Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Houston-based pulmonologist Dr. Steven Haber testified for about 14 hours over two days in Texas’ first Johnson & Johnson baby powder trial. The case is also the state’s first talc trial, lawyers said.
The Texas Lawbook‘s Krista Torralva has the latest details from inside the courtroom.
A divided Fifth Circuit panel has determined the Llano County library must put back in circulation eight of 17 books that had been previously removed because of objections to their contents.
The ruling was issued Thursday in the case brought by seven library system patrons who alleged that county employees’ removal of the books violated their First Amendment right to “access information and ideas.”
Justices determined that two adjacent chicken farms were a nuisance but said less-drastic remedies to abate the odors are warranted. Agricultural interests are closely following the appeal, which attracted prominent lawyers for Sanderson Farms and its growers.
In a Q&A with The Lawbook, Willding describes recent deals he has handled, elaborates on a “significant pickup” in middle-market M&A deals, and identifies other trends he is observing
On Thursday, Justice Sonya Sotomayor delivered the 8-0 opinion of the court that held Truck Insurance Exchange should have been allowed to voice its concerns about the terms of a proposed $50 million settlement of thousands of asbestos-related lawsuits because the insurer is a “party in interest” in the dispute. Gibson Dunn’s Allyson Ho argued the case and spoke to The Lawbook about its implications.
A little more than a week before trial was slated to begin, a settlement has apparently been reached in a case where Texas alleged Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, had unlawfully used the biometric data of Texans without their consent and for commercial use.
This week’s edition of P.S. features a spotlight on Houston-based, fatherhood-focused nonprofit CoolxDad and a Q&A with the lawyer who recently handled the lease negotiations for its new headquarters pro bono, details of a recent 5K benefiting those affected by sickle cell disease that was sponsored by a Dallas law firm, another firm operating in Dallas that just became NAMWOLF certified and June dates for the Dallas Bar Association’s LegalLine E-Line Clinic.
Other firms and organizations mentioned this week include Pillsbury, Hilgers Graben, Witherite Law/1-800-TruckWreck, The Alta Arts, Midway, Kier’s Hope, The Steve Harvey Morning Show, Trinity Groves, Carter Blood Bank, Smile Time Dentistry and D. Herbs.
In this guest article, Winston & Strawn’s Tom Melsheimer applauds the jurors who decided the New York State court trial of Donald Trump. “Trial lawyers can discuss and debate the result and argue about the tactics of both sides. That’s fair game,” he writes. “But anything but praise for the citizens who were effectively drafted into a fractious and controversial case? That’s just fake news.”
The latest trial accusing the cosmetic giant J&J of manufacturing products that caused consumer’s cancer got underway in Dallas on Wednesday. A Texas man says his mesothelioma was caused by the talc mineral used in the company’s baby powder.
Dean Omar Branham Shirley represented an Oregon mother of three who said her mesothelioma diagnosis came after years of using J&J’s baby powder. The company is facing lawsuits across the country from plaintiffs who claim J&J knew cancer-causing asbestos was turning up in its baby powder for decades but didn’t warn consumers or the FDA.
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