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Now that most U.S. states have legalized medical uses for marijuana and 19 allow recreational use, questions are arising about whether workers’ compensation systems should cover medical marijuana costs. Minnesota became the most recent state to weigh in with an answer on Oct. 13, when the state’s supreme court ruled that the state’s workers’ comp system does not cover medical marijuana. The court issued a pair of rulings overturning decisions by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals that ordered employers to pay for the medical cannabis used by two workers who were injured on the job....

Juries are supposed to decide a case based only on the evidence produced by the parties, but how do we limit the facts they are exposed to when we all have vast amounts of information at our fingertips? Social media causes a tug of war between two pillars of trial law – in one corner, the right to a fair trial, in the other the right to an open trial. A juror might Google the lawyers involved, the defendant, legal definitions, and evidence excluded from the lawsuit without understanding the ramifications of doing so....

Get ready to pay higher fees in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Judicial Conference of the United States recently approved increases to miscellaneous fees in the federal courts. The increased fee amounts will become effective on November 1. Yes, it’s frustrating that the cost of practicing law is going up, but it has been eight years since the Judicial Conference last implemented an inflationary increase on miscellaneous fees. Here are the announced increases:...

Defendant’s bank robbery sentence is affirmed where the facts of defendant’s high-speed car chase following the robbery, which formed the basis for the district court’s upward departure, were exceptional, and therefore outside of the heartland of ordinary cases. Read US v. Osborne, No. 08-7121 Appellate Information Filed January 26, 2010 Judges Per Curiam Counsel For Appellant: Barry L. Derryberry, Julia L. O’Connell and Robert A. Ridenour, Assistant Public Defenders, Eastern District of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK...

Cocaine possession and distribution conviction US v. Tanner, 09-2370, concerned a challenge to a district court’s conviction of defendant for his involvement in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of cocaine and imposition of a life In affirming, the court held that the prosecutor’s comments during closing argument did not plainly implicate, even directly, defendant’s constitutional right to remain silent. Further, except for certain testimony regarding defendant’s possession of a firearm, all of the challenged evidence were clearly admissible, and the one exception was harmless....

The Jussie Smollett case was full of twists and turns. It looked like a hate crime at first, then the story fell apart. Smollett himself was charged with a litany of offenses for allegedly faking the attack, and then those charges were dropped. The City of Chicago sent Smollett a bill for its investigation costs, the actor refused to pay, and now it appears that the city will sue Smollett to recover $130,106....

Given the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, several commentaries have been published questioning whether, or just when, the High Court will take up a case involving abortion. Currently, there are a few cases that have pending petitions before the justices, but it’s believed that the justices are trying to avoid the issue due to how political of an issue abortion is, and how political the recent confirmation hearings were. It’s posited that the High Court may want to avoid such partisan issues until it feels that the public’s trust in it has rebounded....

Juan Esquivel-Quintana was 20 years old when he pleaded no contest to having sex with his 16-year-old girlfriend. Though the relationship would not have been a crime in 43 states or under federal law, it was one in California, where the state prohibits an adult to have sex with a minor three or more years younger. And because Esquivel-Quintana was a legal immigrant, not a citizen, his conviction led the U....

The Seventh Circuit is a delight to cover – how could it not be when you have the likes of Posner and Easterbrook writing opinions? And with such high-profile judges on the bench, the Seventh Circuit is in the news sometimes as much for its personalities as it is for the law coming out of the jurisdiction. As we take this time to get prepped for what 2014 has to offer, here’s a look back at 2013 to see the legal highlights from the Seventh Circuit:...

Remember when epic hair bands recorded classic songs on 8-tracks in a garage? Former Journey frontman Steve Perry probably does vividly, in part because he’s currently embroiled in a lawsuit about the copyright ownership of four such songs recorded in the early 90s. Steve Perry’s manager introduced the Hall of Fame inductee to guitarist Phil Brown in 1991. Brown had written two songs he wanted Perry to hear, and the two also co-wrote two songs together....

