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Dr. Rapin Osathanondh, the Massachusetts doctor that stood trial for the death of an abortion patient, has plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Osathanondh was sentenced to six months in prison, followed by nine months of home confinement with electronic monitoring for the 2007 death of 22 year-old Laura Hope Smith. According to MSNBC, the 67 year-old doctor has been licensed to practice medicine in Massachusetts since 1975, and also serves as a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health....

In a painful adoption case involving a child with Native American ancestry, the Supreme Court justices are recognizing that some cases might have no clear happy ending. “Domestic relations pose the hardest problems for judges,” Justice Anthony Kennedy said. The case involves a Cherokee biological father, a non-Native American adoptive couple and a little girl named Veronica. At the center of the case is the Indian Child Welfare Act, which gives tribes and relatives a strong say in decisions affecting a Native American child....

Just as important scoring the best deals this Black Friday has to be educating yourself on how not to get trampled while doing it. Black Friday crowds bring a whole new meaning to the phrase shop till you drop and the consequences can end with some very painful reminders. Shopping injuries are not uncommon and are usually the result of a slip and fall while in a store or some other type of personal injury....

Guess what has caught the eye of the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT)? Distracted driving. The agency is calling for automakers to step up and restrict or ban texting, Facebook, Internet browsing, and other electronics in cars. This comes as many new vehicles come with a variety of electronic options installed in their dashboard. These hands-free devices are often popular additions to vehicles. They are attractive options for car-buyers. But these options can become fatal....

A barge and tour boat crash in Philadelphia has two people still missing after 37 were sent into the Delaware River Wednesday afternoon. An 800 foot barge ran into a tourist “duck boat,” capsizing the boat and sending the tourists overboard. The two missing people are a 16-year-old girl and a 20-year old male. Nine others were hospitalized. According to Charles H. Ramsey, the Philadelphia police commissioner, prior to the crash the duck boat had broken down with a small fire and it was waiting it the water for help....

You may have heard about the Best Buy coupon fiasco. And with the company now not honoring the coupons, you may be curious about the legal ramifications. The electronics retailer recently offered an Internet coupon in a promotion: Get $50 off of your purchase of $100 or more if you pay with a Mastercard, reports The Huffington Post. The coupon had some standard restrictions such as not applying to iPods and certain TV sets....

Adult adoption is legal, and it is on the rise . Though laws vary widely, most of the country permits some form of adult adoption. And with it comes the legal rights and responsibilities of more traditional parent-child relationships. But why would anyone want to adopt an adult? Or be adopted as an adult? Most commonly, for personal reasons, the ease of inheritance, and health care. Adult Adoption: The Personal Many adults seeking adoption wish to formalize a familial relationship, according to the National Council for Adoption....

If you’re injured while incarcerated in prison or jail, can you still sue for your injuries? There are remedies in both state and federal courts for injuries incurred by inmates, but depending on the cause of the injury, you may be confined to certain legal avenues. Consider the following ways in which an inmate can sue for injuries in jail or prison: Under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, civilians (even inmates) can sue for injuries or harm caused to them by state or local government agents....

Nothing stings worse than being denied unemployment benefits. Well, maybe losing that high-paying job in the first place ranks higher, but this is not an economic climate for moping. If you are turned down for unemployment benefits, here are three potential courses of action: When you applied for unemployment in the first place, your state unemployment agency made a determination of your eligibility. Common reasons for denial include: Voluntarily quitting your job, Being fired from your last job for misconduct, or Not earning enough money while you were employed....

Would you like to be forgotten in jail? How about stuffed in a solitary cell without promise of release? Stephen Slevin was – and his confinement lasted for almost two years. Officials in Dona Ana County still refuse to admit any wrongdoing , but a jury recently disagreed. Slevin was awarded $22 million – the perceived cost of his confinement and the degradation of his mental health. Slevin’s story begins in August 2005, when he was arrested for driving under the influence....

“Golf and law seem to have been made for each other.” -Law Professor Craig Brown The gentleman’s sport has been a rich source of legal issues: a transgender golfer entering the LPGA, tort issues involving a failure to warn and anything and everything Tiger Woods. The recent ruling by New York court clarified one questionable aspect of the sport – golfers do not have a legal obligation to yell “Fore!” to warn other golfers of an incoming golf ball....

Ripped from the headlines. Yes, just like Law and Order, FindLaw takes those big news stories and applies them to law and life, if not order. A current story to discuss is that reality star Kristin Cavallari (from the show The Hills, in case you need a score card) is dating Miguel Medina, a camera man from her show. It seems reality TV isn’t always about the real reality of the star’s lives....

Depending on where you live, your lawsuit may not officially begin until you can show proof of service. And as your case proceeds, you’ll likely need to show proof of service for other legal documents as well. Now you may not be quite sure exactly what proof of service entails. But one thing is certain: messing up a proof of service will prevent you from proceeding with your lawsuit in a timely fashion; it may even come back to haunt you later....

As pop-up shops continue to increase in popularity, the variety of pop-ups continues to increase. Apart from the practical considerations surrounding pop-up shops, there are numerous legal issues that owners need to consider. While a pop-up shop owner’s legal exposure will largely depend on the way the shop is set up, there are no shortage of common long-term legal issues pop-up shops of all sizes face. In addition to the common contract issues, pop-up shop owners can face unexpected liabilities, too....

A lawsuit has been filed for occupational injuries sustained by the survivor of a deadly New Mexico oil refinery explosion which occurred earlier this month. The welding accident caused the death of two men in the city of Artesia, New Mexico on March 2, when a tar tank exploded at the Artesia facility, shortly after lunch. According to authorities, warning sirens sounded just before 1 PM on the day of the explosion....

A total of 39 states allow patients to use medical marijuana in some form or another, but the laws from state to state can vary significantly. Four states and the District of Columbia have fully legalized cannabis, while ten states only permit non-psychoactive cannabidiol. And that says nothing about the federal government’s current prohibition on marijuana entirely, coupled with its hands-off approach to state decriminalization efforts. All of this leaves medical marijuana users in a legally precarious position vis-a-vis their employers....

There’s nothing more tragic than the death of a child, but this death has an added element of tragedy. Yazmin Juarez’s healthy 19 month old daughter, Mariee, became ill with a respitory infection within days of being detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility located in Dilley, Texas, near the Rio Grande border. Substandard Medical Care Fell Short of Government’s Duty, Plaintiff Claims According to Juarez’s attorney, R....

The employer generally has a nonexclusive license to use an employee-designed invention that was created in the course of employment. The concept is termed the “shop right doctrine” and it is the legal feature that allows employees to own employee inventions but gives the employer rights to use them, i.e. without having to pay royalties. This applies to scenarios in which the employee created the invention outside the scope of his or her duties....

Thanksgiving is next week and employees around the nation are looking forward to an extra day – or maybe two – off. Federal employees, in fact, petitioned the President to get the day after Thanksgiving as a paid holiday, according to Government Executive. But the petition fell far short of the required number of signatures, and it looks like federal workers won’t make money while shopping after all. Mind you, they do get Thanksgiving paid....

As the trial of Johannes Mehserle, the BART police officer charged with the shooting death of Oscar Grant last New Year’s Day, begins to draw to a close, law enforcement, community activists and city officials in Oakland and San Francisco are bracing for the possible reaction to the jury verdict. Although the shooting occurred in the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland, Ca, the trial is taking place in Los Angeles. Authorities expect the biggest reaction to a not guilty verdict to come in the San Francisco Bay Area....