Northern California Daily Digest

While these are the characters of Final Fantasy VII, this
blog uses them to represent Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
Photo Courtesy of Andrew Becraft.  

In Davidson v. Korman, the plaintiff, an attorney proceeding pro se, sued for employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and various state law claims.  Ms. Davidson claimed that she entered into her employment agreement in San Francisco and therefore the Northern District of California was the correct venue.  Her employer, the Department of the Army stated that she worked in Sacramento which is in the Eastern District of California and venue was appropriate there.  Judge Sandra Brown Armstrong agreed with the Army and transferred the case.

In Williams v. Astrue, the plaintiff appealed the decision of the Commissioner of Social Security denying her Supplemental Security Income disability benefits.  According to opinion, Williams had "not engaged in substantial gainful work since the year 1980" and applied for disability benefits in 2003.  A series of physicians, Williams and her daughters testified.  In the end, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) assigned to the case believed that Williams was not believable and that she was not injured.  He denied her benefits and Judge Marilyn Hall Patel affirmed stating that the evidence presented was sufficient to justify the ALJ's ruling.