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Just about every lawyer would agree that all criminal defendants should have legal representation. And many would jump at the chance to have a celebrity client, even one they suspect might be guilty. But apparently, some big-name clients just aren’t worth it. A revolving door of lawyers representing Harvey Weinstein on sexual assault allegations continues to turn, with one attorney exiting after just six months as counsel, and two more coming aboard last week....

Anyone who has watched ‘Law & Order’ can recite the Miranda rights. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can be held against you. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you… Attorneys may get second-billing on television dramas, but the right to an attorney is pretty damn important. And Gideon v. Wainwright – the case that established that right in state non-capital trials – turns 50 today....

A recent Eighth Circuit decision made a rather technical distinction when it came to a recent Title VII retaliation claim: a job applicant’s request for a religious accommodation is not protected activity for the purposes of a Title VII retaliation claim. Fortunately, the Eighth Circuit limited its decision to prospective employees and to facts evidencing that the request itself did not communicate “opposition” conduct. And though there was a rather well thought out dissent, and it was the EEOC prosecuting the case, the panel of judges upheld the dismissal of the clear contentious case upon some questionable analysis....

Constitutional precedent is clear. The Roe v. Wade Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause provides a qualified right to women to terminate a pregnancy. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Court reiterated that before viability (generally understood to be 24 weeks), a State’s “interests are not strong enough to support an abortion prohibition or the imposition of substantial obstacles to the woman’s effective right to elect the procedure....

Large clients often use their leverage to push for discounted fees on billable hours when working with Big Law. Defense litigators have consequently suffered reduced profit margins. It is no surprise, then, that the largest multinationals have been exploring alternative fee arrangements for years. Still, most remain heavily reliant on billable hours. In what may signal a shift in Big Law, last week the biggest revenue-generator of all, Kirkland & Ellis, indicated they think contingency fee work is worth investing in as a potential lucrative alternative source of revenue....

District court’s denial of defendant’s request for a stay of execution by lethal injection challenging Ohio’s new protocol where the state eliminated the use of a three-drug protocol and implemented a one-drug protocol is affirmed as the defendant is unable to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits on his Eighth Amendment claim by demonstrating that, facially or as applied to him, Ohio’s new protocol demonstrates risk of severe pain that is substantial when compared to the known and available alternatives....

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals showed no mercy for Sarah Palin hacker David Kernell on Monday. A three-judge panel affirmed Kernell’s obstruction of justice conviction this morning, finding that there was sufficient evidence to support the charge, reports the Associated Press. Kernell was a student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville during the 2008 election, when he read a New York Times report that the Republican candidate for vice-president frequently used her personal email address, gov....

Aldo Vera Jr. filed a lawsuit against the nation of Cuba due to the alleged assassination of his father in the late 1970s in Puerto Rico. After receiving a default judgment on his claims in 2008 in a Florida state court, which were presumed to be permissible under the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act’s terrorism exception, the court awarded him $45 million in damages. Unfortunately for Mr. Vera, in attempting to enforce the judgment, the Second Circuit Court of Appeal has reversed the district court’s decision holding Cuba liable at all....

What’s the fun for someone sitting in an empty movie theatre? Exactly, there is none. That’s the point the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals made in reversing and remanding McGann v. Cinemark U.S.A., Inc. The plaintiff, who was deaf and blind, had a right to experience a movie through special interpreters. The theater needs to accommodate him or explain why it cannot, the court said. Tactile ASL Interpreters Paul McGann was born deaf and began losing his sight when he was five years old....

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 530 people have now suffered some vaping-related illness and seven have died. As those numbers are climbing, the Food and Drug Administration has opened a criminal investigation into the surge in sicknesses. This announcement comes on the heels of the Trump administration’s efforts to clamp down on e-cigarettes and vaping products aimed at children. More than half of the victims have been under the age of 25....

