ASULJADMIN

By Marissa Gibbens.In its 2020 cycle, the Supreme Court will review the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B.V. The Court will decide whether the addition of the term “.com” can turn a generic term (such as the term, “booking”) into a protectable trademark. The company Booking.com B.V. runs online hotel reservation services which most people recognize as “Booking.com.” In 2012, Booking.com B.V. went to the United States Patent and Trademark Office intending to register “Booking.com” as a U.S. trademark. The company had just registered “Booking.com” as an international trademark in 2011. USPTO, reasoning that the term “Booking.com” was too generic, did not grant the registration, however. Generic terms cannot be registered as trademarks under the Lanham Act, also known as…

By George Gould. Background The Arizona Supreme Court has recently decided another case—Trisha A. v. Department of Child Safety—on a controversial law in Arizona juvenile courts. In juvenile court, there exists a mechanism for accelerating severance procedures. When accelerated, a termination hearing is transmuted, by the rules, into a severance hearing. Unfortunately, the language explaining the “good cause” standard appeared to vary across the rules. Arizona Supreme Court Decision The Arizona Supreme Court took this case to decide whether or not there was a conflict in the rules. The Court found that the “good cause” standard is different under different rules “because the rules act in different contexts.” A meritorious defense requirement is not required under Rules 64(C), 65(C), and 66(D)(2) because these rules center on the justification for the…

By Avery Topel. In the summer of 2019, an animal advocacy group conducted an undercover investigation of Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana. Secretly recorded video revealed employees beating calves with metal rebar, abusing cattle with hot branding irons, and denying cows veterinary care. After the video went public, the employees were fired and charged with animal cruelty. But in some states, it could be the advocates that filmed who face criminal charges.  Referred to as ag-gag laws, eleven states have passed laws that criminalize undercover investigations of agriculture operations. Some of these laws flatly prohibit filming agriculture operations without permission, while others criminalize lying to get inside. Most investigations by animal welfare groups are employment based, meaning advocates deceptively obtain jobs with the intent to film once inside. Thus, when…

By Daniel Restrepo. As positive attitudes toward breastfeeding have increased in the last decade, so too have the number of breastfeeding discrimination lawsuits. However, there is uncertainty as to what rights mothers have to pumping in the workplace. Courts are split as to the scope of breastfeeding protections in the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) and Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), and the Ninth Circuit has yet to weigh in on the matter. In Arizona, two cases have taken on this issue: Behan v. Lolo’s Incorporated (D. Ariz. 2019) and Clark v. City of Tucson (D. Ariz. 2018). Given the City of Tucson has filed an appeal challenging Ms. Clark’s four-million-dollar verdict received on April 12, 2019, the states of the Ninth Circuit may soon have an answer regarding a nursing…

By Lauren Malm. The Establishment Clause and the Lemon Test The First Amendment provides that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Commonly known as the “Establishment Clause,” this clause prohibits government promotion or entanglement with religion and religious organizations. While government can provide religious organizations with general public benefits like fire or police protection, the question becomes: at what point does government action move from general benefits to an unconstitutional establishment of religion? The Supreme Court attempted to distill all Establishment Clause jurisprudence into a single, three-pronged test in Lemon v. Kurtzman. To pass the Lemon test, a statute must have a “secular legislative purpose,” the primary effect must not “advance[] or inhibit[] religion,” and the statute must not foster an “excessive government entanglement with religion.”…

By Alexandra Klein.In August of 2019, the Ninth Circuit held in United States v. Begay that second-degree murder was not a “crime of violence.” You read that right. Second-degree murder is categorically not a crime of violence. The FactsIn 2013, Randly Begay was arguing in a car with his then girlfriend, Meghan Williams, regarding rumors that she was cheating on him with Roderick Ben. While Ben was in the car, Begay took out his gun and laid it on his leg. Begay continued to argue with Williams and then shot Ben in the head, stating he was not scared to go to prison for life. Subsequently, Begay was charged with and convicted of murder in the second degree and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. The trial court…

By Sierra Brown. Case Study: Phillip B. v. McKay In 2018, Phillip B. worked as a caregiver at New Horizons, a group home for male children. On July 6, 2018, a fifteen-year-old resident of the home called the Arizona Department of Child Safety (“DCS”), alleging that Phillip pressed his elbow against the throat of a thirteen-year-old resident, G.C., until he “made a gasping sound.” During its investigation, DCS interviewed two residents that were present during the incident, including the teen who called DCS. They provided similar accounts, explaining that G.C. was unable to breath when appellant forcibly pressed on his neck. However, G.C. told DCS that appellant had grabbed his shirt by the neck. DCS also interviewed appellant and another caregiver who was present at the scene. They consistently denied…

By Sterling Johnson. What is the proper method of allocating liability where A and B owe contract duties to C under separate contracts, and each breaches independently, and it is not reasonably possible to make a division of the damage caused by the separate breaches? This is called the multiple causation problem, and Arizona needs a statutory solution. Approaches Taken in Other Jurisdictions Arizona courts have not considered the multiple causation problem. The jurisdictions that have considered it generally adopt one of two solutions. In a majority of jurisdictions, if a defendant’s (A or B) breach of contract was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s injury, the defendant bears full responsibility for it even though there were other contributing causes. A substantial factor is defined as something that is…

By Ava Esler. Background Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) was implemented by President Obama as a means to provide work authorization and prevent the removal of young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. Since DACA was enacted by executive order in 2012, over 700,000 individuals have taken advantage of the program. This means that they are protected from removal and can apply for work authorization, as well as obtain a driver’s license and social security benefits. In keeping with one of his controversial campaign promises, President Trump announced that his administration was moving to officially terminate DACA on September 5, 2017 amidst significant backlash. On November 12, 2019, the Supreme Court began to hear oral arguments challenging President Trump’s formal termination of DACA. The high-stakes Supreme…

By Tyson Woodford. Background For me, O’Bannon v. NCAA (previously mentioned on this blog here and here) was a landmark case that impacted my daily life. Sure, it dealt with the NCAA profiting from the image and likeness of its uncompensated student athletes, but to me (not a college athlete) it just meant the death of my favorite video game. After the court’s decision, EA Sports discontinued their successful line of College Football and College Basketball games, thereby ending an era of building fictional dynasties and competing for virtual Heisman trophies. While the game has been kept on life support by a few dedicated individuals, the masses have lost access to the once popular game. (Look at the price for EA Sports NCAA Football 2014, it might surprise you.) Hope…