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Daily Archives: December 20, 2018

Johnson & Johnson loses motion to reverse jury verdict

Follow up to previous posting – Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby PowderVia Jurist – Johnson & Johnson loses motion to reverse jury verdict: “Johnson & Johnson lost its motion Wednesday to reverse a $4.69 billion jury verdict against them. Johnson & Johnson had asked “that the jury verdict be thrown out on jurisdictional grounds and asked for separate trials for the plaintiffs, according to the order issued Wednesday.” However, the judge denied this motion. In response, “Johnson & Johnson said that the verdict could still eventually be reversed in an appeals court.” The jury verdict was the result of a lawsuit brought by 22 women who claimed that Johnson & Johnson’s “talc products, such as baby powder, caused ovarian cancer.” Reports from Reuters as well as the New York Times showed that Johnson &a Johnson had been aware of the risk of the asbestos, a carcinogen, in its talc for decades.”

Can a Statute Have More Than One Meaning?

Doerfler, Ryan, Can a Statute Have More Than One Meaning? (December 12, 2018). New York University Law Review, Vol. 94, 2019. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3300262 “What statutory language means can vary from statute to statute, or even provision to provision. But what about from case to case? The conventional wisdom is that the same language… Continue Reading

OECD Economic Survey of the United States: Key Research Findings

“This volume collects four studies that were prepared as background research to the 2018 OECD Economic Survey of the United States. Using micro-data survey responses, regional and sectorial data, these studies seek to provide insights into how employment responds to labour market disruption and the drivers of household financial vulnerability in the United States. This… Continue Reading

How are algorithms distributing power between people?

Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University: “Why Computer Scientists Need Philosophers, According to a Mathematician – “Lily Hu is a 3rd year PhD candidate in Applied Mathematics at Harvard University, where she studies algorithmic fairness with special interest in its interaction with various philosophical notions of justice. Currently, she is an… Continue Reading

DC slaps Facebook with latest suit targeting privacy lapses

WASHINGTON (AP) — The District of Columbia has fired the latest legal salvo against Facebook with a lawsuit seeking to punish the social networking company for allowing data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica to improperly access data from as many as 87 million users . “The complaint filed Wednesday by Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine alleges… Continue Reading

Female Prisoners Could Benefit From Criminal Justice Measure

NPR: “David Greene talks to Topeka K. Sam, who spent more than 3 years in prison and is a leading voice on overhauling the criminal justice system. She played a pivotal role in a landmark Senate bill. DAVID GREENE, HOST: A bipartisan criminal justice bill is close to becoming law. The Senate passed the measure… Continue Reading

The 21 (and Counting) Biggest Facebook Scandals of 2018

Wired: “Every January, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces a personal challenge he will undertake in the year ahead. In 2016, he committed to running 365 miles before the year was up. In 2017, he milked cows and rode tractors as part of his resolution to meet more people outside the Silicon Valley bubble. Last January,… Continue Reading