Legal Briefs: This Week in Law

July 1, 2014

The Supreme Court took the proverbial legal cake of the week by releasing two major decisions on Monday and another two last Thursday. First, in a unanimous decision, the Court ruled that many of the recess appointments Barack Obama made a few years ago could be invalid. (CNN)

Second, the Justices split in a ruling that permits family-owned businesses to not pay for certain forms of contraception for employees. (NBC News)

Third, in another split vote the Justices decided that certain groups of public sector workers are not required to pay union dues if they do not wish to join the group. (Politico)

And finally, the fourth decision held that the buffer zone Massachusetts has created around abortion clinics to prevent protesters is a violation of the First Amendment. (Washington Post)

In other news, one man in New York is trying to start a movement to get unpaid interns their legally owed wages. (Capital)

Facebook found itself in hot water this week after it performed a little experiment on users (and possible broke informed consent research laws while at it). (Forbes)

And a different kind of book makes the news this week, this one about Steven Avery, the Wisconsin man wrongfully convicted of murdering a photographer on Halloween night a decade ago. (HTR News)

 

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