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Defendant’s child pornography sentence is affirmed where: 1) defendant’s enhanced sentence was a clear example of a “variance” from, and not a “departure” within, the Sentencing Guidelines scheme; and 2) the district court properly considered a wide variety of information at sentencing that could not otherwise be considered at trial. Read US v. Vanderwerfhorst, No. 07-30336 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted January 23, 2009 Filed August 6, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Tallman...

As we have seen, a pandemic can bring out the best in people. Front-line medical workers risking their own lives. People hand-sewing face masks for hospitals in short supply. Quarantined apartment dwellers singing to each other from their balconies. Unfortunately, though, a pandemic can also bring out the worst. It can attract heartless scam artists who see people’s fears as something to cash in on. As COVID-19 has spread, so have these scams....

Strong opinions by actor Val Kilmer seem to have sparked controversy between his New Mexico neighbors, causing real estate problems for his project to turn his ranch into a hotel. Neighbors are attempting to block Batman star Val Kilmer and his project to turn his 6,000-acre New Mexico ranch into an upscale bed-and-breakfast as residents are still upset about the actor’s “incendiary” comments in past magazine interviews, the New York Daily News reports....

The dismissal of Petitioner’s habeas petition is affirmed, where the District Court was not required to seek a response to the petition from the government before dismissing the action for failure to exhaust state remedies. Read the full decision in Allen v. Zavaras, No. 07-1501. Appellate Information: Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Colorado(D.C. No. 07-CV-02052-ZLW)Decided on June 15, 2009 Judges: Before LUCERO, ANDERSON and O’BRIEN, Circuit Judges....

In a copyright infringement action, an order finding that LAUNCHcast, a music webcasting service that provides users with individualized internet radio stations, did not constitute an interactive service under 17 U.S.C. 114(j)(7) is affirmed where: 1) a user could not request a particular song on demand through defendant’s service; and 2) defendant’s service did not provide a program specially created for the user. Read Arista Records, LLC v. Launch Media, Inc....

A case 12-years in the making was argued on appeal before a panel of the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals last Thursday, and it may potentially go on for a few more, according to The Associated Press. The Center for Constitutional Rights, on behalf of plaintiffs – men of Arabic, South Asian or Muslim backgrounds, initiated an action regarding the unlawful detention of men after the 9/11 attacks. A district court dismissed the claims against former Attorney General John Ashcroft and former FBI Director Robert Mueller, but it looks like the Second Circuit is poised to revive the claims....

You’ve been served … with a subpoena. The prosecutor is calling you to testify against your boyfriend, father, boss, close friend. But, you’re no snitch. You don’t want to be the one to put them in jail. Or, you just don’t want to bother with the hassle of testifying. What can happen if you refuse to testify? What Is a Subpoena? A subpoena, which literally means “under penalty,” is a court order requiring you to provide information....

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals announced on Thursday that Christina Eilman can sue seven Chicago police officers for releasing her into a violent neighborhood where she was raped and nearly killed, reports the Chicago Tribune. The decision brings an end to a two-year qualified immunity interlocutory appeal. Police arrested Eilman outside Chicago’s Midway Airport in 2006 while she was having a bipolar breakdown. While in custody, many of the officers thought that Eilman was difficult, on drugs, or a run-of-the-mill uncooperative person....

The Warrick County Sheriff terminated Kevin Harris’s probationary employment as a deputy sheriff based on violations of standard operating procedures, failure to follow orders, and insufficient commitment to the job. Harris claimed that he was fired for being African-American. This week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Harris’ circumstantial evidence of discrimination fell far short of supporting an inference that he was terminated because of his race, and affirmed the district court’s dismissal of his racial discrimination lawsuit....

If you noticed the warning on the last movie you watched, then you saw that copyright violations are punishable by up to five years in prison. And then you yawned. Seriously, copyright piracy is a crime. So is trademark infringement. Patent infringement is not, but that could change. The real question is, can you go to jail for violating laws that protect copyrights, trademarks, and patents? The answer is, of course, but it’s not likely unless you are a colossal scoff-law....

