Vol. 22 No. 9- Local Laws Authorizing Vehicle Seizures Unlawful
“LOCAL LAWS AUTHORIZING VEHICLE SEIZURES UNLAWFUL” July 30, 2007 A divided California Supreme Court ruled, on July 26, 2007, that local ordinances which allow for the seizure of vehicles of those arrested on suspicion of buying drugs or soliciting prostitutes were unconstiutional. In the case of O’Connell v. City of Stockton, the Court ruled that […]
Vol. 23 No. 25- Massachusetts Marijuana Law Creates Concern
MASSACHUSETTS MARIJUANA LAW CREATES CONCERN December 29, 2008 The following article indicates the concern Massachusetts law enforcement has about the potential impact their new marijuana law might have on testing and/or disciplining employees for use of marijuana. Although this is not dealing with medical marijuana, their concerns are similar to those expressed in California and […]
Vol. 23 No. 15- Employee E-mails, Cell Phones & Text Messages – A Matter of Privacy
EMPLOYEE E-MAILS, CELL PHONES & TEXT MESSAGES – A MATTER OF PRIVACY AUGUST 25, 2008 Recently, the Ninth Circuit, U. S. Court of Appeals issued a ruling, in the case of Quon v. Arch Wireless Operating Co. (June 18, 2008), where it held, among other things, that employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy in […]
Vol. 23 No. 14 California’s Medical Marijuana Id Card Program Is Not Unconstitutional
CALIFORNIA’S MEDICAL MARIJUANA ID CARD PROGRAM IS NOT UNCONSTITUTIONAL August 4, 2008 On July 31, 2008, the California Court of Appeal ruled, in County of San Diego v. San Diego NORML, that the requirement of the Medical Marijuana Program (“MMP”), that counties provide medicinal marijuana identification cards to qualified patients, did not violate the Federal […]
CPOA Magazine Article- Possession of Handguns – New Case Decisions
“POSSESSION OF HANDGUNS – NEW CASE DECISIONS” August, 2008 By: Martin J. Mayer JONES & MAYER In June, 2008, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in the case ofDistrict of Columbia v. Heller, 2008 DAR 9613. In a 5 – 4 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the District of […]
Vol. 23 No. 13- Coleman/Plata Update
COLEMAN/PLATA UPDATE July 17, 2008 In our last update on the prisoner release litigation [Coleman v. Schwarzenegger/Plata v. Schwarzenegger], we informed you that all parties, including intervenors, were actively engaged in the settlement process. While all of the parties worked tirelessly at reaching a resolution, settlement was not able to be achieved. On June 23, […]
CSSA Magazine Article- Union Activity First Amendment Rights
“UNION ACTIVITY AND FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS” July, 2008 By: Martin J. Mayer JONES & MAYER On April 24, 2008, the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the case ofDavignon, et al. vs. Hodgson involving the plaintiffs’ claim that the sheriff suspended them from duty in retaliation for their First Amendment protected […]
Vol. 23 No. 12- State Will Appeal Medical Marijuana Ruling
STATE WILL APPEAL MEDICAL MARIJUANA RULING June 9, 2008 Just last week, on May 27, 2008, we published a Client Alert Memo (Vol. 23, No. 10) regarding a Court of Appeal decision in the case of People v. Kelly. In that case, the Court ruled that the statutory cap established by the legislature in SB […]
Vol. 23 No. 11- CPRA & Critical Incidents
CPRA & CRITICAL INCIDENTS June 5, 2008 Recently the California Attorney General published an official opinion (No. 07-208) concluding that, absent justification, law enforcement agencies are obligated to disclose names of public sector employees involved in critical incidents, such as officer involved shootings. Based upon statutory and case law we concur with the opinion of […]
Vol. 23 No. 10- Statutory Limit On Medical Marijuana Is Unconstitutional
STATUTORY LIMIT ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL May 27, 2008 In 1996 California voters approved Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act [CUA], which granted limited immunity from criminal prosecution of those who possessed and used marijuana, if they qualified as medical users. On May 22, 2008, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District ruled, in […]