SUPREME COURT RULING IN BOWMAN V. MONSANTO

Argued on February 19, 2013-Decided May 13, 2013

When Vernon Hugh Bowman bought a mixture of soybean seeds, which included Monsanto’s Roundup Ready Soybean Seeds, from a grain elevator, he violated Monsanto’s licensing agreement for the patented seeds.  Under the agreement, farmers may plant the seeds for only one growing season.  Each subsequent season, they must purchase new seeds.

Monsanto found out about Bowman’s violation of the licensing agreement and sued him.  Bowman defended himself stating patent exhaustion applied, meaning that the purchaser of a patented article has a right to use of resell the article.  Both the District Court and the Federal Court rejected Bowman’s defense.

The Supreme Court held: “Patent exhaustion does not permit a farmer to reproduce patented seeds through planting and harvesting without the patent holder’s permission.”

The Court was unanimous and the opinion was delivered by J. Kagan.

Supreme Court of the United States – Slip Opinion in Bowman v. Monsanto

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Related Articles of Interest:

Monsanto’s New Policy Regarding Roundup Ready Seeds

Is Monsanto’s New GMO Soy Healthy?

Arias Update and Other Crime News

ARIAS

The Jodi Arias case ended with a 1st degree murder conviction with extreme cruelty as an aggravator; but, the jury hung as far as the death penalty or a life sentence.  It has been announced that the prosecution will be going forward with the death penalty.  This means another jury will be convened for the sentencing portion of the trial.

Unfortunately, Travis Alexander’s family will have to listen to a lot of the difficult testimony again, including all of the crime scene and autopsy photos.  Hopefully, the new jury will give the family the true justice that Travis and they deserve.

It sounds like the defense might be trying to delay the trial until January, 2014, even though court has been scheduled to resume in July, 2013.  More drama and delay from the defense.

ZIMMERMAN

The case against George Zimmerman has been going through voir dire to select a jury of six people with two alternates.  It has been determined that the jury will be sequestered in this case, with a trial that is expected to last anywhere from two to four weeks.

George Zimmerman is accused of killing Travon Martin, an unarmed teenager that was walking around the neighborhood, while visiting his father.  Zimmerman began observing Martin, and the two had some sort of a physical altercation that ended up in Zimmerman shooting Martin.  I am not sure how closely I plan to follow this case, but I will probably post anything significant.

CASTRO

Ariel Castro is the Cleveland, Ohio man who abducted three women, holding them captive for ten years, during which he raped and tortured them.  Berry, one of his victims escaped and Castro was subsequently arrested.  He has plead not guilty to 329 charges of kidnapping and raping the women, plus murdering two fetuses of one victim.

Apparently, his lawyers are trying to keep this case from going to trial.  Supposedly, they are interested in preventing the victims and their families from the stress of a trial.   They also want to keep Castro from getting the death penalty.  Right now he is being held on $8 million dollars bail.  I’ll update this case as news is released.

The three women who were Castro’s victims are now with their families.

SNEIDERMAN

The upcoming trial of Andrea Sneiderman is the case that I am looking forward to.  She is charged with conspiring with Hemy Neuman (her former supervisor at GE Energy) to kill her husband, Rusty Sneiderman.  She is facing malice murder (the same as first-degree murder) and felony murder charges.   Andrea was a witness in Neuman’s trial.  She stood to inherit $2 million dollars in life insurance.

Rusty was killed in front of his children’s daycare center in November, 2002.  Hemy made more than one attempt to kill Rusty, before he finally shot him.  A defense psychologist testified that Hemy suffered from undiagnosed and untreated bipolar disorder with psychosis, as well as, erotomania – causing Hemy to believe he had an affair with Andrea, but in reality that was a delusion.

Neuman also had delusions of angels visiting him.  One sounded like Olivia Newton John and told him that Andrea’s two children were really his (not Rusty’s).  The other angel sounded like Barry White.

Neuman was found guilty but mentally ill.  He received a life sentence.

