso

Judge Sotomayor's ruling in this recently decided child pornography case might be an issue in her upcoming confirmation hearing. The defendant, Jon David Falso (shown at right), is also the first target in our firm's effort to seek civil damages for victims of child pornography utilizing Masha's Law, the legislation we helped create in 2006. A civil trial is scheduled for February 2010. The defendent's attorney in our case vows a fight to the Supreme Court possibly giving a newly confirmed Justice Sotomayor another chance to consider the case of confessed and convicted child pornographer Jon David Falso.

When Qualified Immunity Protects Social Workers from Lawsuits

As social work has developed into an increasingly seasoned, mature, and specialized profession, the role of the social worker has also changed. So too is the expectation that social workers will ensure that they are satisfying all legal responsibilities owed to their clients. Although many public sector social work administrators and practitioners are concerned about liability litigation and qualified immunity, no national studies of appellate cases have been published. This study explores when social workers are and are not successful in asserting qualified immunity when sued in civil court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Generally, ...

Strip Searching is IN Sexting is OUT

Apparently strip searching is IN and sexting is OUT. Students take heed: adult school administrators have the Constitutional right to force you to remove your bra, panties and boxers anytime for almost any reason, but if you take a cell phone picture of it, you can be charged with producing child pornography with a ten year mandatory minimum in the federal pen. Yesterday the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in a case we've been following since last summer, Safford Unified School District v. Redding, No. 08-479. Early indications are that the Court will follow its traditional pattern in cases involving schools and drugs by giving school ...

XOb (USSC Preview: Safford v. Redding)

Safford v. Redding U.S. Supreme Court preview - legality of middle school student strip search for ibuprofen Link

Express Observation (Title IX and 1983)

Recent Supreme Court ruling holds that Title IX doesn't preclude Section 1983 action in school gender discrimination COA Link

Court Denies Indefinite Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders

Last week the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a case of first impression, limited the federal Government's ability to place in indefinite civil commitment "sexually dangerous" persons under a federal law enacted as part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act of 2006 [18 U.S.C. § 4248]. Section 4248 authorizes the federal government to civilly commit, in a federal facility, any "sexually dangerous" person "in the custody" of the Bureau of Prisons--even after that person has completed his entire prison sentence. To initiate commitment under Section 4248, the Attorney General need only certify that a person in federal custody is "sexually dangerou...

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