The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

The Morning Wrap

Gay Workers: Legislation that would ban discrimination against gay workers cleared a key hurdle Monday, The Washington Post reports. Seven Republicans voted with 54 Democrats to formally begin considering the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

SCOTUS Oklahoma: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a case concerning Oklahoma's constraints on certain drugs used to end pregnancies, The National Law Journal reports.

Arming TSA: The union representing 45,000 federal security agents is urging the arming of Transportation Security Administration officers after the shooting death of a TSA worker last week at the Los Angeles International Airport, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Former D.C. Public Defender Featured in Gideon Film

"Gideon's Army," a documentary about the struggles facing public defenders in the South, is set to make its national television debut July 1 on HBO. One the lawyers at the heart of the film, Jonathan Rapping, spent the first decade of his legal career as a public defender in Washington and said the experience played a major part in informing the work he does today supporting defenders nationwide.

The film, which screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, follows the lives of three young public defenders and features the work of Gideon's Promise, an Atlanta-based organization founded by Rapping that supports public defender offices across the South. In a phone interview today, Rapping said Gideon's Promise was a product of his desire to transfer the successful model of the D.C. public defender office to offices elsewhere in the United States.

Rapping spent 10 years with the public defender office in Washington, first as a staff attorney and later as the training director. He said he took for granted the fact that he was in "an environment where excellent representation of poor people was expected."

TV Broadcasters Sue Internet Streaming Service

Updated at 2:37 p.m.

Television broadcasters filed a copyright infringement lawsuit yesterday against FilmOn.com Inc., a company that allows users to stream live television programs online. The networks are seeking a court injunction, accusing FilmOn of "exploiting…some of the most valuable intellectual property created in the United States."

The lawsuit is the latest stage of litigation playing out in courts on both coasts over the technology employed by FilmOn and another company offering the same service known as Aereo Inc. Aereo and FilmOn previously butted heads in trademark disputes—FilmOn founder Alki David adopted the name Aereokiller for his service—but recently reached a settlement, allowing them to focus on the larger challenges brought by the networks. David agreed to stop using the Aereokiller name, according to sibling publication Am Law Litigation Daily.

The plaintiffs include the ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC television networks, as well as Telemundo, Disney and local affiliates of the big networks that air programming around the Washington region. Jenner & Block partner Paul Smith, co-chair of the firm's media and First Amendment practice, is lead counsel for the Fox plaintiffs. Arnold & Porter intellectual property partner Robert Garrett is lead counsel for the other plaintiffs.

After Privacy Fix, Law Firm's Netflix Advocacy Ends

A year after Greenberg Traurig revealed that it started lobbying for Netflix Inc., the law firm's work for the video subscription service ended.

Greenberg Traurig filed a lobbying termination report with Congress last week, saying it stopped advocating for Netflix on February 28. President Barack Obama on January 10 signed into law legislation that amended the Video Privacy Protection Act, the target of Greenberg Traurig's lobbying.

Netflix hired Greenberg Traurig to push for the amendment bill, which gave the company's U.S. members the ability to use Facebook to automatically share details about movies and television shows they watch.

The Morning Wrap

Obama's Budget: President ­Barack Obama's annual budget proposal next week will feature cuts to Medicare and Social Security, The New York Times reports. "The president has made clear that he is willing to compromise and do tough things to reduce the deficits, but only in the context of a package like this one that has balance and includes revenues from the wealthiest Americans and that is designed to promote economic growth," said a senior administration official, who declined to be identified confirming details about the coming budget.

North Korea: Some lawyers say the United States would have the legal justification to launch a pre-emptive strike against North Korea, The National Law Journal reports. "Rhetoric alone does not pose an imminent threat," said Arnold & Porter partner John Bellinger III, who served as the State Department's top lawyer from 2005 to 2009 and the National Security Council's legal adviser from 2001 to 2005. "But if the U.S. felt that North Korea did pose an imminent threat of attack, certainly U.S. government lawyers would conclude that the government has the right to act under the age-old doctrine of anticipatory self-defense."

More Mergers: More law firm mergers are expected to take place in 2013 than in each of the past two years, The Am Law Daily reports. "Unless something unforeseen happens, we'll be ahead this year," said Ward Bower, a principal at legal consultancy Altman Weil, which released a report on law firm combinations this week.

D.C. Police Issue Order Affirming Public's Right to Photograph Officers

Updated at 5:58 p.m.

To settle a lawsuit brought by a man who claimed he was wrongly detained after taking pictures of police activity, the Metropolitan Police Department has issued a new general order (PDF) spelling out the public's right to photograph and record police officers carrying out official business.

Jerome Vorus sued the city last June in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. His attorney, Arthur Spitzer of the American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation's Capital, filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in the case today. In an interview, Spitzer confirmed that the new general order was part of the settlement agreement.

The order, which went into effect July 19, "explicitly recognizes and instructs all the members of the police department that people have a constitutional right to video and audio record them while they're doing public business in a public place," said Spitzer, legal director of the local ACLU affiliate. "And then goes on to provide very useful, I think, detailed guidance what to do in various situations."

The Morning Wrap

Fees, Please: It costs a lot to go bankrupt if you are the biggest company to ever do so. Lehman Brothers' three-year-old Chapter 11 has been lucrative for lawyers and consultants, with $1.6 billion in fees generated so far in the case, CNNMoney reports. Lehman Brothers' primary law firm, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, is set to collect $383 million for its work.

Today is Super: It's the busiest day of the primary season -- Super Tuesday -- with 10 states holding contests to find a Republican challenger to President Barack Obama. Mitt Romney can seize command of the Republican presidential race today with big wins in states like Ohio, but his challengers hope to take a few states away from him, Reuters writes. Meanwhile, Obama plans to steal a little of the political spotlight with his first formal news conference since last year, CNN reports.

