Drug-dealing, guns, money, and vengeance have become part of the urban narrative. So have phrases like “yo, where’s my money at,” “let’s keep it popping,” and “the strong take from the weak but the smart take from everybody.” According to a recent unpublished opinion from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, such themes are “either common in general or common with respect to hip hop culture, and do not enjoy copyright protection....
Fox News Network, LLC v. Bd. of Gov’rs. of Fed. Reserve Sys., No. 09-3795, concerned an action brought to enforce a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for information relating to lending conducted by the twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks, the court of appeals vacated summary judgment for defendant, holding that 1) Federal Reserve Board regulations provided that some records at the Federal Reserve Banks – those kept at the Banks under certain conditions for “administrative reasons”–were records of the Board, and these were required to be searched under the FOIA request at issue; and 2) the district court did not reach the question of whether the Board misconstrued the scope of the request....
The U.S. House Select Committee is just starting to dive into its investigation of what happened on Jan. 6, when a mob of angry Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building. The committee is probing what Trump and others close to him knew about the rioters’ plans that day. So far, people in Trump’s orbit are mostly refusing to play ball by ignoring subpoenas issued by the committee to give depositions....
In a diversity action under a state whistleblower statute, district court’s grant of summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff did not make a good faith report of a violation or suspected violation of the law, as she did not believe the commission practice was illegal when she reported it, and thus her conduct is not statutorily protected; and 2) plaintiff’s common law claim for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy fails as she did not form her belief that the practice was illegal until after she reported it....
We recently blogged about a rash of post-Citizens United cases brewing in the lower federal courts. These cases are trying to slowly push corporate speech forward, this time by exempting certain speakers from campaign disclosure requirements. In the Tenth Circuit, the Court of Appeals has tentatively allowed Citizens United (they very same!) to refrain from disclosing its donors pending the outcome of Citizens United v. Gessler before the court. A Brief Recap Citizens United made a movie about advocacy groups outside of Colorado and their influence on state politics (the irony is apparently lost on Citizens United, which is a national organization – albeit one with an office in Colorado – seeking to influence Colorado politics)....
Los Angeles inmate Dion Starr can proceed with his deliberate indifference claim against Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy Baca. The Supreme Court declined to take up Sheriff Baca’s qualified immunity case on Monday. Starr claims that he was attacked by Latino gang members and a deputy during a 2006 attack at Los Angeles’ Men’s Central Jail, reports the Los Angeles Times. According to Starr’s lawsuit, a group of inmates gathered at his cell door and threatened to inflict physical harm on him....
If you pay for cable, you probably don’t spend time thinking about which media outlet has the right to broadcast your favorite college’s football games. If, like us, you stopped paying for cable years ago in favor of delayed, free access to television shows online, broadcast rights are an issue every Saturday morning during college football season as you scramble to find a live-stream broadcast to watch your team dominate over a higher-ranked opponent....
You won’t find him wandering the streets of Chicago anytime soon, let alone reviving his political career, but ex-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich became a bit less of a felon yesterday, as the Seventh Circuit tossed out five of his 18 convictions. Blagojevich, you may remember, was arrested while serving as Governor of Illinois in 2009, after investigators caught him trying to sell Barack Obama’s former Senate seat. Blagojevich was convicted on 18 counts of corruption, attempted extortion, wire fraud, and associated crimes....
The rules regarding exculpatory evidence are pretty clear. In Brady v. Maryland, the Supreme Court held that “the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment.” In United States v. Bagley, the Court clarified, “Impeachment evidence, … as well as exculpatory evidence, falls within the Brady rule.” The prosecution has an affirmative “duty to disclose such evidence” even if the defense doesn’t request it....
While frying a turkey for a gaggle of sneezy nephews, hosting a cornucopia of distant cousins, or stuffing your brother in a pick-up football game, calamity can befall even the most readied merrymaker. Thanksgiving can bring mirth or misadventure. Our lives are hectic already, and it can feel like we’re jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire if we don’t have a solid holiday plan. With that in mind, here are some practical tips to help you stay safe and within the law this Thanksgiving....