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This video will give you an idea of what Andrea Sneiderman is like. I don’t know about you, but if my husband had been murdered, I would find it difficult not to cry on the stand. Andrea is very arrogant. Eventually, she was kicked out of court permanently for threatening a witness, which she did right after she hugged the witness (a friend) in front of the jury. Bizarre behavior. (I had a difficult time uploading the video so it is centered a little wonky – WordPress can be a pain unless you are uploading videos from YouTube!)

Reconstructing Amelia – by Kimberly McCreight

Reconstructing Amelia - by Kimberly McCreightPublished by Harper Collins 2013

About the Book

A stunning debut novel in which a single mother reconstructs her teenaged daughter’s life, sifting through her emails, texts, and social media to piece together the shocking truth about the last days of her life.

Litigation lawyer and harried single mother Kate Baron is stunned when her daughter’s exclusive private school in Park Slope, Brooklyn, calls with disturbing news: her intelligent, high-achieving fifteen-year-old daughter, Amelia, has been caught cheating.

Kate can’t believe that Amelia, an ambitious, levelheaded girl who’s never been in trouble would do something like that. But by the time she arrives at Grace Hall, Kate’s faced with far more devastating news. Amelia is dead.

Seemingly unable to cope with what she’d done, a despondent Amelia has jumped from the school’s roof in an act of “spontaneous” suicide. At least that’s the story Grace Hall and the police tell Kate. And overwhelmed as she is by her own guilt and shattered by grief, it is the story that Kate believes until she gets the anonymous text:

She didn’t jump.

Sifting through Amelia’s emails, text messages, social media postings, and cell phone logs, Kate is determined to learn the heartbreaking truth about why Amelia was on Grace Hall’s roof that day-and why she died.

Told in alternating voices, Reconstructing Amelia is a story of secrets and lies, of love and betrayal, of trusted friends and vicious bullies. It’s about how well a parent ever really knows a child and how far one mother will go to vindicate the memory of a daughter whose life she could not save.

My Review

This book falls into the mystery category.  From the start, the reader knows Amelia has died, and it has been called a suicide by the authorities.  No mother wants to believe that her child has committed suicide.  And Kate does not believe that about her daughter, Amelia.

How well do parents really know their children?  Do they really know what happens in school?  I never told my parents about any of the bad things or the embarrassing times.  And Kate finds out that Amelia hasn’t shared her life with her mother, causing her to feel some parental guilt and regret.

Every teen topic seems to be covered in this book, so if you are a mother of a high school student, this story might be eye opening.

What is covered?

Autism

Bullying

Exclusive clubs

Friendship

Isolation

Jealousy

Peer Pressure

Sexuality

Social Media

I liked that the story is told in alternating voices, between Kate and Amelia.  This isn’t everyone’s favorite writing style; however, I have been intrigued by it ever since I read Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible.  Don’t get me wrong.  I am not saying that the two books are literary equals.  If you haven’t read The Poisonwood Bible, I highly recommend it!

Back to this book:  Not only is Amelia’s death a mystery, but as her mother starts to dig into her daughter’s life, she finds that her daughter has kept secrets from her – from school to a mysterious online friend.  I used to read a lot of mysteries, and this book doesn’t fail.  It is interesting and an easy read, maybe a book for the beach.  But, bring a backup, because this isn’t a book for everyone.  I’m glad I bought it when Barnes and Noble had a really good weekend sale on eBooks.  I think I would recommend borrowing it from the library.

I don’t always use a star system, but I would give this book 3 ½ stars. To me, that means it is a good read, but not a great work of literature.

Splitting the Tip Jar – Barenboim v. Starbucks Corporation

How do you feel about tipping?  Do you tip all service people?  Do you feel like tipping has gotten out of hand?  Should you tip the valet before he takes your car, hoping he’ll drive it carefully?  How much should you tip? Delivery men – pizza, flowers, etc.?  Movers? Doormen? The guy who mows your lawn? What about when you pick up your own take-out, and there is a tip jar next to the register?  The kid who helps load your groceries into the car, when you didn’t ask for help?  Do you always tip 20% to wait staff in a restaurant?  Do you feel guilty if you don’t put a tip in a tip jar?