Salty Dispute: An avid moviegoer in Michigan has filed a class-action lawsuit against AMC Theaters in that state over the price of popcorn and other concessions, the L.A. Times reports. The suit will test the boundaries of Michigan's price-gouging law, and could spark similar lawsuits across the nation if successful, the lawyers say.

Supreme Court Insider: The Supreme Court newsletter launched a series Monday that examines each of the four issues the Supreme Court will consider later this month while weighing the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. In Monday's newsletter, we have an analysis of the threshold question of jurisdiction, as well as a profile of Covington & Burling's Robert Long, who will argue the issue March 26. The newsletter also has pro and con columns on jurisdiction by Alan Morrison of George Washington University Law School and the Cato Institute's Ilya Shapiro. Click here for a look at the newsletter and more information on subscribing.

Big Hits: NFL players and coaches could theoretically be prosecuted in the U.S. for battery as part of the New Orleans Saints "bounty" scheme, where defensive players were paid money to intentionally injure opposing players. But that's not likely for two main reasons, a Tulane University School of Law associate professor writes in a legal analysis of the scheme for NFL.com.

Federal Prosecutors Want $225K From IMAX Dinosaur Film Producer

Federal prosecutors in Washington are not giving up trying to get back the $225,000 that the government contends it mistakenly paid to the producers of an IMAX film about dinosaurs that is playing at the Smithsonian Institution.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia in April sued Comet Distribution Ltd. to recoup the alleged overpayment. But the case hit a snag. For months, according to prosecutors, the government was unable to serve the necessary court papers to let the case move forward.

The hitch now appears resolved. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell this month was preparing to dismiss the case for the prosecutors’ failure to find Comet’s agent to serve the suit.

An assistant U.S. attorney, Judith Kidwell, said the government has now delivered the suit to Comet’s agent, Valerie Thibault, in Dade City, Fla. Kidwell said in court papers (PDF) this month that the government had trouble finding Thibault because she had moved.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, William Miller, on Monday confirmed Comet has been served a copy of the suit. Miller, however, declined further comment about the status of the civil case.

Thibault was not reached for comment Monday afternoon. Carl Samson, a producer of “Dinosaurs 3D: Giants of Patagonia,” the 40-minute film that is playing at the National Museum of Natural History, did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

In June, Samson sent Kidwell an e-mail asking for a “proposal agreement,” court records show. Samson responded to a message from Kidwell that inquired about Thibault’s whereabouts. Neither side in the dispute has filed court papers suggesting the dispute has settled. There is no attorney of record identified for Comet.

The suit against Comet alleges unjust enrichment stemming from the government’s mistaken extra payment for the licensing and exhibition of the dinosaurs film. The government claims it sent in mistake an extra $300,000 to Comet. Comet, according to the suit, returned $75,000.

The Smithsonian and Comet entered into a 50-year contract for the dinosaurs film. The Smithsonian, according to the contract, agreed to pay a one-time fee of $600,000.

The contract allowed two installments—one before March 1, 2008 and the other before October 1, 2008. Prosecutors contend the government paid an extra $300,000 in October 2008.

D.C. Superior Court Adopts New Rules on Using Electronic Devices

Hoping to stem the use of electronic devices in courtrooms, District of Columbia Superior Court Chief Judge Lee Satterfield issued a new administrative order (PDF) on Wednesday outlining an official court policy.

The court already has rules against bringing in sound or video recorders, but advances in technology that make it possible to record on nontraditional devices – phones and computers, for instance – meant that a new policy was necessary, Satterfield wrote.

People coming in to court are allowed to bring in cell phones, computers, tablets and MP3 players. Cameras or tape recorders have to be left with court security.

Using electronic devices in court may not only run afoul of rules barring broadcasting from courtroom, Satterfield wrote in the order, but also “be disruptive to court proceedings.”

According to the order, anyone entering a courtroom is required to turn off any electronic devices and put them away. The order doesn’t apply to members of the D.C. Bar or other officials in court on business. Members of the media can get an exemption from the policy from the judge.

The order formalizes rules that are already being enforced unofficially in Superior Court. Judges, court employees and U.S. Marshals will often tell court observers or members of the media to put away phones, for instance, but according to Satterfield’s new order there was no policy on the books.

Anyone caught using a device without permission can be kicked out of the courtroom or the courthouse, and also face civil or criminal contempt sanctions.

Fast-talking Lawyers Sponsoring a Screening of the Documentary Fast Talk

Next month, The Supreme Court Institute and Arnold & Porter will be screening a documentary called Fast Talk, which tracks the Northwestern University debate team in its quest for its second consecutive championship.

The Sept. 8 event, moderated by Arnold & Porter partner Lisa Blatt, will start at 4 p.m. at the Philip A. Hart Auditorium, Georgetown University Law Center, 600 New Jersey Ave., N.W., in Washington.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion about competitive debate and oral advocacy.

The documentary (trailer posted below) was directed by Debra Tolchinsky, who according to the website IMDb.com worked as as assistant editor of films such as Kindergarten Cop and Searching for Bobby Fischer. She is also an associate professor of Radio-TV-Film at Northwestern University.

In addition to Tolchinsky, panelists will include U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Judge Brett Kavanaugh; Paul Clement, partner at Bancroft; David Frederick, partner at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel; Thomas Goldstein, parter at Goldstein, Howe & Russell; and Neal Katyal, Georgetown University Law Center professor.

The event is free, but people wishing to attend should RSVP to [email protected] by Sept. 1.