[FINDLAW_NEWS] FindLaw Legal Grounds - Wednesday, July 7, 1999

[Jim Twu <legalgrounds@FINDLAW.COM>]

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FindLaw LEGAL GROUNDS   http://www.FindLaw.com   Wednesday, July 7, 1999
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Web News Roundup with Jim Twu

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Top News - Relevant Hearsay
   Court says woman may be culpable for stepdaughter's death
   Dobson Orders Probe into 'Whites Only' Organs Donation
   Parents 'Wrongful Birth' Suit is Rejected by Supreme Court, 6-1
   Justices Weigh Privacy Rights Against Best Interests of Children

Cyberlaw News - Download This
   New software will help school, police identify threats and hate
crimes on the Net

Entertainment Law - Legally Entertaining
   Disney, Katzenberg settle

Criminal Law - Arresting Developments
   Reporter accused of soliciting sex from teen

Weird Legal News - Eat My Justice!
   At 3, she's guilty -- of being called for jury duty
   Worker Wins Compensation For Being Promoted
   City Pays Beggars To Stay Off Its Streets

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Top News - Relevant Hearsay
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Indifferent Stepmother Has Duty to Child
Court says woman may be culpable for stepdaughter's death
Fox News

New York's highest court has ruled that a stepparent is responsible for
protecting stepchildren even against biological parents. The Court of
Appeals said Lisa Carroll can be charged in the 1996 death her stepchild
because she was aware of abuse by the girl's father and did nothing to
stop it. The defendant had argued that she could not be charged with
endangering the welfare of a child because she was not the biological
parent, guardian, or paid caregiver to the 3-year-old girl at the time
of her death. But court ruled 6-0 on yesterday that the stepmother was
the "functional equivalent'' of the girl's parent during a 10-day period
when the child was living with her father.

http://www.foxnews.com/js_index.sml?content=/news/national/0707/d_ap_0707_40.sml
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Organ Donation, With Strings of Color Attached?
Dobson Orders Probe into 'Whites Only' Organs Donation
Line One News

Britain's National Health Service got a black eye after reports that it
accepted a kidney on the condition that it only go to a white person.
The organ donation program seems to have a loophole that allows the
donor's next of kin to attach conditions like this. The Health Secretary
is pretty upset that this occurred and has ordered a full investigation.


http://www.lineone.net/newswire/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi/skynews/uk/story/1999/7/c--
1999-7-6-4n13.html
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"Mommy, what's a 'wrongful birth'?"
Parents 'Wrongful Birth' Suit is Rejected by Supreme Court, 6-1
Law News Network

A couple who wanted to sue their doctor for failing to warn them of
their unborn child's birth defects have lost a closely watched case
before the Georgia Supreme Court. The high court ruled 6-1 Tuesday that
parents who said they would have aborted the pregnancy had they known
their son had Down's syndrome cannot sue the doctor who advised against
extensive tests for the problem.

http://www.lawnewsnet.com/stories/A3096-1999Jul6.html
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"Psych test? You're kidding"
Justices Weigh Privacy Rights Against Best Interests of Children
Law News Network

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that a mother cannot be ordered
to undergo psychological testing in conjunction with dependency
proceedings. A majority of the justices said their decision preserved
the constitutional right to privacy but two dissenters claimed the
decision could pose a grave danger to dependent children and lowers the
duty the state owes to them.

http://www.lawnewsnet.com/stories/A3080-1999Jul6.html
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Cyberlaw News - Download This!
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Big Brother Is Watching You Surf the Net
New software will help school, police identify threats and hate crimes
on the Net
IDG/CNN

A new Internet "forensic tool" has been introduced that aims to help
educators, police and other law enforcement officials trace the past
World Wide Web activity of computer users. Net Threat Analyzer, from
Gresham, Ore.-based New Technology Inc., can be used to identify past
Internet browsing and e-mail activity done through specific computers.
The software analyzes a computer's disk drives and other storage area
that are generally unknown to or beyond the reach of most general
computer users.

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9907/06/netthreat.idg/
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Entertainment Law - Legally Entertaining
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"I'm going to Six Flags!"
Disney, Katzenberg settle
CNNfn

Walt Disney Co. said today that it agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by
former studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, ending a three-year squabble
over a $250 million bonus. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed,
but both parties said in a written statement that they were satisfied
with the settlement.

http://cnnfn.com/1999/07/07/companies/disney/
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Criminal Law - Arresting Developments
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"That's my story and I'm sticking to it"
Reporter accused of soliciting sex from teen
Fox News

A journalist who says he was simply doing research for a story on
homosexual teens when he showed up at a Sacramento park to see a
13-year-old boy he met on the Internet went on trial yesterday, accused
of arranging for sex with the teen-ager. The journalist, who writes
about gay and lesbian culture for publications such as the San Francisco
Examiner, Miami Herald, Detroit Free Press, Men's Health and Out,
contends he corresponded with the boy in hopes of writing an
investigative story about troubled gay youth, not to have sex. The
police believe otherwise pointing to the fact that he arranged to meet
the boy 90 miles from the kid's home and left his press pass and
notebook in his car. Sounds like a tough one for the jury.

http://www.foxnews.com/js_index.sml?content=/scitech/wires2/0707/t_ap_0707_1.sml
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Weird Legal News - Eat My Justice!
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Jury Duty? Only If There's Naptime
At 3, she's guilty -- of being called for jury duty
CNN

A three-year-old New Jersey girl received a summons for jury duty last
week. The minimum age for eligible jurors is 18. The county uses voter
and driver lists, tax rolls and homestead records to recruit jurors so
it is believed that the tot's name came up on the tax rolls after her
parents opened up a savings account in her name. At least she'll have a
good excuse not to serve.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9907/07/fringe/toddler.juror.ap/
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"Promote me? I'll sue!"
Worker Wins Compensation For Being Promoted
Reuters/Excite News

A British office worker won $100,000 for job-related stress she got
after getting promoted against her will. She claimed she had no
experience or qualifications but it appears she took the job when her
employer promised to train her and provide her support, which never
materialized.

http://news.excite.com/news/r/990706/13/odd-stress
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"Spare change? I got a check from City Hall"
City Pays Beggars To Stay Off Its Streets
Reuters/Excite News

It's a job about nothing. Graz, Austria will pay foreign beggars $260 a
month to stay off the streets. In return the beggars will perform odd
jobs. Unfortunately, the city cannot give the beggars regular employment
because they are foreigners, mostly from neighboring Slovakia. Must be
easier than deporting them.

http://news.excite.com/news/r/990706/13/odd-beggars
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