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Justice Clarence Thomas has chosen an interesting time to speak up and out against the actual malice standard established by New York Times v. Sullivan. In a concurrence, authored by Justice Thomas and joined by no other Justices, of the denial of Katherine McKee’s petition for cert in her case against Bill Cosby for defamation, Justice Thomas basically explains how he believes the Court and lower courts got standard for libel against a public figure all wrong and that, in his words: “We should reconsider our jurisprudence in this area....

They don’t make hamburgers like they used to, and that’s the beef in a new lawsuit. In Turtle Island Foods v. Richardson, a meat-substitute company is suing over a Missouri law that prohibits advertising “meat” products unless they come from livestock or poultry. The statute carries penalties up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The company makes plant-based substitutes for meat from soy, wheat, vegetable protein and other ingredients....

In an antitrust action alleging a conspiracy to monopolize the market for cardiology services for privately insured patients, dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where the complaint erroneously defined the product market by how consumers paid for cardiology services. In addition, a grant of plaintiff’s motion to tax costs is affirmed where the district court did not err in declining to tax discovery related copying expenses. Read Little Rock Cardiology Clinic PA v....

Petition for review of an order of the National Labor Relations Board is denied where substantial evidence supports the Board’s determination that the parties agreed to extend the previous collective bargaining agreement, including the management rights clause. Read Local 65-B, Graphic Communications Conference of the Int’l Brotherhood of Teamsters v. NLRB, No. 08-4045 Appellate InformationPetition for Review of an Order of the National Labor Relations Board.Submitted: May 29, 2009Filed: July 10, 2009...

The debate on the use of affirmative action in college admissions has been in the news again and is likely poised for Supreme Court review once again. According to CNN, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said that certain affirmative action based factors considered in university admissions were permissible. Or, more specifically, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Proposal 2, a 2006 Michigan constitutional amendment ban on the use of race or gender in the university admissions process....

New Process Steel, L.P. v. NLRB, No. 08-1457, concerned an appeal from the Seventh Circuit’s denial of petitioners’ petition for review of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) finding that petitioners committed unfair labor practices. The Court reversed, on the ground that section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act requires that a delegee group of the NLRB maintain a membership of three in order to exercise the delegated authority of the Board....

Actress Ashley Judd has another chance to prove her sexual harassment claim against producer Harvey Weinstein, thanks to a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Judd’s claim centers around California Civil Code section 51.9, which holds someone liable for sexual harassment if they make sexual advances or other unwelcome contacts toward someone they have a business relationship with. The district court dismissed Judd’s action for failure to state a claim....

Sheriff’s deputies at the Long Beach jailhouse understandably don’t want drugs circulating around the facility. So when Mark Fowlkes was brought in on drug and weapons charges, and officers allegedly peeped a portion of a plastic baggie poking out of his rectum, they were understandably concerned. Their response, however, crossed the line into a Fourth Amendment violation when they Tased him, five officers held him down, and Sgt. Michael Gibbs, with gloved hands, used his thumb and forefinger to remove a bloody, golf ball-sized bag from Fowlkes’ rectum....

De la Paz v. Holder, 09-3229, concerned a Mexican citizen’s petition for review of a reinstatement order by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). First, the court rejected the government’s argument that the court lacks jurisdiction for review in holding that the petition is timely as it was filed 16 days after first obtaining the order. Next, the court rejected petitioner’s sufficiency challenge as the 1996 document was an actual order and thus should be treated as the prior order of removal....

Planned Parenthood is asking the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals for en banc rehearing of a decision upholding Ohio’s restrictions on the abortion pill widely known as RU-486, reports The Associated Press. Tuesday, the group filed a petition asking the full court to reconsider the case. Mifepristone, in combination with misoprostol, was the only form of medical abortion offered by Planned Parenthood in Ohio. Planned Parenthood challenged the constitutionality of the act....

Probationers in the great state of Arizona can’t be denied their right to toke up – for medical reasons! – according to the state’s Supreme Court. Nor can the state condition plea agreements on one’s abstention from medical marijuana. In two cases decided on Tuesday, the court recognized the “broad grant of immunity” created when the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act was passed by public referendum five years ago. AMMA prohibits penalizing qualified medical use or possession in any way....

