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When you finally receive your first COVID-19 vaccination, you might be a bit confused about the card you will be handed that day. It’s called a COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card, a wallet-sized paper document issued by the Centers for Disease Control, containing information about the vaccine you’ve received. It will include a small sticker denoting the vaccine manufacturer and lot number, the date when the vaccine was submitted and the location....

Every day, or so it seems, we read about another court that’s made an important ruling on voting rights. The arrival of the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year prompted an unprecedented number of lawsuits to expand or restrict measures to allow people to avoid dangerous Election Day voting lines. Those who keep count say there have been a jaw-dropping 350 or so of such lawsuits, and they’ve come from both sides of the political aisle....

Show Me State? More like Slow Me State, right? The first of three challenges to Missouri’s ban on same-sex marriages was argued in court today, with the judge promising a quick ruling. Today’s case, in state court, challenged the state’s refusal to recognize gay marriages from out of state, while a second state court case will challenge the ban on in-state marriages. A federal case is also pending. As was the case in many other states’ disputes, the ACLU argued equal protection, while the state argued for state sovereignty....

What is there to say about the Third Circuit? It’s geographically small. It’s in the mid-Atlantic. That about sums it up. But it was also the source of a lot of fun blog material this year: from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ridiculous infighting to the most beautiful legal complaint I’ve ever seen. Then again, we find most things we blog about interesting. What did you, our U.S. Third Circuit Blog readers, enjoy?...

The 1794 Supreme Court case of Georgia v. Brailsford doesn’t get much attention these days. It’s not one of the Court’s best cases, or worst cases. It didn’t play a major role in shaping modern practice and it doesn’t have much to do with today’s legal disputes. Most lawyers have probably never heard of it. If they have, it is likely because Brailsford is the only Supreme Court jury trial ever reported....

This post was updated on March 31, 2022 Perhaps you think that when you finish writing your will, your estate planning work is done. Not so fast! Here are five things to do after writing your will: 1. Realize That Your Estate Plan Shouldn’t End With Just the Will Of course, writing a will is the most essential step you will take. It is the document that directs how your assets and property will be distributed when you die and will reduce unnecessary stress for your loved ones when you are gone....

When the Supreme Court schedule includes an ineffective counsel case, you can expect that the American Bar Association (ABA) will weigh in on the issue. The ABA filed an amicus curiae brief this week in Martinez v. Ryan, a case challenging whether a defendant has a right to effective counsel during his post-conviction relief petition hearings. When considering the case in 2010, the Ninth Circuit held that, since there is no right to assistance of post-conviction counsel in connection with a state petition for post-relief conviction, there could be no right to the effective assistance of counsel....

Dispute Over Use of Natural Gas Storage Facility In AEP Energy Servs. Gas Holding Co. v. Bank of Am., N.A., No. 08-4196, an action against two banks in alleging a superior right to continue to use the gas in a natural gas storage facility, the court affirmed in part summary judgment for defendants the district court was correct that defendant retained a valid security interest in the gas under the operative agreements, and the plaintiffs’ refusal to return the gas thereafter constituted conversion....

Seven women who have accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault could soon have access to files regarding Cosby’s confidential settlement with a prior accuser. A judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied Bill Cosby’s motion to squash a subpoena for the case files from his suit and settlement with Andrea Constand. Constand entered into a confidential settlement with Cosby in 2006, but that doesn’t mean her case file can be withheld from discovery, Judge Anita Brody ruled....

With a guilty verdict on all counts, Derek Chauvin is facing a significant sentence. However, the case is not over. It is expected Chauvin will appeal, arguing for a mistrial. And one count, his conviction for third-degree murder, has a significant legal cloud surrounding it. Under Minnesota law, third-degree murder involves the unintentional killing of another through an act that is “eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard to human life....

Transcript Panel 1: A turquoise character looks on with dismay at a green character who is holding a drink, surrounded by cups and empty bottles. The green character tries to look innocent while asking the question, “What happens if I’m caught drinking underage?” Panel 2: Anthropomorphic states (Nevada, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Michigan, Florida, and Louisiana) stand somewhat defiantly in a line while saying things like “It’s up to us!” or “We decide who, when, where can buy alcohol!...

In a dispute arising from an accident in which a passenger was struck by an Amtrak train which resulted in a settlement with the passenger, but leaving unresolved one party’s cross-claim for contractual indemnity, summary judgment for Amtrak on its cross-claim against the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is affirmed as, SEPTA’s state-law sovereign immunity defense is preempted by Amtrak’s federal enabling statute and therefore, the indemnity contract between SEPTA and Amtrak is enforceable....

Continuing a neighborhood dispute beyond the grave, a federal appeals court said that Fair Housing Act claims survive the death of a party. The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeal said in Revock v. Cowpet Bay West Condominium Association that the Act is silent about survival claims. However, in a case of first impression, the judges said that federal courts have already provided a uniform rule for survival in many cases....

Indian tribes in Montana say that the time and cost associated with voting infringes on their right to vote. Last year, 15 Indians from the Crow, Northern Cheyenne and Fort Belknap reservations filed a lawsuit claiming that the long distances they must drive for early voting and late registration leaves them disadvantaged compared to white voters, The Associated Press reports. At that time, however, District Judge Richard Cebull refused to grant an emergency order to force officials to provide satellite voting on Montana reservations....

Julian Mitchell appealed his felon-in-possession charge with a classic argument: his mom was too mentally incompetent to consent to the search of her own house. The Eighth Circuit reviewed the appeal with an appropriate amount of sympathy for the poor guy. Can a guy’s mom give consent for her own house to be searched? Unfortunately for Mitchell, yes she can. Third Party Consent When the police searched the residence, they found a firearm belonging to Mitchell....

Back in 2013, several interns sued NBCUniversal, alleging unfair labor practices. Basically, they claimed NBC was using unpaid or underpaid interns to do the actual work that properly paid employees should be doing. The lawsuit struck in the middle of a nationwide debate about the role of the “unpaid intern.” Yesterday, NBC Universal agreed to a $6.4 million settlement with the interns. It now goes to Judge Ronald Ellis of the U....

Clerking for the Supreme Court is one of the most prestigious gigs a new lawyer can secure; it can lead to better jobs, bigger salaries, and obscene signing bonuses. Let’s take a look at the young legal minds who will have the magical experience of working for the Court this year. In case you’re behind on your billables and don’t have time to tally the vital statistics yourself, we’ve done the complicated math for you....

National Labor Relations Board order awarding back pay to four employees of defendant is enforced and the cross-petition for review of the back pay calculation is denied where: 1) the Board was not arbitrary or unreasonable in excluding the value of the interim fringe benefits in determining net back pay; 2) the Board was not arbitrary or unreasonable in including overtime hours worked by the comparable employees in setting back pay; and 3) defendant’s various challenges to the awards of the individual employees are without merit....

In Poulis v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that a district court must consider six factors dismissing a case as a sanction before trial on the merits: extent of the party’s personal responsibility, prejudice to the adversary caused by the failure to meet scheduling orders and respond to discovery, history of dilatoriness, whether the conduct of the party or the attorney was willful or in bad faith, effectiveness of sanctions other than dismissal, and meritoriousness of the claim or defense....

In an ERISA action claiming that the termination of the membership of plaintiff’s employer in defendant’s health plan was arbitrary and capricious, judgment for plaintiff is affirmed where: 1) the reinstatement of pension benefits is a permissible equitable remedy under ERISA; and 2) the district court did not err in finding that the termination was a pretext to avoid paying plaintiff’s claim. Read Phelan v. Wyo. Associated Builders, No. 08-8055...