Quiz: Test your knowledge of June's top legal news stories
As June draw to a close, it's that time again: Time to look back at some of the biggest, or just weridest, legal stories of the past month.
June 28, 2013 at 08:04 AM
32 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
As June draws to a close, it's that time again: Time to look back at some of the biggest, or just weirdest, legal stories of the past month. Read through the following 10 questions, and then click through to the next page to see the answers. Tweet us @insidecounsel and let us know your score, or just post it in the comments. Honor system, though, no cheating!
1. Which of the following is not an effect of a Supreme Court decision issued in June?
a. Gay marriages in states that have legalized them will now be recognized by the federal government
b. A class of merchants must arbitrate their grievances individually with American Express
c. Naturally occurring DNA found in the human body will no longer be patentable
d. The University of Texas at Austin must discontinue its affirmative action policy
2. President Obama drew the ire of Republicans this month by—among other things—nominating three judges to fill vacancies on what appeals court?
a. The D.C. Circuit
b. The 9th Circuit
c. The 2nd Circuit
d. The 4th Circuit
3. Earlier this month, outgoing Facebook GC Ted Ullyot revealed in a blog post that the social networking site received between 9,000 and 10,000 of what during the six months ending last December 31?
a. Cease-and-desist letters
b. User-data requests from government entities
c. Love notes addressed to founder Mark Zuckerberg
4. Which of these entities is facing a libel lawsuit over its contribution to the confusion surrounding the Boston Marathon bombing suspects?
a. Reddit
b. The Boston Globe
c. The New York Post
d. CNN
5. Nadine White filed a lawsuit one day after surviving which of the following disasters?
a. A deadly Philadelphia building collapse
b. An explosion at a Texas fertilizer factory
c. A factory fire in Bangladesh
d. A near plane crash caused by an exploding engine
6. The designers behind which popular fashion label were recently convicted of tax evasion?
a. Proenza Schouler
b. Dolce & Gabbana
c. Burberry
d. Badgley Mischka
7. What are several 7-Eleven store owners in New York and Virginia accused of doing?
a. Exploiting illegal immigrant workers
b. Sexually harassing female employees
c. Conspiring with other convenience store owners to raise prices
d. Racially discriminating during the hiring process
8. Which TV personality is facing a trademark infringement suit over one of her motivational catchphrases?
a. Paula Deen
b. Martha Stewart
c. Oprah Winfrey
d. Katie Couric
9. Walgreen Co. reached an unprecedented $80 million settlement with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) over charges that it did what?
a. Used improperly sterilized equipment in its pharmacies
b. Allowed controlled substances such as oxycodone to be illegally resold
c. Violated state wage and hour laws
d. Failed to properly train employees on labeling medication and pill bottles
10. What common song is at the center of a new copyright suit?
a. “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
b. “Happy Birthday to You”
c. “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”
d. “The Star-Spangled Banner”
1. Which of the following is not an effect of a Supreme Court decision issued in June?
a. Gay marriages in states that have legalized them will now be recognized by the federal government
b. A class of merchants must arbitrate their grievances individually with American Express
c. Naturally occurring DNA found in the human body will no longer be patentable
d. The University of Texas at Austin must discontinue its affirmative action policy
d. The University of Texas must discontinue its affirmative action policy
The Supreme Court did not, in fact, rule on the controversial affirmative action case Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, instead remanding it back to the 5th Circuit. The court wrote that the 5th Circuit “did not hold the university to the demanding burden of strict scrutiny” required by previous affirmative action decisions, and that the appeals court must determine if the policy is “narrowly tailored to achieve… the benefits of a student body diversity that 'encompasses a… broad array of qualifications and characteristics of which racial or ethnic origin is but a single though important element.'”
2. President Obama drew the ire of Republicans this month by—among other things—nominating three judges to fill vacancies on what appeals court?
a. The D.C. Circuit
b. The 9th Circuit
c. The 2nd Circuit
d. The 4th Circuit
a. The D.C. Circuit
After not getting any new judges for seven years, the D.C. Circuit is seeing a flurry of activity. In May, the Senate unanimously confirmed Obama appointee Sri Srinivasan to a spot on the 11-member court. But Congress may not be as willing to fill the remaining three vacancies on the bench.
Obama wants the Senate to quickly confirm his appointments of Akin Gump Partner Patricia Millett, Georgetown University law professor Nina Pillard and U.S. District Judge Robert Wilkins. Some Republicans, however, are accusing the commander in chief of attempting to pack the court with liberal judges.
