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District court’s decision to exercise its discretion to grant defendant a downward departure under USSG section 4A1.3 as to his criminal history category, but not with respect to his offense level, is affirmed as the district court properly applied the Guidelines when it held that it could not depart downward in offense level under section 4A1.3 on the basis of defendant’s overstated criminal history. Furthermore, the district court adequately considered defendant’s argument for a downward variance and the 37-month term of incarceration was substantively reasonable....

Defendant’s capital conviction for kidnapping a victim and transporting her across state lines, resulting in death, is affirmed where: 1) a district court need not consider public opinion polls when ruling on change-of-venue motions; 2) the district court was not clearly erroneous in finding that certain jurors’ statements, in context, did not establish actual prejudice; 3) the district court did not clearly err by accepting the government’s race-neutral reasons for striking certain jurors; 4) the district court did not err in refusing to exclude a pathologist’s testimony under Daubert because many pathologists shared the government pathologist’s view of the reliability of the test performed; 5) the victim-impact testimony given in the penalty phase was neither quantitatively nor qualitatively overwhelming; and 6) the prosecution’s closing argument did not improperly imply that defendant was required to prove a nexus between his mitigation evidence and his offense....

District court’s conviction and sentence of a defendant convicted of attempting to coerce or entice a minor to engage in sexual activity is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) district court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress was proper as the record establishes probable cause to search defendant’s vehicle, and thus the warrantless search was justified under the automobile exception; 2) district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting any of the Rule 404(b) evidence; and 3) district court erred in applying an enhancement for unduly influencing a minor under U....

In an action for First Amendment retaliation and retaliatory discharge, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where: 1) plaintiff established a prima facie case for retaliation and presented sufficient evidence from which a jury could infer that defendants’ stated reason for terminating her employment was pretextual; 2) plaintiff’s Monell claim may proceed to trial as plaintiff has shown that the mayor was the final policymaker for defendant, such that defendant may be held liable if the jury finds that the mayor and village administrator retaliated against her in violation of her First Amendment rights; and 3) defendant is not entitled to immunity under the the Illinois Tort Immunity Act from plaintiff’s retaliatory discharge claim as the decision to fire her did not amount to a policy decision as defined by the Illinois courts....

In proceedings arising from counsels’ motion for attorney’s fees under section 406(b) of the Social Security Act, dismissal of the motion as untimely is reversed and remanded to give counsel an opportunity to present evidence of his notification of the award, as the court of appeals holds that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d)(2) is the appropriate standard for the filing deadline, subject to tolling until counsel’s notification of an award of benefits on remand....

When it comes to complex electronic discovery, even tech savvy lawyers can quickly realize that they are in over their heads. Fortunately, there is now a whole eDiscovery industry that caters to attorneys grappling with anything related to it, from the legal to the technical. But how do you know when you’re going to need to bring in some expert help? More importantly, how are you going to pitch it to your client before billing them for that pricey eDiscovery consultant?...

In a petition for review of the Commissioner of Social Security’s determination that Petitioner was entitled to disability benefits for only a limited period of time, the petition is denied where there was a material difference between the severity of Petitioner’s mental impairments before the time period for which she was awarded benefits and after that time. Read White v. Comm’r. of Soc. Sec., No. 08-2292 Appellate Information Submitted: June 17, 2009...

The Seventh Circuit stepped in to reduce some rather handsome lawyer fees sought by class action attorneys, and the move could make class action litigation that much less enticing to practicing attorneys. The issue gets to the heart of whether or not attorney fees should be based off a percentage of the final pot, or based on the amount actually collected by those plaintiffs who opted-in. It’s bad news for class action lawyers who are looking for their pot of gold at the end of the class action rainbow, as many lawyers see this cinching of the belt as a new trend....

A man convicted of child pornography will have to serve his time in prison. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the child porn conviction and sentence for Kevin McManaman on March 14. McManaman was sentenced to 276 months in prison after entering a conditional guilty plea on two counts of sexual exploitation of children. On appeal to the 8th Circuit, McManaman argued that the district court should have granted his motion to suppress statements and physical evidence obtained, on the grounds that such evidence was obtained in violation of his Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights....

