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New Yorkers are free to observe Transit Adjudication Bureau (TAB) hearings. That’s the word from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) in a suit against the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) on Wednesday. As NYCTA riders know, any NYC police officer can issue a citation to a rider for violating the NYCTA Rules of Conduct. Police officers have discretion in choosing to issue a summons to New York Criminal Court or a notice of violation for TAB....

If you are like millions of other Americans, you are growing accustomed to using videoconferencing for work, school, or maintaining your social life during the COVID-19 pandemic. But while the convenience and accessibility of the videoconferencing service Zoom is what makes it popular, there is a flip side: privacy and security concerns. Before the coronavirus outbreak, Zoom was mainly used by businesses to hold remote meetings and sales calls. In December, there were 10 million daily Zoom users, mainly composed of business employees....

In a motion to vacate an arbitral award in a reinsurance dispute, the denial of the motion is affirmed where, although the process employed by the arbitration panel, which included an ex parte meeting with panel retained workers’ compensation experts, was unusual, the arbitration process provided the parties with a fundamentally fair arbitration and the arbitration award rested on a plausible interpretation of the governing arbitration documents. Read US Life Ins....

District court grant of summary judgment upholding the FDA’s Final Rule banning all supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids is affirmed where res judicata bars third party plaintiff Hi-Tech’s arguments on appeal as Hi-Tech had two full opportunities to litigate its challenge to the Final Rule banning EDS in district court, and the Eleventh Circuit evaluated Hi-Tech’s claims and determined them to be without merit. Read US v. 5 Unlabeled Boxes, No. 07-4352...

Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act Conviction Affirmed In US v. Curry, No. 09-3031, the court affirmed defendant’s conviction for failing to register as a sex offender, as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), where defendant’s arguments were foreclosed by the court’s precedents, which held that Congress had authority under the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause to enact SORNA. However, defendant’s sentence is vacated where the district court failed to comply with the rule that an inquiry about special conditions must take place on an individualized basis....

Asset Forfeiture Order In US v. Kalish, No. 08-3374, defendant’s appeal from a final order of asset forfeiture in a mail and wire fraud prosecution, the court affirmed the order where 1) a money judgment was properly entered for the amount of the forfeiture; 2) both the forfeiture and the restitution remedies were properly imposed, and 3) while there may arise a subsequent claim to have the forfeiture amount reduced by any amounts of restitution actually paid, any such reduction was not available at this time....

Crack Sentence Affirmed In US v. Moore, No. 09-3309, the court affirmed defendant’s sentence for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, holding that 1) while Kimbrough permitted district courts to disagree with and vary from the amended crack cocaine guidelines, it did not require them to do so; 2) the district court’s rejection of defendant’s personal use testimony was not clearly erroneous; and 3) lying to obtain a lighter sentence was obstruction of justice under U....

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s announcement that no further charges would be brought against the officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor left many feeling confused and outraged by the actions of the justice system. In the end, a grand jury only chose to indict one of the officers involved in Taylor’s death on three counts of wanton endangerment. So, why didn’t Cameron or local prosecutors file additional charges? Who has the power to file criminal charges in a case like this, and what or who is a grand jury anyway?...

Terry searches, and their subsequent suppression appeals, would be far more interesting had Ivan Rochin won this case before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Rochin argued in his unreasonable search appeal that drug paraphernalia recovered from his pockets during a Terry patdown should be suppressed because the searching officer did not confirm through a “tactile investigation” exactly what the objects were before removing them. The Tenth Circuit did not buy his argument....

Abby Shadakofsky, d/b/a Personal Collection Services (“Shadakofsky”), hired Cheryl Wadas to represent her in a debt collection action against George James. After many procedural mishaps, the parties ended up in federal court with James claiming that Wadas, as Shadakofsky’s agent, violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). The question before the court was whether Wadas regularly engaged in the practice of debt collection, to be considered a “debt collector” for purposes of the FDCPA....

Don’t worry – it’s not too late yet. As long as you’re reading this before April 15. And while the deadline might still be a couple weeks away, we procrastinators know that weeks can disappear quickly. So, what if you miss the April 15 tax deadline? What if you missed it last year, or haven’t filed taxes in a few years? And what if it’s not your fault because you didn’t get your W-2?...

