The Supreme Court appeared divided between conservatives and liberals Wednesday over whether a cross on federal park land in California violates the Constitution.

Several conservative justices seemed open to the Obama administration's argument that Congress' decision to transfer to private ownership the land on which the cross sits in the Mojave National Preserve should take care of any constitutional questions.

"Isn't that a sensible interpretation" of a court order prohibiting the cross' display on government property? Justice Samuel Alito asked.

The liberal justices, on the other hand, indicated that they agree with a federal appeals court that ruled that the land transfer was a sort of end run around the First Amendment prohibition against government endorsement of religion.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, often the decisive vote in these cases, said nothing to tip his hand.

The tenor of the discussion suggested that the justices might resolve this case narrowly, rather than use it to make an important statement about their view of the separation of church and state.

The cross, on an outcrop known as Sunrise Rock, has been covered in plywood for the past several years following federal court rulings that it violates the First Amendment prohibition. Court papers describe the cross as being 5 feet to 8 feet tall.

A former National Park Service employee, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued to have the cross removed or covered after the agency refused to allow erection of a Buddhist memorial nearby. Frank Buono describes himself as a practicing Catholic who has no objection to religious symbols, but he took issue with the government's decision to allow the display of only the Christian symbol.

Democrats want to counter a recent Supreme Court ruling that makes it harder for older workers to prove they are the victims of age discrimination.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is hearing testimony Wednesday on a bill that would effectively nullify a high court decision that changed the interpretation of age bias laws.

The high court said it is not enough for employees to show age is a motivating factor in a demotion or layoff. Rather, workers must prove it is the deciding factor.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy says that sets the bar too high for discrimination victims.

The plaintiff in the case was invited to testify. He's Jack Gross, who was employed by an insurance company in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Former U.S. Attorney for Nevada Gregory Brower is joining a law firm with offices in Las Vegas.

Snell & Wilmer LLP said Monday Brower will be a partner at the firm, which has more than 400 attorneys practicing in eight offices, including Los Cabos in Mexico.

Brower was Nevada's U.S. attorney for nearly two years and announced plans to step down last month.

He will be replaced by Daniel Bogden, who served as U.S. attorney for Nevada from 2001 to 2007 before becoming one of nine federal prosecutors told to resign by senior Bush administration Justice Department officials.

Brower is a Republican former state assemblyman and general counsel to the federal Government Printing Office.

The firm says Brower will focus on civil litigation, corporate compliance matters and administrative law issues, among other things.

Supreme Court justices on Tuesday indicated that a federal law aimed at graphic videos of dog fights and other acts of animal cruelty goes too far in limiting free speech rights.

The court heard argument on the Obama administration's appeal to reinstate a 10-year-old law that bans the production and sale of the videos. A federal appeals court struck down the law and invalidated the conviction of Robert Stevens of Pittsville, Va., who was sentenced to three years in prison for videos he made about pit bull fights.

Several justices suggested that the law is too broad and could apply, for instance, to people who make films about hunting.

"Why not do a simpler thing?" Justice Stephen Breyer asked an administration lawyer. "Ask Congress to write a statute that actually aims at the frightful things they were trying to prohibit."

But the lawyer, Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal, said Congress was careful to exempt hunting, educational, journalistic and other depictions from the law. Katyal urged the justices not to wipe away the law in its entirety, but to allow courts to decide on a case-by-case basis whether videos are prohibited.

When Congress passed the law and then-President Bill Clinton signed it in 1999, lawmakers were especially interested in limiting Internet sales of so-called crush videos, which appeal to a certain sexual fetish by showing women crushing to death small animals with their bare feet or high-heeled shoes.

A former Yale University lab technician charged with strangling a graduate student and stuffing her body behind a laboratory wall appeared in court Tuesday, but did not enter a plea to murder.

Twenty-four-year-old Raymond Clark III appeared in an orange jumpsuit in New Haven Superior Court. He's accused of strangling 24-year-old Annie Le (LAY') of Placerville, Calif. His lawyers say he eventually will plead not guilty.