Are you thinking of filing an amicus brief in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals? In an article in their newsletter, the Third Circuit Bar Association provides some insight into the court’s policy on submitting amicus curiae briefs and who may submit an amicus curiae brief to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. TheFlorida State University Law Journal explains the idea behind amicus briefs, stating that amicus filers are typically not party-litigants to a case but rather, third parties....

Despite what it might seem, the United States Supreme Court is not an unchanging institution. It has been a bit bigger, and smaller, in its long and illustrious history. And most Justices seem to cozy up on the bench with their lifetime appointments for at least a decade, or a (seemingly) generation or two. Notably though, one 2020 Presidential hopeful, Andrew Yang, has proposed a big change. If elected, he plans to set term limits of 18-years for SCOTUS Justices....

At least one aspect of the contentious Proposition 8 litigation is now resolved. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals announced today that the Prop 8 trial videos will not be released. U.S. District Judge James Ware caused quite stir last year when he ruled that Prop 8 trial Judge Vaughn Walker’s personal recordings of the trial could be released for broadcast because there was a common-law right of public access applied to the tapes....

In an action alleging that Defendant wrongfully discharged Plaintiff because he reported illegal and unethical conduct on the part of fellow contractors, the dismissal of the complaint is affirmed, where Virginia had the strongest connection to the dispute, and thus Virginia law applied and barred Plaintiff’s wrongful discharge claim. Read Boone v. MVM, Inc., No. 08-1074 Appellate Information Filed July 9, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Murphy Counsel For Appellant:...

Anyone who’s been behind the wheel on a road trip is familiar with the rural speed trap: a small town bisected by a large highway where the speed limit drops to 45 or even 35 miles per hour, where local law enforcement is pulling over as many violators as possible. As it turns out, this aggressive enforcement isn’t entirely malicious, but instead can be the product of a dwindling tax base and corresponding lack of public funds....

Law enforcement can arrest anyone if they have a warrant, probable cause, or see a crime being committed. But too often, circumstances are misunderstood, de-escalation tactics are not used, or implicit bias leads to a mishandled arrest. One such situation recently happened to a 73-year old woman with dementia in Colorado. The officers involved are now under investigation. ADA Accommodations During Arrests People under age 30 with disabilities are 44% more likely to be arrested, according to 2017 research from the American Journal of Public Health....

McCormick v. Adams, No. 09-15546, involved the denial of a petition for habeas relief brought by a prisoner who waived his right to counsel and represented himself at trial and now claimed the waiver was not knowing and voluntary. The court affirmed over petitioner’s claims that 1) the trial court led him to believe he could revoke his Faretta waiver at any time, and that he relied on this promise in waiving his right to counsel; and 2) he made a mid-trial request for counsel that was wrongly denied by the trial court....

This guy. How badly did he want to make headlines? Late last month, President Barack Obama announced that he would use executive orders to push through certain immigration reforms. Republicans screeched. Congress bemoaned the trampling of their authority. States’ attorneys general filed a lawsuit. Even a few members of the president’s own party quietly questioned the move. Even still, the most surprising voice has to be Judge Arthur Schwab of the U....

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action alleging violations of plaintiffs’ constitutional rights arising out of the search of their home and the arrest of plaintiffs in connection with a murder they did not commit, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) neither of an officer’s problematic representations in support of the warrant at issue was critical to the probable cause determination; 2) the issuing judge could reasonably find the information provided by a witness to be reliable under the circumstances; and 3) the language of the warrant was not overbroad....

In US v. Munoz, No. 09-5357, the Sixth Circuit faced a challenge to the district court’s grant of defendant’s untimely Rule 33 motion for a new trial, filed six months following his conviction for drug related offenses, but before sentencing after obtaining a new counsel. In reversing the district court’s judgment granting a new trial the court held that, although the district court did not abuse its discretion in determining that defendant’s untimely filing of his Rule 33 motion was the result of excusable neglect, defendant’s former trial counsel’s assistance more than met the minimum standard required by the Sixth Amendment....

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action alleging that defendant-officers unlawfully detained plaintiffs and searched their home, summary judgment for defendants on qualified immunity grounds is affirmed where defendants’ discovery of marijuana ultimately gave them reason to detain plaintiffs, to seize the marijuana, and to perform two more searches of plaintiffs’ apartment. Read Harman v. Pollock, No. 08-4068 Appellate Information Filed November 18, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Henry Counsel...