Gary Young

September 30, 2004 | Law.com

A recent ruling that was meant to bring clarity to the copyright status of digital "sampling" already has some segments of the music industry warning of disaster. In a case of first impression, a panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a musician who copies any part -- even as little as two seconds -- of an existing recording without permission of the person who owns the copyright to the recording is in violation of the law.

By Gary Young

4 minute read

August 19, 2003 | The Legal Intelligencer

If First Amendment law keeps to its present course, you may soon see an end to the ads that say, Beef. It's what's for dinner!

By Gary Young

5 minute read

January 14, 2004 | Law.com

A video game maker has failed to head off litigation with its pledge to alter a game featuring the words "kill the Haitians." Take-Two Interactive Software says new editions of "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" will omit that phrase. But two weeks after the company apologized, Haitian-American advocacy groups filed suit seeking damages and a ban on the game's sale. The groups claim video game violence causes psychological harm to children and leads some to be violent toward others.

By Gary Young

4 minute read

November 05, 2002 | Law.com

The Republican and Democratic parties are edging toward a major change in the way state attorney general races are funded by forming organizations that solicit contributions on a national level and then channel the money to candidates in a manner that keeps voters unaware of the ultimate funding source. The rise of these groups stems largely from philosophical differences over increasingly high-profile, activist attorneys general.

By Gary Young

5 minute read

March 14, 2003 | New York Law Journal

By Gary Young

4 minute read

January 22, 2004 | Law.com

An Ohio controversy that pits a newspaper editor against a judge who wants to keep her divorce proceedings out of the public eye illustrates a national tug of war over the openness of court records. In an extra twist, both the judge and the editor serve on the privacy subcommittee of the Supreme Court of Ohio Advisory Committee on Technology and the Courts -- a group that addresses concerns about posting court files on the Internet.

By Gary Young

3 minute read

November 01, 2001 | Law.com

Exxon Mobil Corp. has asked the Alabama Supreme Court to overturn a $3.5 billion jury verdict, arguing that a state trial judge ran roughshod over the attorney-client privilege. By letting the state of Alabama introduce a memorandum prepared by an Exxon in-house attorney, the judge "ended any prospect of a fair trial for Exxon," the company claimed in its appellate brief.

By Gary Young

5 minute read

November 14, 2003 | Law.com

High hopes are riding on the HMO liability cases that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed last week to review. HMOs concerned about the rising cost of medical care hope the Court will reaffirm a 1987 ruling that prevented plan participants from bringing state law tort claims against HMOs, limiting their remedies to those set by ERISA. Plaintiffs lawyers hope that several post-1987 rulings signal a recognition that ERISA does not adequately protect plan participants' rights.

By Gary Young

9 minute read

March 05, 2004 | Law.com

Under the Bush administration, the FDA has adopted a novel legal strategy that would leave many consumers claiming injury from pharmaceuticals or medical devices with no recourse to tort law. That strategy is pre-emption, basically the nullification of state actions that conflict with or supplement FDA decisions. The point of controversy is "implicit pre-emption" which holds that Congress meant for FDA decisions to pre-empt state requirements even though it made no explicit statement in the statute.

By Gary Young

9 minute read

November 17, 2003 | New Jersey Law Journal

Law schools must open their doors to military recruiters, even if the U.S. Department of Defense's refusal to admit homosexuals to military service offends the schools' antidiscrimination policies, a federal judge has ruled.

By Gary Young

3 minute read