Case Alert: In ther Interest of R.O.M (Dallas, 2024)

On the morning of July 8, 2025, a crash involving a semi-truck and a white pickup truck occurred on westbound Highway 58 at Bealeville Road. According to the California Highway Patrol, the semi-truck reportedly overturned, and one of the vehicles went down an embankment. Authorities reported the incident as a major injury crash, though it’s unclear who was injured. When I see a report like this, especially one involving an overturned semi, I want to understand whether something went wrong beyond driver error. Could a Mechanical Defect or Maintenance Issue Be Involved? Any time a semi-truck rolls over during a collision, it raises concerns about possible mechanical failures. Tire blowouts, brake failures, and suspension issues can all compromise a truck's ability to maintain stability, especially during evasive maneuvers or collisions. If a component failure contributed to this crash, the manufacturer or maintenance provider could share some responsibility. …

The Trump administration notched another victory this week when U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington granted a motion to dismiss a case brought by five organizations to stop the cancellation of more than 360 grant awards by the Justice Department. However, in reaching this relatively straightforward conclusion, Judge Mehta opted to follow a pattern set by other judges in adding his own personal commentary on the wisdom of the policy change. Judge Mehta easily found that he lacked jurisdiction over such questions. However, he then vented his own personal views on the policy: “Defendants’ rescinding of these awards is shameful. It is likely to harm communities and individuals vulnerable to crime and violence. But displeasure and sympathy are not enough in a court of law.” Actually, neither the court’s displeasure nor sympathy should be part of the decision of a court of law. With all due respect to Judge Mehta, some of us find it shameful that…

The month of July marks the celebration of Disability Pride Month. First officially celebrated in 2015, Disability Pride Month is held in July to commemorate the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. According to the Center for People with Disabilities, 61 million American adults—1 in 4—identify themselves as having a disability (cpwd.org). Despite making up a significant portion of the population, barriers to justice and equality still exist in the United States. The theme for this year’s celebration is “We Belong Here, and We’re Here to Stay,” highlighting the necessity for inclusion, acceptance and celebration of those with disabilities in our communities. As stated by Kyra Coats for the Center for People with Disabilities, “let Disability Pride Month be a catalyst for action to amplify the voices of people with disabilities, prioritize accessibility in all systems and structures, and honor the history while…

Justice for Family? Shabrya Hudson Shooting Alton.  We have over 25 years of experience representing victims of security failures across the United States, and we have recovered nearly $250 million dollars for our Clients.  Read Our Legal Take below to find out what legal options are available to the family of Shabrya L. Hudson. Innocent Bystander Shabrya L. Hudson Killed in Alton, IL Apartment Complex Shooting. (Stock Photo: MurrayLegal.com) Alton, IL – Gunfire rang out at an apartment complex early Friday morning, July 4, 2025, leaving one teen girl dead. As reported by KSDK.com, “[t]he Alton Police Department said the shooting happened at around 2 a.m. in the 900 block of Oakwood Avenue. Officers arrived and began first aid until firefighters arrived and took over. The girl was rushed to a local hospital and then airlifted to a hospital in St. Louis, where she later died of her injuries.” KSDK.com is reporting, “Shabrya Hudson, a…

Security Failure? Cameron Lollis Shooting Laurel.  We have over 25 years of experience representing victims of security failures across the United States, and we have recovered nearly $250 million dollars for our Clients.  Read Our Legal Take below to find out what legal options are available to the family of Cameron Lollis. Cameron Lollis Killed in Laurel, MS Apartment Complex Shooting. (Stock Photo: MurrayLegal.com) Laurel, MS – Gunfire rang out at an apartment complex early Tuesday morning, July 8, 2025, leaving one young man dead. As reported by DarkHorsePressNews.com, “[t]he Jones County Sheriff’s Department responded to an overnight shooting call at [apartments] located at 395 Hoy Road in the Hoy community that left a 19-year-old male dead.” WDAM.com is reporting, “JCSD deputies responded to reports of a shooting shortly after midnight Tuesday at the apartments. Jones County Coroner…identified the victim as Cameron…

DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Company is recalling 171 SUVs from its Ford and Lincoln lines over a defect that could cause the passenger-side airbag to deploy with excessive force, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash. The recall affects select 2025 model-year vehicles, specifically certain Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. According to documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the issue stems from airbag inflators that a supplier improperly manufactured. The defect may cause the airbag to deploy with greater force than intended. Contact The Ammons Law Firm if You Were Injured in a Defective Vehicle If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a vehicle accident, the Ammons Law Firm is here to help. Our dedicated, experienced vehicle defect attorneys understand the devastating impact of these tragic accidents on families, and we have a proven track record of holding automotive…

