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MA Land Court Interprets Overlapping Zoning Definitions for Hot Tubs and Swimming Pools

This post was authored by Amy Lavine, Esq. A Massachusetts case decided in August considered the Town of Nantucket’s zoning definitions for “hot tub/spa” and “swimming pool.” Specifically, the zoning code defined a “hot tub/spa” as a structure with less than 150 square feet of surface area and more than two feet of depth, while a “swimming pool” was defined as a structure either with more than 150 square feet of surface area or containing more than 1,000 gallons of water. The definition created a dilemma because of the structure “could at the same time have less than 150 square…
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Why Americans, including Obama, are in awe of Indian-American attorney Neal Katyal

An Indian-American attorney is being hailed as a “national hero” and “true patriot” in the US after he successfully argued a case before the US Supreme Court against a legal theory being promoted by conservatives, especially those who supported former US President Donald Trump. The US-born attorney, named Neal Katyal, was representing the watchdog group ‘Common Cause’ and won the judgment 6-3, with support from three liberal and three conservative judges. Such was the significance of the case that one legal expert labeled it as the most important constitutional case in US history, while it helped the attorney rarely earn…
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Woman charged with shooting Pennsylvania district attorney

CBS News Pittsburgh live A woman accused of shooting the district attorney for a rural central Pennsylvania county has been charged with aggravated assault and related counts, state police announced Thursday. Porice Diamond Mincy, 31, of Emporium, was taken into custody shortly after the shooting occurred Wednesday at the law office of Paul Malizia, who serves as district attorney for Cameron County. He suffered a leg wound and was taken to a hospital, where he was treated and later released. No other injuries were reported in the shooting, which remains under investigation. The state police have not disclosed a possible…
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Attorney Geoffrey Fieger suffers a stroke

Prominent Michigan attorney Geoffrey Fieger, 72, had a stroke earlier this month and is now in active rehabilitation, his wife and a business associate said Wednesday. In a statement, Keenie Fieger said that her husband had an elective procedure March 1 for a minor heart arrhythmia. Following the procedure, it was determined that he had suffered a stroke. “The recovery time from an event such as this varies from patient to patient, therefore it’s difficult to predict how long Geoffrey’s recovery will take and when he will be back in the office,” Keenie Fieger said in the statement. “For those…
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Attorney Tom Girardi pleads not guilty to defrauding the victims of the 2018 Lion Air crash

An attorney entered a not guilty plea Friday on behalf of one-time powerhouse lawyer Tom Girardi who is charged with defrauding victims of the 2018 Lion Air crash, even as his court-appointed attorney questioned whether Girardi has the capacity to be prosecuted. Girardi appeared via videoconference in a light gray sport jacket before a federal judge in Chicago, where he and two codefendants are charged with diverting millions of dollars meant for victim families into an account his firm controlled. Girardi did not speak, other than to consent to proceed by videoconference. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cummings appointed a federal defender,…
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Trump attorney who advised GOP on fake electors plan reappointed to state judicial panel

An attorney for former President Donald Trump who worked to overturn his loss in the battleground Wisconsin has been reappointed by the state Supreme Court’s four conservative justices to a second term on a committee that advises judges on judicial conduct. Jim Troupis’ reappointment to the panel was approved Thursday on a 4-3 vote by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, with all three liberal justices dissenting, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. FILE: Trump campaign attorney Jim Troupis speaks during a Senate hearing to discuss election security and the 2020 election process on Dec. 16, 2020, on Capitol Hill. Jim Lo Scalzo/AP…
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UCLA Extension’s Annual Land Use Conference This Week

UCLA Extension’s annual Land Use Law and Planning Conference is the leading networking event and source of information on California land use legislation, case law, and the emerging issues that frame land use and development practices in the nation’s most popular state. The program’s unique cross-disciplinary approach explores the full range of perspectives drawn from land use planning, legal, development, and environmental communities, and demonstrates how these factors influence the day-to-day work of planners, developers, environmental regulators, and attorneys . Now in its 37th year, the UCLA Extension conference offers a big-picture view of land use law and planning practice,…
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New York attorney general calls for new sanctions against Donald Trump

NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) – New York’s attorney general on Tuesday asked a judge to sanction former US President Donald Trump, his adult children, the Trump Organization and their lawyers over their responses to her $250 million civil fraud lawsuit against them. The lawsuit by Attorney General Letitia James last September accused the defendants of involvement in a decade-long scheme to manipulate asset values ​​and Trump’s net worth, in order to induce banks and insurers to provide better terms. On Jan. 26, the defendants filed formal “answers” where, as often occurs in similar lawsuits, they are denied or claimed…