The protests, and dramatic exit of Wisconsin State Senate Democrats, surrounding the legislation of Wisconsin’s Act 10 in 2011 are still fresh in our memory, yet they occurred three years ago. The controversial act has already been before the Seventh Circuit on constitutional grounds, and the challenges failed. This week, in a second case, the Seventh Circuit again found that Wisconsin’s Act 10 is constitutional. Wisconsin’s controversial Act 10 splits public employees into two categories: public safety employees (cops, firefighters, etc....

While Jerry Seinfeld may be the world’s funniest Porsche collector, he’s probably not laughing over the lawsuit he just had to file. Apparently, a special edition 1958 Porsche 356 that he sold at auction turned out, allegedly, to be a “fake,” not that there’s anything wrong with that. Although, for the buyer, clearly, it was a problem. Tony definitely would not think it’s fine. After contacting Jerry, Jerry apologized and offered a refund and to take the car back, allegedly....

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action alleging a wrongful interrogation, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part where the pertinent law on plaintiff’s Fourth Amendment claim was not clearly established at the time of the violations. However, the ruling is reversed in part where defendants coerced incriminating statements from plaintiff in violation of the Fifth Amendment. Read Stoot v. Everett, No. 07-35425 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted March 12, 2009...

In Chism v. Curtner, No. 09-2632, a Title VII racial discrimination action related to plaintiff’s termination from employment as a firefighter for the city of Forrest City, Arkansas, the court affirmed summary judgment for defendants, holding that 1) prior arrests involving his coworkers concerned individuals who were not similarly situated to plaintiff, and therefore he could not meet his prima facie case of discrimination; and 2) plaintiff had no reasonable and legitimate expectation of employment in light of Arkansas law and the terms of his employment, which was at-will....

After complaining about preferential grades for student athletes, a lecturer lost an appeal in his free speech case against a university. Henry Lyons sued the University of Missouri-Kansas City for terminating his contract. He said school officials retaliated against him because he complained after they overruled his grade for a student athlete. In Lyons v. Vaught, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that university officials were immune from liability....

Defendant’s embezzlement sentence is affirmed where: 1) as defendant at sentencing did not tie any transfers of funds listed on a government exhibit to specific cars he sold, and presented no evidence as to the amount of sales commissions paid to other salesmen on cars they sold, the district court properly rejected defendant’s theory that his restitution award should be reduced by sales commissions he earned; 2) as defendant made no disclosure that he was paying himself commissions on car sales, and failed to prove these payments were legitimate sales commissions, as opposed to embezzled profits, the transfers of funds from the credit union accounts at issue were part of the credit union’s losses; and 3) defendant failed to refute proof that all funds he withdrew without credit union approval were part of the total victim loss caused by his embezzlement scheme....

Let’s say you are a Minnesotan with a very busy schedule that only provides a few hours of “me time” on Sundays. Let’s also say you’re in the market for a new car. This means the logical time for you to check out new models is Sunday. If so, forget it. Minnesota law forbids the sale of cars at dealerships on Sundays. If that sounds crazy, it probably is. After all, you can buy pretty much anything else on Sundays in Minnesota now, including liquor (which finally became legal in 2017)....

More than a dozen years after the 9/11 terror attacks, memories are stirred almost monthly as 9/11-related litigation continues to make its way through the courts. In the latest development, the Second Circuit reversed the district court, essentially bringing Saudi Arabia back into the mix. Factual and Procedural Background There are many 9/11 cases in the judicial system. This particular case involves two: In re: Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001 (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia et al....

Judge Jane Roth of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in New Jersey soundly dismissed the Eisai v. Sanofi-Aventis anti-competition lawsuit in her court when she denounced every one of the characterizations Eisai had used to describe Sanofi’s conduct, reports Reuters. Finally, this thing looks put to bed. It’s a major win for the large pharmaceutical company that will be holding the attention of industry regulars for at least a few weeks....