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Stearns v. Clarkson, No. 09-3103, involved an action arising out of plaintiff’s arrest and strip search. The court affirmed in part the denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment, holding that the facts would not lead a reasonable person to conclude that probable cause existed to arrest plaintiff for disorderly conduct. However, the court reversed in part, on the ground that, while the record did not support a conclusion that defendant himself reasonably believed probable cause existed to arrest plaintiff, it in no way undermined his reliance on “the flawed conclusions of [his] fellow police officers....

In a consolidated appeal from three district court orders in actions by international airline companies challenging the INS’s imposition of fines against the airlines for bringing undocumented immigrant and non-immigrant aliens into the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. section 1323, the court of appeals rules as follows. One order is affirmed in part where the INS did not act arbitrarily when it employed its parole power rather than its visa waiver authority to admit aliens into the U....

Denial of motion to suppress firearm affirmed US v. Cartwright, 10-1879, concerned a challenge to the district court’s denial of a motion to suppress a gun found in the backseat of defendant’s automobile during a traffic stop, in a conviction of defendant for being a felon in possession of a firearm. In affirming, the court held that the district court properly found, based on the evidence and the police department’s policy, that an inventory search would have been conducted and that the gun would have been found pursuant to such a search, and the evidence on the record supports this conclusion....

Some are looking to change the world. Others are just looking for a quick buck. Then again, some entrepreneurs start their own business to create a legacy that could remain in their family for generations. And if that’s your goal, you may have figured out already that it’s not as easy as it sounds. Let’s say you’ve cleared the obvious hurdle of keeping a business profitable and built for long-term success....

Another week, another Westboro Baptist Church case. This week, Shirley Phelps-Roper won an injunction in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to halt enforcement of the Nebraska Funeral Picketing Law (NFPL). The NFPL restricts picketing at a funeral from one hour before the funeral until two hours afterward. Picketing is defined as “protest activities … within three hundred feet of a cemetery, mortuary, church or other place of worship during a funeral....

In March, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over what the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate can require of religious employers. The case, set to be decided by the end of the term, could affect how millions of workers get access to contraception – and how religious employers get around providing it. But the case may also force the Court to address more than just access to the pill and family planning....

After Leslie Ashmore, a convicted felon, was found in possession of firearms, he was tried for violating federal law and sentenced to 20 years in prison. On appeal however, he earned a new trial, since the court had improperly introduced evidence that was obtained through the use of a two step Miranda technique meant to undermine the effectiveness of Ashmore’s Miranda rights. One October night, police found Ashmore passed out in his vehicle, alongside drug paraphernalia....

Here’s an interesting case out of the Sixth Circuit fit for a bar exam question analysis. The Sixth Circuit affirmed a dismissal of case against an Ohio county whose officers had allegedly used “invalid warrants” to arrest “exotic dancers” over various time periods for crimes ranging from prostitution to drug distribution to witness intimidation. Each failed in their appeal for what looks be a stupid error on their part. This case presents a teachable moment in pleading practice....

Owing to a recent reversal of a lower federal court decision by the Ninth Circuit, the model networking site Model Mayhem and its parent company Internet Brands must face a previously dismissed case arising out of a casting couch scam. According to the lawsuit, the scam left the plaintiff drugged, raped, and cast as an unwilling member in an illicitly published porno. The plaintiff’s lawyer has celebrated the decision as a “landmark” victory for victims who were similarly scouted by unscrupulous scammers and it clarifies the proper application of the Communications Decency Act....

Lawyers work hard to build their reputations. Knowledge, effective advocacy and hard work can earn the respect of colleagues. To have a good reputation with clients, however, you need outstanding customer service. Good customer service is also the best way to generate new clients. Clients refer their friends and family to lawyers with whom they have had a complete positive experience. Obtaining a good outcome may still generate only a lukewarm referral or online review if the customer service was lacking....

Petition for review of a decision rejecting AT&T’s claim that the FCC could not lawfully release documents pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) obtained during the course of an investigation into an alleged overcharging, on the ground that disclosure would likely invade the company’s “personal privacy”, is granted as the FOIA’s text unambiguously indicated that a corporation may have a “personal privacy” interest within the meaning of Exemption 7(C)....