It’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not on reality television – even for lawyers. But two Nashville attorneys say their clients really got beat up on “Street Outlaws: Memphis.” The show, which airs on the Discovery Channel, pits street racers against each other. In one episode last February, however, the street race turned into a street fight. Street Fight Episode Chad and Genny Larkin allege the producers egged on the brawl, and the star of the show jumped in....

The Tenth Circuit affirmed a lower district court ruling in favor of a Colorado non-profit that allowed it not to register as an “issue committee,” thus allowing it to protect the identities of its donors. This case should also be read in conjunction with a related campaign case also recently decided in the Tenth Circuit. The non-profit in question is Colorado’s Coalition for Secular Government, which has fought zealously against a proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution to grant “personhood” to unborn fetuses....

We usually leave the marketing talk to the Strategist Blog writers, but we have a hunch that attorneys in the Seventh Circuit might need some help marketing too. While you’re trying to get through the winter hunkered down under blankets (as we can only imagine here in sunny California), putting together a marketing plan may be just the thing you need to get the blood pumping. Here are three easy things you can do to boost your firm’s business, so next winter you can take that tropical vacation and leave those blankets behind....

When Justice Scalia passed away last Saturday, talk turned immediately to his potential replacements. And we mean immediately. Before the paper of record had even uploaded Justice Scalia’s obituary, DC insiders were declaring that they would rush or block a replacement. And if you’ve been following those discussions, you’ve probably heard one name over and over again: Sri Srinivasan. Srinivasan is a good and likely candidate, but he’s hardly the only one....

Though PayPal is used to seeing its fair share of litigation, the most recent headline-grabbing case against the online payment processor is courtesy of the InfoWars founder Alex Jones and his claim of conservative bias. If you don’t know Alex Jones, well, don’t check social media, because he’s been banned from most of the major platforms. When PayPal followed suit with Facebook, Twitter, and others, Jones claims that the payment processor went too far....

A proposed class action says that AT&T lied to investors about its failing DirecTV Now service. According to the complaint, AT&T reported that DirecTV Now was succeeding even as subscribers were ditching the streaming service. The plaintiffs say the company made false statements to influence the market for AT&T securities. It allegedly happened at a critical time for the company, which bought Time Warner last year in a stock swap. Time Warner shareholders got AT&T stock, but may also have gotten the short end of the stick....

District court’s issuance of the writ of habeas corpus for a defendant claiming that the key witness in his murder trial was the shooter who killed the victim is reversed where: 1) the only significant evidence in the record showing what an uncalled witness would have testified, if produced, is a letter that actually implicates defendant for the shooting, not the key witness who testified against him; 2) it is clear from the record that defendant was not prejudiced by his lawyer’s failure to locate and call the uncalled witness; and 3) the prosecutor’s statements did not constitute improper vouching because the key witness’s charge was in the record and his personal interest in the case was obvious to the jury....

Brown v. Astrue, No. 08-3353, involved plaintiff’s appeal from the district court’s affirmance of an administrative law judge’s (ALJ) denial of plaintiff’s application for disability insurance benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act. The court of appeals affirmed on the grounds that 1) the larger medical record did not support plaintiff’s expert’s conclusory opinion; 2) the ALJ committed no error in giving greater weight to a treating physician’s testimony; and 3) substantial evidence on the record as a whole supported the ALJ’s conclusion that plaintiff was not disabled....

ADA Titles I and III Title I Compliance Engaged in an industry affecting commerce, Employing 15 or more full-time employees each working day, For at least 20 or more calendar weeks in the year. Title III Compliance Inns, hotels, and motels Restaurants and bars Bakeries and grocery stores Hardware stores or any sales/retail outlet Banks Laundromats and dry cleaners Accountants and lawyers’ offices Health care providers’ offices Public transportation Recreation venues Schools Social service centers Gyms Related Resources: Find Business and Commercial Lawyers Near You (FindLaw’s Lawyer Directory) Is Your Business ADA Compliant?...