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Classmate: Hasan said terror fight a war on Islam WASHINGTON (AP) - A classmate of the Fort Hood shooting suspect says Maj. Nidal Hasan was an outspoken opponent of the U.S. war on terror and called it a "war against Islam."

NYC man charged in $365K fitness Web site scam NEW YORK (AP) - A former college staffer convicted of ripping off the school raised money to repay it by roping far-flung investors into funding a fictitious online fitness magazine, prosecutors said.

Virginia Supreme Court upholds power line plan By LARRY O'DELL Associated Press Writer RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The Virginia Supreme Court upheld permits for construction of a multistate power line Thursday, rejecting a claim by the project's opponents that state regulators ceded too much authority to the federal government.

Judge OKs plea deal from 'Girls Gone Wild' founder LOS ANGELES (AP) - A judge has sentenced "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis to time served and a year of probation for filing false income tax returns. U.S. District Judge S. James Otero on Friday accepted the terms of a plea deal between Francis and prosecutors.

Judge vacates $1.26B ruling against PepsiCo By EMILY FREDRIX AP Food Industry Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) - A judge is tossing out a decision - for now at least - that could have cost PepsiCo $1.26 billion after the soft drink maker didn't respond to a lawsuit claiming it stole the idea for bottled water.

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Latest Case Summaries

• Schrock v. Learning Curve Int'l, Inc. (U.S. 7th Cir.) - In plaintiff's copyright infringement action against defendant who had hired him to take photos of the "Thomas & Friends" toy train characters for use in promotions, district court's dismissal of his complaint is reversed where: 1) the photos qualify for the limited derivative-work copyright provided by section 103(b) as plaintiff's artistic and technical choices combine to create a two-dimensional image that is subtly but nonetheless sufficiently his own; and 2) district court erred in concluding that plaintiff needed defendant's permission to copyright the photos, as there is nothing in the Copyright Act requiring the author of a derivative work to obtain permission to copyright his work from the owner of the copyright in the underlying work.

• US v. Hinkson (U.S. 9th Cir.) - The Ninth Circuit re-states its "abuse of discretion" standard of review, which now requires it to: 1) consider whether the district court identified the correct legal standard for decision of the issue before it; and 2) determine whether the district court's findings of fact, and its application of those findings of fact to the correct legal standard, were illogical, implausible, or without support in inferences that could be drawn from facts in the record. Defendant's murder for hire conviction is affirmed where, applying the re-stated standard, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion for a new trial.

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Legal Commentary Network

Should Summary Judgment Have Been Granted in the Federal Proposition 8 Suit? Part Two

By VIKRAM DAVID AMAR
FindLaw columnist and U.C., Davis, law professor Vikram Amar continues a two-part series of columns commenting on the suit brought in federal court to challenge California's anti-gay-marriage Proposition 8, on the ground that it violates the U.S. Constitution. In this column, Part Two, Amar continues his explanation of the defendants' contentions as to why the suit should have been dismissed; and explains why the judge's decision to proceed forward with the case was a plausible one -- despite the fact that a brief Supreme Court ruling, rejecting a similar argument for a right to gay marriage in Minnesota, might arguably control the issue. Amar explores whether this case may raise California-specific questions that justify a trial, and whether it may be advantageous for the federal district court to employ a trial to tee up certain issues for the U.S. Supreme Court. View more Commentary »

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