Is five years too short of a sentence for a man found with 19 videos and 93 images depicting child pornography? Not according to Judge James S. Gwin of the Northern District of Ohio. Gwin imposed the minimum sentence against Ryan Collins, but only after polling the jurors who had convicted him. And those jurors, had they been in charge of sentencing, would have imposed a much lighter punishment. Some jurors thought no incarceration was appropriate, while all but one recommended a sentence of less than two and a half years....

Hernandez v. Tanninen, No. 09-35085, involved plaintiff’s petition for a writ of mandamus challenging a decision finding that any attorney-client or work product privilege between plaintiff and his prior attorney was waived and ordering the production of all thirty-five documents referenced in a privilege log. The court of appeals granted the writ, on the grounds that 1) plaintiff only waived privilege with respect to his communications with prior counsel about defendant, as well as counsel’s communications and work product relating to counsel’s interaction with defendant, and thus the district court clearly erred in finding a blanket waiver of the attorney-client and work product privileges as to the entire case; and 2) the district court’s order finding a blanket waiver was “particularly injurious” to plaintiff’s interests....

Lawyers know all too well that, especially in high-profile cases, there is often a huge disconnect between perception and reality. It seems everyone remembers the McDonald’s Hot Coffee Case, which kicked off attacks on “frivolous lawsuits” across the country. The public backlash was swift, calling the plaintiff ridiculous for suing over a hot coffee. But no one seemed to know that she had sustained serious burns, ones that even required skin grafts....

How do you keep underage teens from drinking beer? Obviously, by limiting the sale of cold beer to taverns, liquor stores, and bars! That’s right, temperature is the key. At least that’s the argument promulgated by the state of Indiana. The Seventh Circuit said, “Sure, yeah right.” And as weird as the rationale behind the law sounds, the real issue is whether or not it is fair to ban the sale of cold beer in some businesses and not in others....

In US v. Tutty, No. 09-2705, the Second Circuit vacated defendant’s child pornography sentence on the ground that the district court erred when it held, relying on outdated law, that it did not have the authority to impose a non-Guideline sentence based on policy considerations applicable to all defendants. As the court wrote: “Defendant-appellant Jason E. Tutty pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography in violation of 18 U....

Sinoying Logistics Pte Ltd. v. Yi Da Xin Trading Corp., No. 09-5368, involved an action seeking to attach defendant’s property in New York as pre-judgment security for a pending arbitration in Hong Kong. The court affirmed the dismissal of the action for lack of personal jurisdiction, holding that the district court did not err in declining to fashion an equitable remedy in circumstances where it was clear that the original attachment order could not be sustained in light of Shipping Corp....

Around the holidays, we try to find a kind of connection between the revelry-of-the-moment and the law. December is easy, thanks to the never-ending gift that is holiday displays and the Establishment Clause. Thanksgiving is a bit harder. Luckily, the Supreme Court denied cert to consider an interlocutory appeal in a turkey case, House of Raeford Farms v. U.S., last month; we’re going to run with it. A North Carolina federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment in 2009 against House of Raeford Farms, charging the company with 14 counts of violating the Clean Water Act....

Graham County Soil & Water Conservation Dist. v. US ex rel. Wilson, No. 08-304, concerned an action claiming that county conservation districts and local and federal officials knowingly submitted false payment claims to the U.S. in violation of the False Claims Act. The Supreme Court reversed the Fourth Circuit’s reversal of the district court’s dismissal of the action for lack of jurisdiction, holding that the reference to “administrative” reports, audits, and investigations contained in 31 U....

Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Illinois Supreme Court in a 5-4 Confrontation Clause decision. The case, Williams v. Illinois, raised the question of whether an expert witness could testify about DNA testing results performed by a non-testifying analyst. The Supreme Court concluded that such testimony didn’t violate the Confrontation Clause. This was by no means a straightforward decision, notes The Atlantic. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Stephen Breyer and Anthony Kennedy....

Enforcement provisions of Colorado’s campaign finance law are unconstitutional, a federal judge said. Judge Raymond Moore said the enforcement provisions, which empower private citizens to file complaints over campaign finance issues, violate protections for political speech. With that decision in Holland v. Williams, the judge will likely issue a permanent injunction against the state. According to reports, the ruling has major implications for state politics. It may not matter beyond Colorado, however, because it is the only state in the nation with such private-enforcement laws....