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, faced intense questioning last week relating to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, under a legal petition to have her disqualified from running for reelection. Greene’s critics point to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, known as the disqualification clause, which states that a senator or representative in Congress cannot hold office if they “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States government....

Be warned: If you owe the bank, your passport could be seized! There’s obviously more to it than that but in the case of Mr. and Mrs. Veluchamy, the bank came after more than just the shirts off their backs when they defaulted on a $39 million loan from Bank of America. Pethinaidu and Paremeswari Veluchamy, of the multi-million dollar Veluchamy Enterprises in Chicago, defaulted back in 2009, on a massive loan from Bank of America....

Quigley v. Winter, No. 08-3630, involved a sexual harassment action against plaintiff’s landlord under the Fair Housing Act. The court of appeals affirmed judgment for plaintiff in part on the grounds that 1) defendant could not show “a complete absence of probative facts” supporting the jury’s verdict and that no reasonable jury could have found in plaintiff’s favor; 2) the jury could reasonably infer that defendant was telling plaintiff the return of her deposit was conditioned upon defendant seeing more of plaintiff’s body or even receiving a sexual favor; and 3) even if the admission of evidence regarding a government investigation of defendant was an error, any possible prejudice was cured by the district court’s instruction....

It turns out you can go back to the future only in the movies, not in royalty claims. So it seems for Sallie DeLorean in DeLorean v. DeLorean Motor Company. The widow of carmaker John DeLorean sued for royalties the car company received through merchandising and commercials from the Back to the Future movies. If you didn’t know it, the movies made more money than the car. But the plaintiff will get none of that because, well, it’s in the past....

It’s so comfy wearing pajamas or sweatpants as you work. Millions of Americans have grown accustomed to the benefits of work from home, now known to all as WFH, since the pandemic began in 2020. For many, the change was difficult at first because WFH meant no more personal contact with work friends and teammates. But as the pandemic dragged on, employees got used to the ultracasual apparel, the ability to better care for children, and the freedom to toss a load of laundry into the washer if the socks supply ran short....

It’s a fair question that deserves to be asked: does old but converted housing have to comply with the Fair Housing Act? FHA and Accessibility The Fair Housing Act was part of the overall Civil Rights Act (and movement) during the 1960’s. The Act generally guarantees open and fair access to housing independent of one’s suspect classification. Subsequent legislation has built off those rights, to grant expanded access to disabled persons....

With his apology for urinating on an outdoor nativity scene also comes legal and educational consequences for college senior Nathan Strawn. According to the Citizensvoice.com, the King’s College senior is accused of urinating on the outdoor nativity scene in the public square of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and apologized for his behavior. He is facing charges for being drunk in public. “I was being a drunken idiot,” Strawn said in his apology....

The year was 2004. Paul Giamatti shined in “Sideways,” a dramedy that would win the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Usher’s “Yeah!,” featuring rapper Ludacris and producer Lil Jon was tearing up the Billboard charts. And Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland was headed to prison after pleading guilty to accepting inappropriate gifts from individuals with contracts with the state. Ten years later, I finally got around to watching “Sideways.” (Dark, depressing, and hilarious....

In a case involving alleged violations under the United States Housing Act and the Fair Housing Act, defendant’s motion for dismissal of the appeal is granted where an order remanding a case to the state court from which it was removed is not reviewable on appeal or otherwise, as remands based on the Rooker-Feldman doctrine are jurisdictional, and thus subject to the prohibition of the appellate review in section 1447(d). Fincher v....

Congratulations, Pennamites, your legal practice just got a bit easier. (The same goes for you regular Pennsylvanians, too.) If you’re in need of a free, high quality, mobile-friendly source of Pennsylvania laws, FindLaw’s here for you. FindLaw just updated its Pennsylvania Statutes and Constitution section to bring you the best source of PA laws around. We’ve got everything from the Keystone State’s boxing regulations to its workers’ compensation laws. And it doesn’t cost a dime....