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Rare manuscript theft
LOS ANGELES — A man in San Francisco was sentenced to a year of home confinement, followed by three years of supervised release, for stealing rare Chinese manuscripts dating back to the Qing dynasty from the UCLA library. He pleaded guilty to a single count of theft of major artwork after it was discovered he would borrow the manuscripts from the library and return a dummy to the library.
Dallas College faces Title VII claim
DALLAS — A federal court in Texas partially granted summary judgment to Dallas College on claims brought by a former biology professor who says she was forced to resign for representing fellow faculty members in discrimination grievances. The court dismissed the professor’s breach of contract claim, but allowed her Title VII retaliation to proceed because genuine factual disputes exist concerning whether an error in the community college’s new scheduling system was the true reason she lost her adjunct teaching assignments.
Feds face tort claim over CBP car collision
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit found a Texas federal court improperly granted summary judgment in favor of the government after an injured motorist was struck by a vehicle operated by a Customs and Border Protection agent. The court granted summary judgment on the government’s argument that the agent was engaged in union activities at the time of the incident, but no authority was cited that treats union employment differently for the purpose of “course and scope” analysis on vicarious liability claims.
Immigrants’ applications must be adjudicated
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal court in Ohio granted 15 immigrants’ request for an injunction that requires U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to adjudicate their applications for permanent resident benefits. The foreign nationals — hailing from Burma, Canada, Iran, Nigeria, Syria, Tanzania and Venezuela — sued to challenge the Trump-era proclamations that treat nationality from these countries as a negative factor when considering immigrant benefit applications. Their applications must be adjudicated within 30 days.
Omaha gas blast settlement
OMAHA, Neb. — During a Zoom court hearing, a lawyer for the special administrator of three estates said they settled with Lennox Industries, one of three defendants sued for wrongful death after the three people were killed in a house explosion allegedly caused by the negligence of Lennox, Thermal Services of Omaha and the Omaha area’s public gas utility. It will be at least 30 days for the settlement documents to be filed with the court. The public utility has already been dismissed as a defendant, so Thermal Services of Omaha remains as the sole defendant.
11th Circuit: Child predators have a right to live with their kids
ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit partially upheld an Alabama federal judge’s decision to strike down part of the state’s law barring sex offenders from sharing a home with their own children. All parents have “a fundamental right to live with” their children, though the state has some authority to “regulate or even abrogate that right” if their laws are narrowly tailored. The law keeping sex-offender parents from living with their children is motivated by a “compelling reason” of protecting children’s safety, but “the Supreme Court and our history and tradition doesn’t tolerate this type of exception.” Alabama must show the lower court that the law is narrowly tailored enough to survive strict scrutiny review.
DOJ enjoined from receiving minors’ medical info
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A federal court in California enjoined the acting U.S. Attorney General from requesting, receiving, disclosing or otherwise obtaining information about a class of minors who sought or received gender-affirming care at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. The Department of Justice may not seek their health information such as diagnoses and assessments, materials that describe the care provided to them or relate to parent or guardian authorization for their care. This information would violate the patients’ constitutional privacy rights.
National park signage
BOSTON — The First Circuit stayed a Massachusetts federal court’s preliminary injunction blocking Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which required the National Park Service to flag or remove park materials “addressing climate change, slavery, abolition, immigration, labor, women’s suffrage, civil rights, and the culture and mistreatment of indigenous groups.” The conservation group that sued could not show how they are likely to suffer irreparable harm absent the injunction.
Mental illness and gun possession charges
CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit found an Indiana federal court erred in dismissing gun possession charges against a man who had been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital before buying the firearms. Firearm prohibition does not apply to someone who is no longer mentally ill, and the record does not show whether the man was a threat to others’ safety when he was committed, released, or when he purchased the firearms.
Unexpected guest: Bat spoils vacation
RENO, Nev. — A family is suing the Nugget Hotel Casino Resort for negligence after a live bat was found in their hotel room. The family says hotel staff captured and released the bat before it was tested for rabies, which resulted in them having to seek painful and time-consuming vaccinations.
Political discrimination in Puerto Rico?
BOSTON, Mass. — The First Circuit ruled that a Puerto Rico federal court erred in rejecting a political discrimination claim brought by a municipal auditor who was not re-hired by a new mayor, who belongs to a different party. A failure to re-hire might be unconstitutional discrimination because an auditor is generally a “technocrat” position rather than a “trust” position, for which party affiliation would be a relevant consideration. Vacated.