A former banker from St. Paul, Minnesota is appealing his 3.5-year prison term for his involvement in a sophisticated loan scheme, hoping to get a third bite at the sentencing apple. Fourth time’s the charm, maybe? If not, well, at least we’ll know a little more about what “actual loss” means for sentencing purposes in fraud cases. John Markert, the former president of Pinehurst Bank in St. Paul, was convicted in 2012 for trying to cover up a Pinehurst customer’s $1....

A bankruptcy trustee can’t recover real property that was transferred, allegedly to avoid being lost, the Tenth Circuit ruled on Monday. That’s because the transferor possessed only bare legal title, which is not an interest that may be avoided as a fraudulent conveyance under the Bankruptcy Code. The case confirms that a joint tenancy and a trust may coexist under Kansas law. When a parent transferred her interest in a joint tenancy to her child without consideration, but also without fraudulent intent, and to be managed for her benefit – she created a resulting trust, transferring only “bare legal title” to her soon-to-be-bankrupt child....

Justice Diana Murphy has been honored this year by Minnesota Lawyer for her “Outstanding Service to the Profession.” After spending 4 years on the bench in state court, then 14 years on the federal District Court in Minnesota, and then another 22 years on the federal appellate bench in the Eighth Circuit, she has spent almost half of her life on the bench, and she’s 84 years old. Judge Murphy was not only the first female justice on the Eighth Circuit, she was the only from 1994 to 2016....

People in the United States are guaranteed certain constitutional and statutory rights. And, if these rights are violated, the victim is entitled to pursue a civil action against the violator. While the rights also apply to prisoners, it can be harder for them and their families to pursue a lawsuit because government officials – such as prison staff – have qualified immunity. But, this immunity can be overcome in certain cases....

Will this be the weirdest set of facts to fall on the Supreme Court docket this term? Our own Robyn Hagan Cain reported on the case of the Monks versus the Morticians, throughout its Fifth Circuit journey. The monks of St. Joseph’s Abbey have been making cypress caskets to bury their brothers for decades. After Hurricane Katrina wiped out their pine forest, which was their primary means of support, the brothers put their casket-making skills to commercial use and began preparing for sales to the public....

In an action claiming that defendant discriminated against plaintiff airline pilot on account of her sex when it suspended her from flying certain routes, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where: 1) crew resource management skills were a subjective qualification that could not be considered in evaluating a plaintiff’s qualifications at the first step of the McDonnell Douglas test; and 2) similarly situated male pilots were treated more favorably than plaintiff was....

Mark your calendars: the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will consider whether the federal government may deny health benefits to the same-sex spouse of a court employee the week of September 10, reports Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Though the House of Representatives Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) had petitioned for speedy, en banc hearing on the matter, their request was denied on Tuesday. (Chief Judge Kozinski and Judge Reinhardt did not participate in consideration of en banc hearing....

Last December, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals found in favor of the Lower Merion School District, in Pennsylvania, in a case that alleged that a plan to reassign certain students to a different school was racially motivated. Now, nine African American students from Ardmore are petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Third Circuit’s decision, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. The decision was rendered by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on December 14, 2011....

What does the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals have to say about the use of New York public school facilities for after-hours worship? Would a limitation on such use be an unconstitutional restraint of religion, or an equally unconstitutional support of religion in schools? Last week, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals looked at the case of Bronx Household v Board of Education for the fourth time. This is an important case and has been before the courts for quite some time now, so we will break down the facts and legal issues of this case over a series of posts....

In Asher v. Unarco Material Handling, Inc., No. 09-5158, the Sixth Circuit faced a challenge to the district court’s dismissal of a suit, brought by a second group of past and present Wal-Mart employees’, claiming injuries caused by exposure to carbon monoxide gas in an enclosed freezer section of Wal-Mart Distribution Center. As stated in the decision: “[I]n urging Rule 15(c)’s applicability to their claims, the new plaintiffs concede significant ground....