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Yes, we all know the First Amendment protects freedom of speech. But most of us also know there are exceptions to that general rule. Yelling, “Fire!” in a crowded theater (when there isn’t one) perhaps. Or limits on profanity or pornography, for instance. And many of us wouldn’t think to “stick [our] arm out of the passenger window of [an] SUV and make a hand-waving gesture in [a] trooper’s general direction … [then] change the gesture to an up-and-down pumping motion with [our] middle finger extended....

Voting can be exciting! Understandably, some people want to document their voting experience by taking a picture of themselves with their ballot. These “ballot selfies” can be a great way to commemorate voting, but they can also be illegal. Different states have different laws (or no laws) regarding pictures at polling stations, so do you need to be worried about the pictures you take around Election Day? Maybe. Are Ballot Selfies Illegal?...

In re McKinney, No. 08-1271, concerned an appeal by a tax debt owner in Chapter 13 proceedings, arising from the bankruptcy court’s denial of its objections to the debtor’s proposed plan to pay off the tax debt with interest within five years. In dismissing the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, the court held that, although the issue that the tax debt owner cares about may have been resolved, its basic dispute with the bankrupt estate has not been resolved and therefore the judgment of the bankruptcy court is not final....

Baribeau v. Minneapolis, No. 08-3165, concerned an action claiming that plaintiff-protesters were seized without probable cause and in retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights. The district court granted summary judgment for defendants. As the court of appeals wrote: “At about 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, 2006, the plaintiffs met at the Nicollet Mall light rail station in downtown Minneapolis, while the city was in the midst of hosting a week-long summer festival known as the Aquatennial....

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action alleging that a mental health specialist, two sheriff’s deputies, and a county violated the Fourteenth Amendment due process rights of plaintiffs by failing to prevent their son’s suicide while he was in pretrial detention, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part where, as to certain defendants, the evidence was insufficient to allow a jury to conclude that they knew the decedent was suicidal and deliberately ignored that risk....

In a challenge to the Department of Energy’s issuance of an environmental impact statement concerning waste management activities at a project site that did not address long-term closure issues regarding the rest of the site, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) the waste management activities that the Department was undertaking did not depend on the closure action for their justification; and 2) a prior stipulation entered between the parties did not curtail the Department’s ability to reevaluate its strategy for completing environmental impact review....

US v. Sykes, 08-2558, concerned a challenge to the district court’s conviction of defendant for four counts of bank robbery. In affirming the conviction, the court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it dismissed the charges against defendant without prejudice, as the judge thoroughly considered the section 3162(a)(2) factors. The court also held that the record does not support defendant’s claim that his pretrial detention deprived him of meaningful access to the courts....

Dahlen v. Shelter House, No. 09-1909, concerned an action claiming a violation of the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause and requesting damages as well as an injunction to prevent the planned construction of a homeless shelter near plaintiffs’ residence. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the complaint, holding that, because the proposed homeless shelter met the Fifth Amendment’s public purpose requirement, plaintiffs were required to seek compensation through state inverse condemnation procedures before their claim could be ripe....

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is pretty clear on its prohibition of discrimination based on religion. But identifying religious discrimination isn’t always so cut-and-dried. Firing employees for wearing headscarves? Discriminatory. Firing employees for refusing to transport alcohol? Perhaps a tougher case. Of course you can fire anyone for substandard work or non-performance. But what if that non-performance is due to the exercise of religious beliefs? Or, as a letter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges, what if the employee’s performance was satisfactory, but only because they were shirking their religious duties?...

One of the problems with being a criminal is you can’t call the cops for help. Maybe that’s what led Todd Beckman down the dark road that ends with 20 years in prison. Beckman used to be a successful businessman, but he turned his skills to smuggling marijuana. Then he made a wrong-way decision with a one-way consequence: he kidnapped and threatened to kill someone who stole his drugs. Drugs and Kidnapping Beckman, 53, recently pleaded guilty in federal district court to drug dealing and kidnapping in exchange for prosecutors’ agreeing not to seek more than a 20-year sentence....