The judge scheduled a probable cause hearing for Oct. 20, in which sides will have the right to introduce evidence and call witnesses. Under Connecticut law, defendants accused of murder have the right to the hearing within 60 days of their arrest to decide if the case will go forward.

The judge said he will also consider at that hearing whether to extend a sealing order on the police arrest affidavit in the case.

Le was a pharmacology graduate student who vanished Sept. 8 from a Yale medical lab building. Her body was found in the building five days later, on what was supposed to have been her wedding day.

Police have not talked about a motive in the slaying, largely because Clark has not talked to authorities. Investigators and Yale officials have called Le's death a case of workplace violence, but have not elaborated.

When Rosemary McKenna completed a summer associate job with Blank Rome LLP in Philadelphia, she was happy to receive an offer of full-time employment. But instead of starting her new position last month as planned, Ms. McKenna, who graduated from Temple University's Beasley School of Law in May, will be working as a hostess at a local restaurant.

Law firms are asking new hires to defer their employment start dates, an unprecedented step for many firms that have weathered previous economic downturns without wide-scale postponements. Large firms such as Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP have delayed the start dates for their new associates for a full year or more. Summer internships -- usually the surefire way to land a job -- produced fewer offers than ever before, law firms and students say. And because law firms budget for hiring a year or two in advance, law-school classes of 2010 and 2011 face an equally difficult environment.

To cope, some would-be attorneys are seeking pro-bono fellowships, while others are taking jobs ranging from temporary work for their alma maters to waitressing or bartending. And law school career-service officials are advising students to take whatever work they can find to pay their bills.

Ms. McKenna has been working two hostess jobs at restaurants in Philadelphia to make ends meet. The 26-year-old was told she will be able to start work at the law firm in January.

LOS ANGELES- The members, families and business partners of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators (GLA ALA) are teaming up to host the GLA ALA Justice Jog 5K on October 18, 2009  

Celebrity attendees include: the Los Angeles Laker Girls (leading the stretches) and Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine (an honorary server of breakfast), and Woodland Hills fire station #84 (displaying one of their fire engines at the finish line).  

GLA ALA will organize a 5K Walk/Run to support A Place Called Home (APCH), a South Central LA nonprofit offering youth education, gang prevention and mentoring programs. Youth members of APCH with dreams of attending law school will also walk in the 5K.

Last year’s GLA ALA Justice Jog 5K 2008 raised over $12,000 for charity with the support of 421 runners and 100 volunteers.  

The GLA ALA Justice Jog starts at 6:30 a.m. at Warner Park, 5800 Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Woodland Hills.  

A Denny’s breakfast starts at 7:30 a.m. Registration is still available for $30 per adult, $15 per child (5-12).

“I am proud to be a part of such a unique event, joining different sectors of the legal community together including large LA-based law firms, businesses, athletes, families, members and friends, for a worthy, charitable and fun cause,” says Cindy Fortune, GLA ALA event chair.  

The event is part of GLA ALA’s Community Challenge Weekend (CCW), a community service initiative that encourages community improvement.

For more information about GLA and the Justice Jog visit www.glaala.org or http://www.imathlete.com/events/EventOverview.aspx?fEID=6516&z=1253210384045

The Supreme Court has left in place a court ruling that the Obama administration says will cost taxpayers at least $19 billion in royalties on energy leases in the Gulf of Mexico.

The justices declined Monday to hear the government's appeal of a ruling in favor of the Anadarko Petroleum Corp. involving eight deepwater leases the company holds in the gulf. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that the Interior Department could not collect royalties from the leases, even as oil prices rose and companies began posting huge profits.

The leases were obtained between 1996 and 2000 by Kerr-McGee Corp., which Anadarko later acquired.

The case revolves around a 1995 law that gave oil and natural gas producers a break from paying royalties at a time when energy prices were extremely low. The law waived all royalty payments until a specific amount of oil and gas was produced.

Solicitor General Elena Kagan told the court that the Interior Department has the authority to lift the royalty relief once prices reach a certain level.

The ruling could affect other leases and prohibit the government from collecting royalties from other producers.