In a petition for review of an order of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission granting an exemption from certain fire safety regulations to an energy company, the petition is dismissed, where 1) the court lacked jurisdiction under the Hobbs Act to review exemptions; and 2) the order being challenged was not an amendment or other order covered by the Hobbs Act. Read Brodsky v. Nuclear Reg. Comm., No. 08-1454 Appellate Information...

In an employment termination action brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where: 1) plaintiff is entitled to proceed to trial on her due-process claim as she had a property interest in continuing employment and defendant deprived her of it without a hearing; and 2) an informal complaint may constitute protected activity for purposes of retaliation claims under the ADA; and 3) there is a triable issue as to whether the employer initiated plaintiff’s discharge because she had just protested her supervisor’s possibly discriminatory attitude or because her work performance was inadequate....

Golan v. Holder, No. 09-1234, involved an action challenging the constitutionality of Section 514 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (“URAA”), which granted copyright protection to various foreign works that were previously in the public domain in the U.S. The court of appeals reversed summary judgment for plaintiffs, on the grounds that 1) the government’s interest in securing protections abroad for American copyright holders satisfied this substantial government interest standard; 2) Congress had substantial evidence from which it could reasonably conclude that the ongoing harms to American authors were real and not merely conjectural; and 3) there was substantial evidence from which Congress could conclude that Section 514 would alleviate these harms to American copyright holders....

District court’s judgment, involving an inmate’s pro se civil rights action against a prison guard claiming violation of his Eighth Amendment right to be free from excessive force, is affirmed where: 1) district court did not err in instructing the jury that it had to find that the Eighth Amendment protected plaintiff from excessive force; 2) district court did not abuse its discretion when it kept tardy assault and battery claims out of the pretrial order and refused to consider them in plaintiff’s section 1983 excessive force action; and 3) district court did not err in denying plaintiff the opportunity to cross-examine defendant’s supervisor regarding prior arrest as the witness’s seven arrests and one battery conviction were not credibility matters, but highly prejudicial....

And the Feds weigh in! Two days ago, a state court judge held that Missouri’s ban on gay marriages performed in the state was unconstitutional. A month before that, a second state judge held that the state’s refusal to recognize out-of-state marriages was unconstitutional. Meanwhile, we were wondering what was happening with the federal case. The opinion was being proofread, apparently. Today, Judge Ortrie D. Smith of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri invalidated that state’s law banning same-sex marriage, saying, quite interestingly, that it amounted to gender-based discrimination....

If an employee sues his employer for discrimination, and is subsequently terminated, he can tack on an unlawful retaliation claim. He may not win, but he’ll probably get a chance to make his case. Let’s tweak that scenario. If an employee sues his employer for discrimination, leaves the company to start his own business, and later doesn’t get a chance to pitch a software idea to the former employer, he doesn’t then get to sue for retaliation....

In a prisoner-plaintiff’s 42 U.S.C. section 1983 claim against a county district attorney and a superintendent alleging that he was denied procedural due process rights by being refused access to rape kits for DNA testing, grant of defendants’ motion to dismiss and denial of plaintiff’s request for summary judgment is vacated and remanded as, in the narrow circumstances where a prisoner files a section 1983 claim to request access to evidence for DNA testing, that claim is not barred by the principles outlined in Heck....

A group of plaintiffs in the city of Chicago have filed a lawsuit against the state of Illinois for not doing enough when it comes to gun control. The plaintiffs are all individuals who have lost at least one family member to gun violence. And the lawsuit blames the state’s failure to implement common sense gun control for the 2,000 gun related murders over the past three years. The lawsuit explains that the gun violence is beyond an epidemic and is having a disproportionate impact on the African American community....

The decision is most likely going to add to already tense relations between home care workers and fully recognized employees who work for the public, the latter of whom arguing that the change will force some to pay union dues for a union they have no desire to join. The decision by the circuit court is a blow to workers who opposed the Services Employees International Union drive, which had championed the cause and interests of up to 27,000 home-care workers....