3. Earlier this month, outgoing Facebook GC Ted Ullyot revealed in a blog post that the social networking site received between 9,000 and 10,000 of what during the six months ending last December 31?
a. Cease-and-desist letters
b. User-data requests from government entities
c. Love notes addressed to founder Mark Zuckerberg
b. User-data requests from government entities
Facebook released the information in response to the National Security Agency (NSA) scandal, in which government contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the agency was secretly collecting the phone records of millions of Americans. Ullyot admitted that Facebook has turned over user data to the government, but maintained that it does so only when required by law and that it frequently rejects such government requests.
The GC also noted that only 18,000 to 19,000 accounts—out of more than 1.1 billion total Facebook accounts—were affected by requests made over that six-month period.
4. Which of these entities is facing a libel lawsuit over its contribution to the confusion surrounding the Boston Marathon bombing suspects?
a. Reddit
b. The Boston Globe
c. The New York Post
d. CNN
c. The New York Post
Salaheddin Barhoum and Yassine Zaimi are suing the Post over a controversial cover it ran that they allege identified them as the bombing suspects. The cover showed them wearing backpacks, standing near the bombing site, and read “Bag Men: Feds seek these two pictured at Boston Marathon,” and was published just hours before the Federal Bureau of Investigation released photos of the actual suspects, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
5. Nadine White filed a lawsuit one day after surviving which of the following disasters?
a. A deadly Philadelphia building collapse
b. An explosion at a Texas fertilizer factory
c. A factory fire in Bangladesh
d. A near plane crash caused by an exploding engine
a. A deadly Philadelphia building collapse
White was reportedly trapped under debris when a four-story building—which was in the midst of demolition—collapsed onto an adjacent two-story structure that housed a Salvation Army thrift store. Six people died in the disaster and more than a dozen others were buried under rubble but survived.
The fallout from the tragedy has included the suicide of the city building inspector who cleared the site for construction and the arrest of the crane operator at the building, who was allegedly under the influence of painkillers and marijuana at the time of the collapse.
6. The designers behind which popular fashion label were recently convicted of tax evasion?
a. Proenza Schouler
b. Dolce & Gabbana
c. Burberry
d. Badgley Mischka
b. Dolce & Gabbana
Giving money to the government is so last season. An Italian court recently sentenced Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana to 20 months in prison for tax evasion, though Italian law allows them to serve under house arrest, since the sentence is less than three years. The misconduct allegedly dates back to 2004, and the designers must pay at least €500,000, though the fine could eventually be as high as €10 million ($13.4 million).
7. What are several 7-Eleven store owners in New York and Virginia accused of doing?
a. Exploiting illegal immigrant workers
b. Sexually harassing female employees
c. Conspiring with other convenience store owners to raise prices
d. Racially discriminating during the hiring process
a. Exploiting illegal immigrant workers
The store owners are accused of forcing immigrant workers to live in substandard housing, and of stealing their wages. The offenders allegedly gave them identities stolen from children and dead people, and hid the operation from 7-Eleven's headquarters. The Department of Homeland Security is in the process of revoking the franchise of 14 7-Eleven stores and has indicted nine people in the case.
8. Which TV personality is facing a trademark infringement suit over one of her motivational catchphrases?
a. Paula Deen
b. Martha Stewart
c. Oprah Winfrey
d. Katie Couric
c. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah may be the most powerful celebrity in the world, but that evidently doesn't intimidate Simone Kelly-Brown. Kelly-Brown, who owns a motivational services business called Own Your Power Communications Inc., is suing Winfrey for using the phrase “Own Your Power” on her website and in her magazine.
According to Kelly-Brown, she has a trademark on the phrase. Oprah's company argues that it is free to employ the phrase for “editorial use” under the First Amendment. But the 2nd Circuit earlier this month allowed the case to proceed, ruling that Winfrey might be “attempting to build a new segment of her media empire” around the motivational catchphrase.
9. Walgreen Co. reached an unprecedented $80 million settlement with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) over charges that it did what?
a. Used improperly sterilized equipment in its pharmacies
b. Allowed controlled substances such as oxycodone to be illegally resold
c. Violated state wage and hour laws
d. Failed to properly train employees on labeling medication and pill bottles
b. Allowed controlled substances such as oxycodone to be illegally resold
Walgreens admitted that it did not properly flag suspicious prescription painkiller sales which, according to the DEA, allowed drug dealers and addicts to buy the pills and sell them on the black market. Walgreens agreed to pay the $80 million in civil penalties—the highest fine ever collected under the Controlled Substances Act—and beef up its training and compliance efforts.
The company's Florida distribution center, along with several other Florida locations, will not be allowed to dispense certain controlled substances for the next two years.
