Criminal Law › Zoning, Planning & Land Use

The California Supreme Court Confirms The Power Of Local Governments To Regulate Medical Marijuana.

Few issues have sparked so much debate in so many local governments then how to regulate the medical marijuana industry. Proponents have filed numerous challenges to various attempts by cities and counties, but now the legal,...more

India: The Quixotic Balancing Of Benefits And Risks

I used to say – if your business operates in China, you are likely violating the FCPA in one way or another. Permit me to revise my admonition: if your business operates in India, you are likely violating the FCPA in one...more

Weekly Law Resume - March 21, 2013: Ninth Circuit Holds that Jurisdiction Exists as to Homeless Individuals’ Eighth Amendment...

Bell, et al. v. City of Boise, et al. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit March 7, 2013 Plaintiffs in this case are seven individuals who either are or have been homeless in Boise. They have all...more

Youngstown City Hydraulic Fracturing Ban Approved for May Ballot

In late February, we covered the state and federal legislative and enforcement responses to the release of hydraulic fracturing waste into a Youngstown, Ohio area tributary by a local oil and gas drilling operator. Shortly...more

Could Innocent Employers Go to Jail? Sex, Gender Identity and Phoenix’s New Criminal Ordinance

Opponents of newly approved amendments to the city of Phoenix’s Human Relations Ordinance (the Ordinance) had worried that the amendments could result in criminal penalties for employers and others who might bar transgender...more

Proposed Update To Arlington County’s Noise Control Ordinance

The Arlington County Board is planning to hold a public hearing to discuss the proposed changes to the Noise Control Ordinance. According to the Arlington County website, the meeting is expected to take place sometime in the...more

County May Regulate Cultivation of Medical Marijuana

A rural county passed an ordinance to regulate the cultivation of medical marijuana. A group of individuals who are “qualified patients” challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance. The court of appeal held that the...more

Discharge of Drilling Waste in Ohio Triggers Civil and Criminal Enforcement Actions; Heightens Scrutiny of State Regulatory...

A release of approximately 40,000 gallons of oil and gas operations waste into a Youngstown, Ohio area storm drain flowing into the Mahoning River is igniting a call for tighter regulatory oversight and more transparent...more

EPA Releases 2012 Enforcement Results

Under the headline “EPA Enforcement in 2012 Protects Communities from Harmful Pollution,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 17, 2012, released its annual report of enforcement activities for the 2012...more

Los Angeles City Council Bans Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

After years of experimenting with regulations and ordinances, the Los Angeles City Council announced its harshest action yet in its struggle with the city’s medical marijuana industry, banning all dispensaries within city...more

Two Federal Decisions Signal Further Expansion of Criminal Liability for Environmental Crimes

Recently, two federal courts, including the influential U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, issued opinions in criminal environmental cases involving violations of recordkeeping requirements. Like most...more

Supreme Court Extends Jury Trial Rights to Facts Necessary for Calculation of Criminal Fines

In a decision that will impact white collar criminal trials — and potentially civil enforcement trials in which the government agency seeks substantial civil monetary penalties — the U.S. Supreme Court recently held in...more

Oops! My client had a spill – what do I do now?! By Gerald L. Hilsher

Originally published in Oklahoma Bar Journal - Volume 83, No.5 - February 11, 2012. Anyone who has raised a child or represented a company in a regulated industry knows that accidents will happen. This article will...more

Cannabis Distributions under Cover of Law

Cannabis Distributions under Color of Law is a 50 page monograph telling you what you need to know to start a legal medical cannabis delivery service in California. It details the seven steps necessary to get going right...more

Delivery Services: Hemp Publications Monograph No. 1

Delivery Services Hemp Publications Monograph No. 1 Delivery Services is a 50-page 8 1/2" x 5" spiral-bound in-depth study that details the seven steps necessary to start a legal medical marijuana delivery service in...more

Cannabis & Commerce Legal Survival Guides

Litigation Research Group is publishing state-specific cannabis and commerce handbooks detailing how to grow and distribute marijuana “as much within the law as possible,” according to the publisher. Medical...more

San Bernardino County Food Trucks and the City of San Bernardino's transient vendor ordinance

This is a brief look at the current (as of 4/4/2011) state of the law in San Bernardino County regarding gourmet food trucks (where food is prepared in the truck), and the impact of the City of San Bernardino's Transient...more

Cannabis Law & Practice Handbooks

CANNABIS LAW AND PRACTICE HANDBOOKS Topical reports on challenges and opportunities in the business of marijuana in 2011 San Francisco-based Litigation Research Group has just published a series of four...more

Noise Ordinances Being Struck Down Post-Tanner: The Problem of Decibels

As discussed in the last post, many localities are struggling after the Virginia Supreme Court’s opinion in Tanner v. City of Virginia Beach to adopt ordinances to comply with that decision. No longer can localities use a...more

Ohio Municipalities and Sex Offender Residency Restrictions

In recent weeks, questions have arisen regarding what a municipality may do when a convicted sex offender chooses to reside within the municipal border. These questions are legitimate, and it is worth our time to fully...more

Ordinance to Vacate

An ordinance to vacate a public road...more

Volume IV, Issue 4 of The Pro Bono and Community Service Newsletter of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

A Message From the Director of Pro Bono Activities The last edition of our Community Matters@Manatt newsletter focused on the pro bono work we have done to benefit refugees and the organizations that serve them. And, while...more

Seneca county considers future of fatal fire's site; first step: demolishing building where mother and children died in arson fire

Seneca County officials are grappling with what to do with the site of a burned-out Romulus apartment house that was set on fire by a Lodi man in 2001. His wife and four children died in the fire. "At this point, our major...more

Memorial park may be built at site of fatal Seneca County fire

A memorial park may be built on the site of the Romulus apartment house where a former Lodi man killed his wife and four children. That was one option county officials discussed Wednesday when they met about how to proceed...more

Seneca County Sex Offender Residency Law

Seneca County Local Law 1 of 2006

A local law establishing Residency and Proximity Restrictions in the County of Seneca for Sex Offenders Who Have Committed Criminal Offenses Against Minors. Margaret Li Seneca County Board of Supervisors Clerk Steven Getman...more