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The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to soon announce its decision on Proposition 8, a 2008 California law, which banned same-sex marriage. The high court could strike down Prop. 8, finding it unconstitutional; decline to rule, noting the proponents’ lack of standing; or uphold the law, citing states’ rights. The American Foundation for Equal Rights infographic below also maps out the possible status of gay marriage across the country, depending on the court’s decision. Let us know in the comment …

Following last week’s disclosure of the massive spying program that the United States government has imposed on its citizens, the lawsuits are rolling in. Attorney Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch, and other plaintiffs filed a federal suit in Washington, D.C., Sunday alleging that the program’s “violations of free speech, prohibitions against unreasonable search and seizure, and due process rights are unprecedented in American history.” Tuesday, the ACLU lodged a similar complaint in New York, claiming “This surveillance . . …

Black and white Americans use marijuana at roughly equal rates, but black users are nearly four times more likely to be arrested, according to a report from the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU study used FBI crime reporting statistics and census data to track marijuana possession arrest rates by race from 2001 to 2010. The results show that blacks were busted for possession more often than whites virtually everywhere in America. It’s not an urban or regional phenomenon — …

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has struck down the state’s tort reform law with a pair of decisions that eliminate certain obstacles to plaintiffs’ court access but leave a number of legal questions unsettled. The state’s 2009 Comprehensive Lawsuit Reform Act had been a huge blow to consumers, part of a larger nationwide trend aimed at keeping people out of court and limiting the damages they collect if they do successfully reach trial. Among a host of claim-specific limitations, the Act …

A worker whose leg fell through a defective floorboard won a $3.5 million jury award for back and nerve injuries from the fall, according to the Pennsylvania Record. Bernhardt Wilson was hired as a subcontractor in 2011 to rip out and replace carpets at a townhouse in Philadelphia, where the occupants had just moved out. During his work, a floorboard gave way and Wilson’s right leg went straight through the floor. Wilson’s leg was scraped and cut, and he suffered …

    Deborah Leff Israel founded the Florida chapter of the Second Wives Club, now called the Florida Women for Alimony Reform. Deborah explains alimony changes are needed to weed out people who truly need longer term support from those who are able-bodied and can work but get away without doing so–because of the law. Lawyers.com videojournalist Amber Statler-Matthews reports on the changes in alimony law, looming in the horizon. Deborah reconnected on Facebook with a friend, whom she had …

Juror questioning continued on June 11 for the second day in the trial of George Zimmerman. And with Monday seeing only a handful of jurors questioned (and one dismissed), lawyers say jury selection could take a very long time – for good reason.   Slow Process Only four jurors were questioned on Monday – and only about pre-trial publicity, according to the Orlando Sentinel, which also noted the relatively calm atmosphere outside the courtroom. With 500 prospective jurors in the pool, …

It starts with some stray coughs, or little black spots on the wall. Next thing you know you’re in the hospital with a lung infection and your house is rotting away from the inside. The culprit? A toxic mold infestation. Mold in residences can lead to structural damage and health problems, but fortunately there are legal remedies for homeowners who discover their home has been compromised. The potential for liability was upheld in a recent court of appeals decision in …

After the former front man for late-60s and 70s supergroup Sly and the Family Stone sued his former manager for tricking him into signing away his royalty rights, the manager is now putting Stone’s production companies into bankruptcy.   Long Story It’s been a parade of legal woes for Stone, whose real name is Sylvester Stewart. The IRS came after him in the 80s and put a lien on his income, taking most of the royalties from his hits for …

After allegedly beating up her entire family in a disagreement over her 16-year-old son’s bedtime, actress Pia Zadora was jailed in Las Vegas for domestic battery on June 1.   Bedtime Gone Bad Zadora, who lives with husband Michael Jeffries, who is a Las Vegas police detective, and her son Jordan (from a previous marriage), was reportedly drinking at home with Jeffries on the night of June 1. Jordan and Jeffries’ son Mike, 32, were outside talking when Zadora demanded …