10. What common song is at the center of a new copyright suit?
a. “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
b. “Happy Birthday to You”
c. “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”
d. “The Star-Spangled Banner”
b. “Happy Birthday to You”
Documentary producer Jennifer Nelson sued Warner Music Group's publishing arm, which claims it owns the copyright to the universally familiar birthday tune. She claims that “Happy Birthday to You” has been in the public domain since 1921, and that she shouldn't have had to pay a $1,500 licensing fee to use the song in her film about it. Nelson is seeking class action status on behalf of anyone who has paid licensing fees to use the song in the past four years.
As June draws to a close, it's that time again: Time to look back at some of the biggest, or just weirdest, legal stories of the past month. Read through the following 10 questions, and then click through to the next page to see the answers. Tweet us @insidecounsel and let us know your score, or just post it in the comments. Honor system, though, no cheating!
1. Which of the following is not an effect of a Supreme Court decision issued in June?
a. Gay marriages in states that have legalized them will now be recognized by the federal government
b. A class of merchants must arbitrate their grievances individually with
c. Naturally occurring DNA found in the human body will no longer be patentable
d. The University of Texas at Austin must discontinue its affirmative action policy
2. President Obama drew the ire of Republicans this month by—among other things—nominating three judges to fill vacancies on what appeals court?
a. The D.C. Circuit
b. The 9th Circuit
c. The 2nd Circuit
d. The 4th Circuit
3. Earlier this month, outgoing Facebook GC Ted Ullyot revealed in a blog post that the social networking site received between 9,000 and 10,000 of what during the six months ending last December 31?
a. Cease-and-desist letters
b. User-data requests from government entities
c. Love notes addressed to founder Mark Zuckerberg
4. Which of these entities is facing a libel lawsuit over its contribution to the confusion surrounding the Boston Marathon bombing suspects?
a. Reddit
b. The Boston Globe
c. The
d. CNN
5. Nadine White filed a lawsuit one day after surviving which of the following disasters?
a. A deadly Philadelphia building collapse
b. An explosion at a Texas fertilizer factory
c. A factory fire in Bangladesh
d. A near plane crash caused by an exploding engine
6. The designers behind which popular fashion label were recently convicted of tax evasion?
a. Proenza Schouler
b. Dolce & Gabbana
c. Burberry
d. Badgley Mischka
7. What are several 7-Eleven store owners in
a. Exploiting illegal immigrant workers
b. Sexually harassing female employees
c. Conspiring with other convenience store owners to raise prices
d. Racially discriminating during the hiring process
8. Which TV personality is facing a trademark infringement suit over one of her motivational catchphrases?
a. Paula Deen
b. Martha Stewart
c. Oprah Winfrey
d. Katie Couric
9.
a. Used improperly sterilized equipment in its pharmacies
b. Allowed controlled substances such as oxycodone to be illegally resold
c. Violated state wage and hour laws
d. Failed to properly train employees on labeling medication and pill bottles
10. What common song is at the center of a new copyright suit?
a. “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
b. “Happy Birthday to You”
c. “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”
d. “The Star-Spangled Banner”
1. Which of the following is not an effect of a Supreme Court decision issued in June?
a. Gay marriages in states that have legalized them will now be recognized by the federal government
b. A class of merchants must arbitrate their grievances individually with
c. Naturally occurring DNA found in the human body will no longer be patentable
d. The University of Texas at Austin must discontinue its affirmative action policy
d. The University of Texas must discontinue its affirmative action policy
The Supreme Court did not, in fact, rule on the controversial affirmative action case Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, instead remanding it back to the 5th Circuit. The court wrote that the 5th Circuit “did not hold the university to the demanding burden of strict scrutiny” required by previous affirmative action decisions, and that the appeals court must determine if the policy is “narrowly tailored to achieve… the benefits of a student body diversity that 'encompasses a… broad array of qualifications and characteristics of which racial or ethnic origin is but a single though important element.'”
2. President Obama drew the ire of Republicans this month by—among other things—nominating three judges to fill vacancies on what appeals court?
a. The D.C. Circuit
b. The 9th Circuit
c. The 2nd Circuit
d. The 4th Circuit
a. The D.C. Circuit
After not getting any new judges for seven years, the D.C. Circuit is seeing a flurry of activity. In May, the Senate unanimously confirmed Obama appointee
Obama wants the Senate to quickly confirm his appointments of
3. Earlier this month, outgoing Facebook GC Ted Ullyot revealed in a blog post that the social networking site received between 9,000 and 10,000 of what during the six months ending last December 31?
a. Cease-and-desist letters
b. User-data requests from government entities
c. Love notes addressed to founder Mark Zuckerberg
b. User-data requests from government entities
Facebook released the information in response to the National Security Agency (NSA) scandal, in which government contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the agency was secretly collecting the phone records of millions of Americans. Ullyot admitted that Facebook has turned over user data to the government, but maintained that it does so only when required by law and that it frequently rejects such government requests.