In a dispute involving insurance liability coverage, district court judgment is affirmed where defendant has no duty to defend the defendant-seller’s as the insurance policy limits coverage to property damage, and the buyers’ claim for negligent misrepresentation does not allege property damage caused by an accident. Read Goderstad v. American Family Mutal Ins. Co., No. 06-3629 Appellate InformationAppeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin..Argued April 7, 2008Decided June 29, 2009...

In a petition for review of the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s asylum application, the petition is denied where petitioner failed to make a compelling showing that: 1) the reported incidents of discrimination against him amounted to persecution; 2) the incidents provided an objective basis for a well-founded fear of future persecution; or 3) he was a member of a disfavored group who had been individually targeted. Read Halim v. Holder, No....

If you saw “The Monuments Men,” released earlier this year, then you know that Allied Forces discovered large collections of Nazi-looted art during World War II. Far from being an historical account, the repercussions of the Nazi’s looting and forced sale of valuable pieces of art is still an issue that generations of families are dealing with. In the latest case of an heir’s attempt to receive what is rightfully hers, the Ninth Circuit has revived a sensitive controversy that is far from over, reports The Times of Israel....

Though we sympathize with her, Dallas’ legal case is pretty clear-cut. Basic contract law requires consideration. Insurance policies are contracts. If consideration is never received, there is no contract. Case closed. Of course, this is an appeals case. No appeals case can be that simple, right? The policy documents state “[i]f a premium, other than the initial premium, has not been paid … Your Policy will remain in force for … 31 days....

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday that Maker’s Mark Distillery, Inc.’s registered trademark for its red dripping wax seal is enforceable because it lacks aesthetic functionality. The court also concluded that defendant Diageo’s Case Cuervo tequila bottles featuring a similar red wax seal were likely to cause confusion in the marketplace. All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. Justice Hugo Black believed that “Scotch whisky would need a tax preference to survive in competition with Kentucky bourbon....

New York’s Kosher Law Protection Act is constitutional, according to a new Second Circuit Court of Appeals opinion. The New York-based court ruled on Thursday that the Kosher Law does not infringe upon First Amendment religious freedoms, according to Bloomberg. The plaintiffs, Commack Self-Service Kosher Meats, have sued multiple times to block New York’s kosher food laws. Commack sued in 1996 to block the law (a prior version of the Kosher Act) that imposed inspection and labeling requirements on food marketed as kosher, alleging that those statutes violated the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment, as well as the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment....

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear four cases from death row inmates facing execution, resulting in a rare dissent from a denial of certiorari by Justice Breyer. In one case, an inmate had spent 40 years on Florida’s death row, awaiting an execution that has yet to come. The Berlin Wall was still standing when the man was sentenced to death, Justice Breyer noted. Saigon had just fallen. Over half of all Americans alive today had yet to be born....

Most drug runners don’t invest time in crafting commanding street names like our favorite cable drama kingpins, U-Turn and Krazy 8; writing appellate briefs would be much more amusing if they did. However, one notable exception, who artfully balanced international flair and algebraic mystery, was Missouri trafficker Claude X. Sadly, Claude X will have to settle for the best name on his cell block since the Eighth Circuit just upheld the warrantless search of his vehicle under the automobile exception....

Citizens United is criticizing the Montana Supreme Court for its Western Tradition Partnership v. Attorney General ruling. Last December, the popularly-elected Montana Supreme Court held in its 5-2 Western Tradition decision that the state had a compelling interest in continuing to enforce the state’s Corrupt Practices Act. Montana voters approved the Act, which limits/bans corporate campaign expenditures, in 1912. At the time the decision came out, one of the dissenters remarked that the U....

For small business owners and independent contractors, estimated taxes can be a real thorn in the bank account. However, if you owe estimated taxes and fail to pay quarterly, the penalty for failing to do so can make you wish you had. Fortunately, if you’re reading this blog then you probably are trying to figure out what you have to do to get out from under the estimated tax monster, and that’s a good thing....