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Do you know why you can’t appeal a state disbarment decision in federal appellate court? Mahendra Mehta does. Mahendra Mehta filed a civil rights claim against the Illinois Supreme Court, the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, and a Review Board of the Commission, claiming that an order of the Illinois Supreme Court suspending his license to practice law violated his right to due process. The district court dismissed Mehta’s complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine....

The Supreme Court is taking a break from oral arguments, but will resume next week with more of what the Court has become very interested in this term: agency regulatory authority. On the docket will be some interesting First and Fourth Amendment issues, but dissents to both Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association and Dept. of Transportation v. Assn. of American Railroads, along with oral argument in King v. Burwell, show that the real hot button this term is whether agencies have too much leeway in interpreting their own regulations....

In two highly contested and controversial cases, SCOTUS has ruled 5 to 4 along strict partisan lines, which perhaps explains the delays this term. In short, the High Court struck down the preliminary injunction issued against the president’s Executive Order travel ban. Also, the Court reversed and remanded a decision upholding a California law requiring anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” to not intentionally mislead women about the nature of their services....

The Supreme Court has declined to review a Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision on church services in public schools. On Monday, the Court denied cert in Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York. The lack of action means that more than 60 religious groups that hold church services in New York public schools will be without worship facilities by February 12, 2012, reports The New York Times....

In Lantz v. Comm’r of Internal Revenue, No. 09-3345, the Seventh Circuit faced a challenge to the Tax Court’s judgment invalidating the two-year deadline that the Treasury has imposed on claims under section 6015(f), and thus reversing the IRS’s denial of a taxpayer’s application for innocent-spouse relief. As the court wrote: “The Tax Court’s basic thought seems to have been that since some statutes…prescribe deadlines, whenever a statute (or provision) fails to prescribe a deadline, there is none....

Au-Tomotive Gold Inc. v. Volkswagen of Am., Inc., No. 08-16005, concerned a declaratory judgment action involving whether the sale by plaintiff of marquee license plates bearing Volkswagen badges purchased from Volkswagen constituted trademark infringement, or whether the sale of the plates was protected by the “first sale” doctrine. The court of appeals affirmed summary judgment for defendants, holding that the “first sale” doctrine did not provide a defense because plaintiff’s marquee license plates create a likelihood of confusion as to their origin....

This should’ve been an easy case of reading the plain text of the statute. Unfortunately, it’s merely another example of why the entire tax code should be shredded and redrafted. Quality Stores was going bankrupt. The company offered severance packages to all employees, based on seniority and service time. It withheld and paid Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes, then asked the IRS for the more than $1 million in payments back, arguing that severance pay was not subject to FICA taxation....

In a case that’s sure to open the eyes of many vegetarians, Buffalo Wild Wings has just succeeded in knocking out a potential class action claim stemming from some of their fried menu items. The lawsuit alleged that BWW’s French fries, and other non-meat containing fried foods, aren’t actually vegetarian because they’re fried in beef fat rather than vegetable oil. Unfortunately for the plaintiff, the federal court found that the complaint failed to state a claim for relief due to not sufficiently alleging an injury....

The Supreme Court has been down a justice for almost a month now. And it may continue to be so for awhile, should Senate Republicans refuse to “advise and consent” until after November’s presidential election. But that hasn’t stopped the Obama administration from moving forward with the selection process, seeking a replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Here’s who they’re reportedly vetting. Merrick Garland: Always the Bridesmaid? Merrick B. Garland, chief judge of the D....

Disgraced Illinois Governor George Ryan may be scheduled for release from prison in 2013, but he was back in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday to challenge his conviction, The Associated Press reports. Last year, Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook, writing for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, noted that there was sufficient evidence of bribery and kickbacks in Ryan’s case. In April, the Supreme Court remanded Ryan’s case to the Seventh Circuit based on its Wood v....