The GC also noted that only 18,000 to 19,000 accounts—out of more than 1.1 billion total Facebook accounts—were affected by requests made over that six-month period.
4. Which of these entities is facing a libel lawsuit over its contribution to the confusion surrounding the Boston Marathon bombing suspects?
a. Reddit
b. The Boston Globe
c. The
d. CNN
c. The
Salaheddin Barhoum and Yassine Zaimi are suing the Post over a controversial cover it ran that they allege identified them as the bombing suspects. The cover showed them wearing backpacks, standing near the bombing site, and read “Bag Men: Feds seek these two pictured at Boston Marathon,” and was published just hours before the Federal Bureau of Investigation released photos of the actual suspects, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
5. Nadine White filed a lawsuit one day after surviving which of the following disasters?
a. A deadly Philadelphia building collapse
b. An explosion at a Texas fertilizer factory
c. A factory fire in Bangladesh
d. A near plane crash caused by an exploding engine
a. A deadly Philadelphia building collapse
White was reportedly trapped under debris when a four-story building—which was in the midst of demolition—collapsed onto an adjacent two-story structure that housed a Salvation Army thrift store. Six people died in the disaster and more than a dozen others were buried under rubble but survived.
The fallout from the tragedy has included the suicide of the city building inspector who cleared the site for construction and the arrest of the crane operator at the building, who was allegedly under the influence of painkillers and marijuana at the time of the collapse.
6. The designers behind which popular fashion label were recently convicted of tax evasion?
a. Proenza Schouler
b. Dolce & Gabbana
c. Burberry
d. Badgley Mischka
b. Dolce & Gabbana
Giving money to the government is so last season. An Italian court recently sentenced Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana to 20 months in prison for tax evasion, though Italian law allows them to serve under house arrest, since the sentence is less than three years. The misconduct allegedly dates back to 2004, and the designers must pay at least €500,000, though the fine could eventually be as high as €10 million ($13.4 million).
7. What are several 7-Eleven store owners in
a. Exploiting illegal immigrant workers
b. Sexually harassing female employees
c. Conspiring with other convenience store owners to raise prices
d. Racially discriminating during the hiring process
a. Exploiting illegal immigrant workers
The store owners are accused of forcing immigrant workers to live in substandard housing, and of stealing their wages. The offenders allegedly gave them identities stolen from children and dead people, and hid the operation from 7-Eleven's headquarters. The Department of Homeland Security is in the process of revoking the franchise of 14 7-Eleven stores and has indicted nine people in the case.
8. Which TV personality is facing a trademark infringement suit over one of her motivational catchphrases?
a. Paula Deen
b. Martha Stewart
c. Oprah Winfrey
d. Katie Couric
c. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah may be the most powerful celebrity in the world, but that evidently doesn't intimidate Simone Kelly-Brown. Kelly-Brown, who owns a motivational services business called Own Your Power Communications Inc., is suing Winfrey for using the phrase “Own Your Power” on her website and in her magazine.
According to Kelly-Brown, she has a trademark on the phrase. Oprah's company argues that it is free to employ the phrase for “editorial use” under the First Amendment. But the 2nd Circuit earlier this month allowed the case to proceed, ruling that Winfrey might be “attempting to build a new segment of her media empire” around the motivational catchphrase.
9.
a. Used improperly sterilized equipment in its pharmacies
b. Allowed controlled substances such as oxycodone to be illegally resold
c. Violated state wage and hour laws
d. Failed to properly train employees on labeling medication and pill bottles
b. Allowed controlled substances such as oxycodone to be illegally resold
Walgreens admitted that it did not properly flag suspicious prescription painkiller sales which, according to the DEA, allowed drug dealers and addicts to buy the pills and sell them on the black market. Walgreens agreed to pay the $80 million in civil penalties—the highest fine ever collected under the Controlled Substances Act—and beef up its training and compliance efforts.
The company's Florida distribution center, along with several other Florida locations, will not be allowed to dispense certain controlled substances for the next two years.
10. What common song is at the center of a new copyright suit?
a. “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
b. “Happy Birthday to You”
c. “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”
d. “The Star-Spangled Banner”
b. “Happy Birthday to You”
Documentary producer Jennifer Nelson sued
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