Photo Credit: The Degrees Initiative/Sasika Wegner (CC BY 4.0)I post periodically about developments in the debate over solar geoengineering (SRM) and its potential role in response to climate change. News accounts may suggest that this debate moves fast, but it has three enduring, large-scale themes. First, SRM presents high stakes for climate risks and response – which most governments thus far have been reluctant to acknowledge. Second, it is crucial to build effective and legitimate capacity for global governance of these capabilities, including how they may interact with efforts to cut emissions and adapt to climate change. And third, nations of the Global South are likely to play an influential, perhaps crucial, role in developing this governance, for both politically pragmatic reasons and moral ones. Touching on all these themes, a recent meeting in South Africa – the Degrees Global Forum, held in Cape Town from May 12 to 16 – was a crucial landmark in…

Darion Pharr Shooting Stonecrest. Justice for Family? Our firm has over 25 years of experience representing victims of security failures across Georgia, and we have secured nearly $250 million dollars for our Clients.  Read Our Legal Take below to find out what legal options are available to the family of Darion Phar. Darion Pharr Killed in Stonecrest, GA Apartment Complex Shooting. (11Alive.com) Stonecrest, GA – Gunfire rang out in the vicinity of an apartment complex Wednesday afternoon, July 2, 2025, leaving one man dead. As reported by AtlantaNewsFirst.com, “DeKalb County Police are investigating who gunned down 22-year-old Darion Phar in Stonecrest on Wednesday.” 11Alive.com is reporting, “officers responded to the 30 block of Tree View Drive…around 12:20 p.m.” According to the report, “[w]hen officers arrived, they said they found a man who had been shot multiple times. He died from his injuries.” Fox5.com has…

Ho Chi Minh City (or “Saigon” as many of the locals still call it) has its own rhythms. Walkable in a way that doesn’t exist stateside, an American can stroll for hours in the oppressive afternoon heat. One might make it only two or three blocks at a time, drawn in to a local bar to punctuate each short jaunt with an ice-cold beer that can be had for the equivalent of a fistful of pennies. The non-suicidal Westerner will necessarily get around mostly on foot. Vietnam is worth visiting for the traffic alone. The streets buzz day and night with the whine of little 100cc and 125cc motorcycles. I have my motorcycle license endorsement, and I rode bikes – mainly big, American-made cruisers – for a decade. I wouldn’t dare to enter the stream of traffic in Saigon on a motorcycle. As a pedestrian, the American style of street-crossing (to wait for the directions of a traffic light or to pause until a sufficient gap in the traffic presents…

WARD COUNTY, N.D. – A 51-year-old Minot man was killed in a single-vehicle crash Friday morning along U.S. Highway 2. The incident occurred when the driver heading east in a Chevrolet Silverado left the roadway, entered the ditch, and overturned. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Did the vehicle protect the motorist from serious injury? When a rollover accident occurs, it is natural to focus on what caused the crash. But we also need to ask an even more critical question: Did the vehicle provide adequate protection? Rollovers can happen for many reasons – road conditions, weather, or driver actions. But once a rollover starts, the vehicle should protect its occupants. This doesn’t always happen. Some vehicles have design flaws that make rollovers more dangerous than they should be. Weak roof structures can collapse, failing to maintain a survivable space inside. Seatbelts might not hold people securely, or airbags could fail to deploy. These…

Justice for Family? Jaykavion Gary Shooting Remerton. We have over 25 years of experience representing victims of security failures across the United States, and we have recovered nearly $250 million dollars for our Clients.  Read Our Legal Take below to find out what legal options are available to the family of Jaykavion Gary. Jaykavion Gary Killed in Remerton, GA Parking Lot Shooting. (Stock Photo: MurrayLegal.com) Remerton, GA – One teen is dead after a shooting at a parking early Saturday morning, July 5, 2025.   As reported by WCTV.tv, “[t]he shooting happened near the 1900 block of Baytree Place just after midnight Saturday. Officials said many of the bars were still open, but there was also a large crowd in the parking lot.” According to the report, “[t]he GBI reported a ‘dispute’ happening between multiple people before gunshots rang out. The 16-year old was taken to the hospital, but he [sadly] did not…