I will confess that I feel guilty if I don’t tip.  Also, I like to give my tip directly to the person who provided me with service.  But, I do use a tip jar if there is one.  I usually gauge my tip according to the job, and how well it is done.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED ABOUT POOLED TIPS?  WHO GETS THEM?  A LITTLE ASIDE…

Maybe you have seen the season finale episode of “Kitchen Nightmares” with Chef Gordon Ramsay on May 10.  The owners of a Scottsdale, Arizona eatery used to take their server’s tips for themselves.  That is beyond bad behavior.  I wondered why the wait staff didn’t go find jobs elsewhere.  It seems they won’t have to worry about it, because the owner, Salomon Bouzaglo, might get deported.[i]

STARBUCKS STORE STAFF

The only full-time employees at a Starbuck’s store are the manager and the assistant manager.

Starbucks Logo

At every Starbucks store, there is a tip jar near the register.  The employees working the register serve customers from the bakery case, get their coffee, take orders, and collect payment.  These employees are called shift supervisors, and they have some managerial duties.  However, they are part-time employees that are paid an hourly rate.

The baristas are responsible for serving food and coffee drinks.  They are part-time employees that are paid an hourly rate.

THE STARBUCKS TIP JAR

When the jar at the register gets full, Starbucks requires that it is emptied into a bag, and placed in the store safe.  At the end of each week, the tips are distributed in cash to the shift supervisors and the baristas, in proportion to the number of hours each employee worked.

Jeana Barenboim, Jose Ortiz, and other baristas filed a lawsuit against Starbucks Corp., claiming that the shift supervisors are not eligible to receive a share of the tips, under New York Labor Law, Section 196-d; which states that an agent of a company may not “demand or accept, directly or indirectly, any part of the gratuities, received by an employee, or retain any part of a gratuity or of any charge purported to be a gratuity for an employee.”  Their claim was that shift supervisors are agents of Starbucks, since they have some managerial duties.

Interestingly, this is not the only case against Starbucks regarding the tip jar.  In another case; Winans v. Starbucks Corp., assistant managers claimed that they should receive tips from the tip pool.  Their claim is that they serve customers and they wear the same uniform as the shift supervisors and baristas, making them indistinguishable from other employees.

THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, 2ND CIRCUIT (OCTOBER, 2012)

Both cases were heard by N.Y. District courts, in which Starbucks was granted summary judgment and the plaintiff’s claims were dismissed.  The two cases were consolidated on appeal, and both cases made it to the U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit in October, 2012.

The U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, deferred the cases back to the N.Y. Court of Appeals, with a few questions.  The two key issues were:  What criteria should be used to determine whether certain employees are “agents” of their employer, and whether employees who are not barred from receiving tips under 196-d may still be excluded from tip pools.[ii]  The U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit retained jurisdiction and reserved their decision.

THE NEW YORK COURT OF APPEALS (MAY, 2013)

This Tuesday, May 28, the New York Court of Appeals heard arguments from the lawyers for all three parties, Barenboim, Winans and Starbucks, as well as, the New York State Labor Department.

Rex Heinke, the lawyer for Starbucks, argued that the company’s policy is to exclude people who have power over other employees.  He further stated that shift supervisors do not have power over other employees, and they are entitled to tip sharing; however, the assistant managers do have power over employees and they should be barred from receiving tips.[iii]

Steven Wu, representing the Labor Department, said that employees can participate in pooled tips if customer service is a “principal and regular” part of their work.[iv]

The cases are Barenboim v. Starbucks Corp. and Winans v. Starbucks Corp., New York State Court of Appeals No. 122.  Argued, but no decision.