After climbing up the corporate ladder, Marie DiFiore had a great fall. She was newly promoted to director of marketing at a drug company, but started to have problems with co-workers and certain “off-label” products. When the company put her on probation, she quit. DiFiore sued for wrongful discharge and retaliation under the False Claims Act, but a trial court ruled against her. On appeal in DiFiore v. CSL Behring, the U....

To say that Indiana’s vaping law was overreaching would be an understatement. In snuffing out portions of the state’s law, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said that it could not find a single case in 200 years of precedent to support Indiana’s legislation as it affected business in the state and beyond. The court said the law basically put everybody out of business except one company. “These circumstances raise obvious concerns about protectionist purposes and what looks very much like a legislative grant of monopoly,” Judge David Hamilton wrote for the unanimous court....

Arizona shares a border with Mexico and Mexican-Americans make up a bit under a third of its citizens. Prior to the Mexican-American War, Arizona was even a part of Mexico. Despite the facts, Arizona declared ethnic studies illegal in 2010 and quickly banned Tucson’s Mexican American studies program. The state’s attorney general at the time said that high school classes focusing on Mexican American history were “propagandizing and brainwashing.” Tucson school board members feared that teachers were indoctrinating students through burritos – seriously....

Denver Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams lost his NFL suspension appeal in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday. Williams challenged the suspension through NFL arbitration and the federal courts. He claimed that the arbitrator in the matter “exceeded his power, engaged in misconduct, disregarded the law, or was biased,” reports The Washington Post. Both District Judge Christine Arguello and the Tenth Circuit panel rejected his claims. Williams sued the NFL for suspending him after he reportedly failed multiple drug tests....

Twitter and Facebook have seen no shortage of media coverage over recent weeks, with everyone ranging from elected representatives to sports stars spending time on one application or another, to impostors spending time on the sites instead of their more famous counterparts. However, some news stories should raise caution flags for employees about how they use Twitter, Facebook, or whichever social networking site they prefer, and may have employees wondering whether they can lose their jobs over some loose tweets or status updates....

Maybe you’ve had this experience. You go for a walk in a city park and there, before you, stands The Perfect Climbing Tree. It is sturdy, with low branches that are ideal for providing the first boost. Above, the branches form interesting networks that beckon you to ascend to the tree tops and forget your earthly worries. You realize it’s all a flashback to childhood. And then you remember how much fun climbing a tree can be....

In an action claiming that defendant city suspended plaintiff police officers in retaliation for engaging in constitutionally protected speech, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where poor interpersonal relationships amongst coworkers that might hamper the work of a government office does not automatically transform speech on such issues into speech on a matter of public concern. Read Desrochers v. San Bernardino, No. 07-56773 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted March 5, 2009...

Just in time for the Fourth of July, Nike announced that it was stopping production of a sneaker featuring the Betsy Ross version of the American flag because of protests led by Nike spokesman Colin Kaepernick. The move, predictably, set off a firestorm of protests, counter-protests, and social media raging. Kaepernick’s and others’ protests over the shoe stemmed from the use of the “Betsy Ross flag” by extremist groups and the country’s legacy of slavery....

In a sex discrimination action claiming that defendant-supervisor should have prevented the harassment of plaintiff taking place, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part where 1) plaintiff was not deprived of all reasonable avenues of complaint and 2) defendants could not be liable based on information that plaintiff requested be kept confidential but which was conveyed to a co-worker. However, the order is reversed in part where a reasonable jury could conclude that the employer defendants 1) knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, of the harassment directed at plaintiff and 2) failed to take appropriate remedial action....

Bowers v. Wynne, 09-3566, concerned a challenge to the district court’s dismissal of the complaint in a federal civilian employee’s suit against the Secretary of the Air Force, claiming gender and disability discrimination as well as retaliatory termination. In affirmin the dismissal, the court held that the plaintiff’s claim may not be brought because they arise from her position as an Air Force Reserve Technician (ART). The court held that the district court did not err in concluding that the court’s precedent in Fisher and Leistiko, which held that the National Guard technician position is irreducibly military in nature, also applies to ARTs....