In the EEOC’s appeal from a denial of its petition to enforce an administrative subpoena issued to UPS seeking information about how religious exemptions to UPS’s Uniform and Personal Appearance Guidelines were handled nationwide, the order is reversed where the district court, in finding that national information was not relevant to the charges being investigated by the EEOC, applied too restrictive a standard of relevance. Read EEOC v. United Parcel Serv....
In the continuing tug-of-war between states and the EPA, the Clean Water Act is again up for review in the Third Circuit. Not just an environmental issue, cases such as this illustrate the difficulty in finding a balance of power between the state and federal government. Background The American Farm Bureau Federation filed claims in federal court alleging that under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), the EPA (1) lacked authority to issue the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load for Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sediment (“TMDL”); (2) the TMDL is ultra vires; (3) the TMDL is arbitrary and capricious; and (4) the EPA’s actions violated the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”)....
If you’re familiar with RICO laws, you probably have images of weird-named gangsters from Jersey being trundled off to jail. RICO, as you may know, stands for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. This law went into effect nationally in 1970 as a tool giving enforcers the power to go after people who are connected to a criminal enterprise even though they may not have personally committed a crime....
A federal judge rejected a media request for information about alleged wiretaps of President Trump. Gizmodo Media Group had filed a Freedom of Information complaint against the Department of Justice, but the judge said the DOJ acted lawfully by not confirming or denying the information existed. It came down to whether the president had publicly disclosed details about the alleged wiretaps. Because of Gizmodo Media Group v. Department of Justice, the public may never know if it was just fake news....
When it comes to a dog bite case, the dog owners will usually be held liable. This means they need to pay for your medical bills. In some extraordinary circumstances, the dog’s owner won’t have to cover these bills and might not be found responsible. A dog owner is held responsible (sometimes called strictly liable) for injuries caused by their dog, but it is their homeowner’s insurance policy that will actually pay for your medical costs or emergency room visit....
The Supreme Court announced today that federal courts should use the “interests of justice” standard that applies to non-capital cases when deciding whether to grant a federal habeas petitioner’s substitution motion in a capital case. Though the Court adopted petitioner Kenneth Clair’s interests of justice standard in Martel v. Clair, Justice Elena Kagan noted that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Clair’s substitution motion. Kenneth Clair landed on death row in 1987 for sexually assaulting, beating and strangling a woman....
Having the occasional beer is usually a relaxing experience. But it turns out cold ones can lead to some hotly contested litigation. Especially when it comes to marketing. As the number of breweries explodes from coast-to-coast, the competition for beer drinkers is leading to more legal battles, over everything from packaging, to Super Bowl ads. So, here’s a look at a couple of the most recent lager-based lawsuits, and what you can learn and apply to your own small business....
In a major class action dine and dash lawsuit, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that servers cannot be required to cover losses from dine-and-dash customers without consent. Ruling in favor of the 750 server and bartender plaintiffs, the court remanded the case back to the district court to determine how much the employer, Uptown Drink, will have to fork over in damages. Attorneys with clients in the food industry should pay heed to the opinion in Karl, et al....
Hunters cheered the U.S. Supreme Court for ruling that a man could hunt for moose on his hovercraft. John Sturgeon had fought for it since 2007, when National Park rangers detained him for using the craft on the Nation River in Alaska. He argued the state, not the U.S. park service, had jurisdiction over the river. In Sturgeon v. Frost, the Supreme Court agreed and the moose grunted. Battle Between Governments Sturgeon wanted to hunt for moose among an estimated 175,000 of the creatures in the state....
The 2011 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference will be held August 15-18 at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. This year’s program will include presentations on the limits of federalism, use of neuroscience evidence in the courtroom, historical overviews of search and seizure law, the future of the courts, and a retrospective on 40 years of women in the law. Supreme Court Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Ruth Bader Ginsburg will participate in the program....