The Silver Linings Playbook

The Silver Linings Playbook - by Matthew Quickby Matthew Quick
Published by Sarah Crichton Books, 2012

About the Book

Meet Pat. Pat has a theory: his life is a movie produced by God. And his God-given mission is to become physically fit and emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure a happy ending for him — the return of his estranged wife Nikki. (It might not come as a surprise to learn that Pat has spent time in a mental health facility.) The problem is, Pat’s now home, and everything feels off. No one will talk to him about Nikki; his beloved Philadelphia Eagles keep losing; he’s being pursued by the deeply odd Tiffany; his new therapist seems to recommend adultery as a form of therapy. Plus, he’s being hunted by Kenny G!

In this enchanting novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat’s mind, showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. As the award-winning novelist Justin Cronin put it: “Tender, soulful, hilarious, and true, The Silver Linings Playbook is a wonderful debut.”

My Review

I can see why this book has been made into a movie, although I have yet to see it.  We save the movie theater for 3D films or big special effects – that kind of thing.  And seeing a movie before reading the book can totally spoil the book for me.  I saw “The Road” before I read the book, and then I couldn’t read the book because I couldn’t get the boy’s whiny voice out of my head. But, I digress…

One of the things I found appealing about this book, which most people might not fully appreciate, is the location.  I have lived in the general Collingswood, NJ area twice in my life.  It is a suburb of Philadelphia (where I have also lived).  I’ve never eaten at the Crystal Lake Diner, but I drive past it several times a week.  I ride my bike in Knight’s Park.  I recognize the street names.  So, even though I love reading books about exotic places, there is something fun about personally knowing the geographical references.

Location aside, I like the message of the book.  Pat believes in silver linings.  After Pat returns home from the “bad place” – a psychiatric facility; he thinks that all he needs to do is improve himself, in order to end the “apart time” from his wife Nikki.  He begins running and reading, hoping to impress her when their separation ends.

Pat’s family shelters him from some truths and “secrets” about his past and present, while he tries to find a way to work on his relationships.  His father seems to have some anger issues, while his mother is passive.  It is a family on the brink of breaking.  Pat needs a way to connect with his father.  His mother hopes that inviting Pat’s brother over to watch football will bring everyone together.  The key to a happy family is football – the Philadelphia Eagles.  I might be wrong, but coming from a family of Eagles fans; I can attest that they seem like a different breed of sports fans.  The word that comes to mind is rabid.

Pat sees a psychiatrist that seems a little unorthodox.  He is Pat’s doctor when they are in the office.  But, when it comes to football – yes, the Eagles, it is okay for them to become friends.  I’m fairly certain that this would not be allowed in real life.  It works in the book.

Before I finish up this review, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Tiffany.  Pat’s best friend introduces them, hoping to fix them up.  Tiffany has some problems of her own.  Is it a good idea to try to make a love match between two people whose lives are a mess; who are both suffering with mental illness and emotional brokenness?

I don’t want to ruin the end of the story, if you haven’t seen the movie or read the book.  Let’s just say that there is a little bit of a twist.  And if everything you just read makes you believe that this is a depressing book because of the heavy subject matter; don’t worry; it’s not, although there are definitely some sad moments.  There are some funny moments, too.  Remember, this is a story about hope and about silver linings.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Arias Jury Divided 8 to 4

Eight jurors voted for death.
Four jurors voted for life.

I’m over being angry, but I am still frustrated by the verdict. However, this is our system at work. The jurors in this case dedicated 5 months of their lives to the case. For that, they deserve to be thanked, whether or not I agree with the outcome of a compromised verdict – a hung jury – a mistrial in the Penalty (Sentencing) Phase.

The jurors did get the guilty of premeditated first degree murder right, and they also found the murder cruel beyond a reasonable doubt in the Aggravation Phase.

Is it double jeopardy to retry the Sentencing Phase? Most states give the defendant a life sentence when the jury can’t decide on death. Other states don’t require a unanimous decision, and majority rules, and that would have resulted in death in this case.

Please keep the Alexander family in prayer. They have suffered so much. Not only was their brother brutally murdered, but they didn’t get a sentence for Arias, so they will have to go through part of the trial all over again. My heart breaks for them.

