Gothic Woolworth Building in Lower Manhattan
Today is Juneteenth, which celebrates the ending of slavery in the United States. On this day in 1865, Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended that enslaved persons were now free. This was, notably, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation (which became official on January 1, 1863). Juneteenth…
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Panoramic Manhattan skyline at sunrise
Today we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated in 1968. It is impossible to capture here the breadth and power of Dr. King’s words, actions, and life. His 1963 Letter From a Birmingham Jail (see also here) remains one of the most important documents in U.S. history. Its words –…
Read More Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2020
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It’s New Year’s Eve – a time for reflection, and, of course, revelry. New Year’s Eve parties are a great opportunity to connect with friends, and to bring in the new year with a bang. Sometimes they’re completely enjoyable – and sometimes a shelf collapses on your head. In C.I.R. v. Mangaroni, LLC, No. 156031/2015,…
Read More Plaintiff Denied Summary Judgment in New Year’s Eve Party Accident
Pride parade with rainbow flags on city street
Happy holidays to all! One of my favorite Christmas/seasonal movies is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. In my view it’s full of memorable moments and quotable lines. See, e.g., “our motor home’s septic tank is at capacity!” As with most movies, there are also a host of legal issues lurking – which, to a law student…
Read More Clark Griswold’s Bonus
Man in suit on courthouse stone steps
Sixty-four years ago, on December 1, 1955, a 42-year-old woman named Rosa Parks took a seat on a bus en route home from a department store where she worked as a seamstress. Ms. Parks defied a directive from the bus driver to vacate her seat so that white passengers boarding the bus could sit; her…
Read More Rosa Parks’ Legacy
Close-up of White House on US dollar
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports that there has been an increase in the percentage of veterans who report having service-related disabilities, either those that were incurred in, or aggravated during, military service. Various laws protect veterans from discrimination in the workplace. These include: The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, 38 U.S.C. §…
Read More Veterans’ Rights Under the Anti-Discrimination Laws
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Today is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch to the Moon. This event culminated in what is arguably the greatest achievement of mankind. Like most if not all human events and endeavors, there are numerous legal issues arising from it. Many of these issues are addressed in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967,…
Read More To the Moon … and Beyond!
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On July 4, 1776, 243 years ago today, the Declaration of Independence was ratified by Congress. This seminal document, equal if not greater in magnitude and significance to other great historical documents (e.g., the Magna Carta), represents the first formal statement by then subjects of the British Crown of the reasons for proclaiming their reasons…
Read More Happy 243rd Birthday, America Smiling man in glasses and bow tie
Christmas and egg nog go together like, well, Christmas and egg nog. It’s a tasty drink with a few recipe variations. But this isn’t a holiday recipe blog, it’s a legal blog! So I thought I’d share an interesting older (1949) decision I came across. The case is People v Queens Farms Dairy, 90 N.Y.S.2d…
Read More Egg Nog Defendant Guilty
Man in suit with pink bow tie
Happy Halloween! There are many instances of Halloween antics giving rise to litigation. As one (admittedly old) example, consider Daniels v. Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority, 689 N.Y.S.2d 463, 464, 261 A.D.2d 115, 115 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept. 1999), in which the plaintiff sued a bus operator after being “struck in the left eye…
Read More Personal Injury Case Arising From Egg Thrown By “Halloween Miscreant” Dismissed