TYLER, Texas — Emergency crews responded Saturday afternoon to a serious crash involving a passenger vehicle and a tanker truck on U.S. Highway 271 near the Interstate 20 interchange. The crash involved a Nissan Altima and a commercial tanker truck. First responders arrived to find three individuals in the Nissan with severe or life-threatening injuries. All three had to be extricated from the vehicle before being transported to a local hospital for emergency care. No further information is currently available. Those affected by this crash deserve answers and accountability from those at fault Although not enough details about this incident have been released to draw definitive conclusions, it is known that most roadway accidents are entirely avoidable. Yet, these preventable accidents continue to happen. To determine all the factors that contributed to this incident, we must look beyond the initial police report. Dashcam footage and the truck’s speed and braking…

On Monday, June 30, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two bills, AB 130 and SB 131, which provide new exemptions from, and streamlines the process, under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). AB 130 creates a statutory exemption for qualifying infill housing projects, streamlines the CEQA review process for residential projects in the coastal zone, and provides procedural changes to the administrative review process to prevent unnecessary delays for new development projects. SB 131 focuses on accelerating public interest projects, such as clean water infrastructure, park and trail projects, and community support facility projects, by creating new exemption categories and streamlines processes for projects that would otherwise be CEQA-exempt but for a single condition. Both bills also include non-CEQA related provisions which seek to further support infill and public interest development. Together, AB 130 and SB 131 mark a significant shift in the…

Each month, we tell you which three English-language cases and French-language cases have been the most viewed* on CanLII in the previous month and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about. For this past month, the three most-consulted English-language decisions were: 1. R. v. Kinamore, 2025 SCC 19 [1] The increasing complexity of sexual offence trials in Canada poses a challenge to our overburdened criminal justice system. One source of complexity lies in the application of the rules that govern evidence of a complainant’s sexual history. Although these evidentiary rules are essential to eliminate discriminatory myths and stereotypes from the fact-finding process and safeguard the dignity, privacy, and equality interests of complainants, uncertainty about their scope and procedural requirements has caused unnecessary confusion and disruption. This appeal provides an opportunity to address some of this uncertainty by resolving two issues that were left…

It’s common for companies in all industries to use social media “influencers” to promote their goods and services online. Influencer advertising in the cannabis industry is a particularly risky idea, because paid advertisers need to comply with all cannabis marketing and advertising rules. These rules are beasts of the applicable state regulations on cannabis products and advertising. It goes without saying that social media influencers generally don’t spend a great amount of time learning complicated cannabis regulations and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) guidelines, so without solid contracts in place that dictate what an influencer can say and how they can say it, cannabis companies could risk penalties, false advertisement lawsuits, or potentially even face licensing fines or worse. For starters, the FTC issued guidelines for using endorsements or testimonials in advertising. The guidelines are complicated, but some of the key points…

2025 Awards Will Be Presented in a Live Ceremony Wednesday, Sept. 10 in San Francisco SAN FRANCISCO—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is honored to announce that Just Futures Law, Erie Meyer, and Software Freedom Law Center, India will receive the 2025 EFF Awards for their vital work in ensuring that technology supports privacy, freedom, justice, and innovation for all people.   The EFF Awards recognize specific and substantial technical, social, economic, or cultural contributions in diverse fields including journalism, art, digital access, legislation, tech development, and law.    The EFF Awards ceremony will start at 6 p.m. PT on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025 at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria, 101 Henry Adams St. in San Francisco. Guests can register at http://www.eff.org/effawards. The ceremony will be recorded and shared online on Sept. 12.  For the past 30 years, the EFF Awards—previously known as the Pioneer…

If you were recently arrested for prostitution or solicitation in Houston, one of the first questions you’re probably asking is: Will I go to jail for this? The good news is that in Harris County, it’s extremely rare for someone to serve jail time for a first-time prostitution offense. But that doesn’t mean you should take the charge lightly. A conviction—even without jail—can carry long-term consequences for your reputation, immigration status, employment, and future opportunities. This blog will explain what to expect if you’re facing a first-time prostitution charge in Houston, the possible penalties, and the most common ways these cases are resolved. Overview of Prostitution and Solicitation Charges in Texas Texas law defines prostitution under Texas Penal Code §43.02 as knowingly offering or agreeing to receive a fee in exchange for sexual conduct. A solicitation of prostitution charge applies to the buyer—the person…

Disbarred lawyer who disappeared is sentenced for stealing client money, including funds for woman’s care