Jodi Arias – NO UNANIMOUS VERDICT – JURY HUNG

NO JUSTICE FOR TRAVIS ALEXANDER’S MURDER

Sadly, for the Alexander family, there has been no justice.  The jury was unable to come to a unanimous verdict.

Travis Alexander - The Victim

Travis Alexander – The Victim

IT ONLY TAKES ONE JUROR TO HANG A JURY

Having served on a jury with a much less serious verdict to decide – medical malpractice – I can tell you that it only takes one person who refuses to change their mind, even if the other eleven people all agree on a particular verdict.

I have no idea why the Arias jury was hung, but I suspect that there was one juror who dug in their heels and would not agree to a death penalty.

ANGER AND FRUSTRATION AS ARIAS BEATS THE VERDICT TODAY

As a person who has absolutely no connection to this case, I have found that I am as angry and frustrated as I can be.  I am so upset for the Alexander family.  They have to go through this Sentencing Phase all over again.  They must feel so betrayed by the jury – twelve people who claimed they could make a death penalty verdict.  I believe one of those people lied.  The evidence was so clear.  The verdict (1st degree murder) and the aggravating factor (cruelty) were decided by the entire jury.

Jodi Arias has committed one of the most brutal murders, killing her victim, Travis Alexander, three different ways – a stab to the heart, slicing his throat ear to ear to nearly decapitate him, and shooting him in the face!  There were 29 stab wounds all together.  The crime scene pictures made it evident that Travis Alexander was slaughtered.  Arias walked away with barely a scratch – she cut her hand on the bloody knife as she stabbed Travis to death.

Arias has shown absolutely NO REMORSE.  She spent a lot of time on the stand – 18 days, and she gave a mitigating statement to the jury, in which she gave Travis barely more than a minute’s thought.  She talked about her family about four minutes.  She talked about herself and how wonderful she is for over 13 minutes.

Arias gave many TV interviews in addition to her time before the jury in the courtroom, and she never said she was sorry and she showed no remorse, let alone beg for forgiveness or mercy.  She was more concerned about her hair and makeup (really).  She used the TV interviews to once again trash Travis Alexander.  She is so disgusting!

The men sitting with the Alexander family in the courtroom, as the Judge read that the jury was hung, were so angry that you could see them clenching their jaws and they were staring hard at the jury, wondering how this non-verdict was even possible.

While the family collapsed in sadness, frustration and anger, Arias covered her mouth  - something she does often – feeling that she had somehow won.  She is a person who lacks empathy and she is so arrogant and manipulative, you just want to see vengeance carried out against her.

JULY 18, 2013 – TRIAL RESUMES

On July 18th, the trial will resume with a new jury to decide the sentence for Jodi Arias.  Arias has already been convicted of PREMEDITATED FIRST DEGREE MURDER.  Given the evidence, it is unbelievable to me that the jury was hung and a mistrial was declared for this phase.  Judge Stephens gave a huge sigh as her voice cracked when she announced the non-verdict to the court.  Will the new jury be able give Arias life or death?

Jodi Arias

The poor Alexander family will have to live through the horrible heinous evidence again.  After waiting five years for a trial, and having sat in the courtroom for five months, their pain and suffering will continue.

IT IS A TRAGEDY!

13 HOURS AND 48 MINUTES OF DELIBERATING RESULTS IN A HUNG JURY

JURORS CRIED AS THE JUDGE READ THE NON-UNANIMOUS VERDICT TO THE COURT

THE ALEXANDER FAMILY AND FRIENDS CRIED, OVERWHELMED WITH EMOTION

THE JUDGE, WHO HAS BEEN VERY EVEN KEELED THROUGHOUT THE TRIAL, WAS SO EMOTIONAL, SHE COULD BARELY READ THE NON-VERDICT

NO JURY MEMBERS WANTED TO SPEAK TO THE PRESS – THEY JUST WANTED TO GO HOME

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE ALEXANDER FAMILY