Sentence of 188 months’ imprisonment on a defendant as a career offender for possessing with intent to distribute cocaine base is affirmed where: 1) defendant was sentenced properly as a career offender as criminal trespass to a dwelling is a crime of violence; and 2) defendant, as a career offender, is not entitled to a sentencing remand because career offenders’ base offense levels track the statutory maximums of their convictions. Read US v....
In a criminal prosecution against the co-founder of Broadcom alleging that defendant made a false statement to the SEC, defendant’s appeal from two orders by the district court rejecting his plea bargain is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction where: 1) a plea-rejection order is not completely separate from the merits; and 2) the plea-rejection order was effectively reviewable on appeal from a final judgment. Read US v. Samueli, No. 08-50417...
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Judge John Owens. We’ve followed Owens’ nomination since August, when President Barack Obama nominated him along with a fellow Munger, Tolles & Olson partner and fellow Stanford alum, Michelle T. Friedland, to the bench. While Friedland’s nomination is still pending, Owens was confirmed earlier this week, much to the chagrin of Idaho’s Republican senators. What should you know about Owens? And why was his nomination semi-controversial? Read on:...
The redrawing of school board districts in Georgia’s Sumter County violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by diluting Black residents’ voting power, according to a recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. This decision is the latest in a six-year legal battle that has bounced back and forth between the court of appeals and the district courts. Six Years In the Courts In 2014, a new law in Georgia reduced the size of Sumter County’s school board from nine members to seven....
A brush with a breast could be an accident. Three brushes with a breast are enough to sustain a sexual harassment lawsuit. Last week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals resuscitated a same-sex sexual harassment lawsuit on the brink of summary judgment death, concluding that a reasonable jury could find that a supervisor created a hostile work environment by touching her female subordinate’s breasts three times over a five-month period....
Can you stop your spouse from cheating? No, but you may be able to make them pay up if they do. Infidelity is responsible for as many as 40% of U.S. divorces. According to national surveys by the American Association of Marital Therapy, 15% of married women and 25% of married men have had extramarital affairs. Hence the rise in premarital agreements, better known as prenups. While prenups traditionally focus on finances, more couples are using them to define other aspects of their relationship, from household responsibilities to marital intimacy....
President Trump is gaining on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where he has already appointed six judges. Before he took office, there were three times more Democratic appointees than Republicans on the Ninth Circuit bench. Now the count is almost even. With the latest appointments, it’s the first time in more than three decades that the balance has changed so dramatically. Court-watchers are wondering what’s next. Latest Appointments Over the objections of California’s Democratic Senators, the U....
Thinking of moving to Georgia to vote in the two critically important Senate runoff elections there? Some activists on social media have suggested establishing residence in the Peach State to vote. The question is: How legal is that? The answer is that it is indeed legal. But if you’re contemplating a move to Georgia just to vote there, you’d better be serious about it. First, time is running short. Under Georgia law, if you want to vote in the January 5 elections, you need to establish residence there by December 7....
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a federal lawsuit brought by Tony Alamo Christian Ministries connected with the removal of dozens of children from its compound. The church and two of its members had filed the lawsuit in federal district court, alleging that the federal authorities’ seizure of 36 children from its compound violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights. Tony Alamo was charged with violating the Mann Act, the federal law banning the transportation of women or girls across state lines for “prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose....
It’s quittin’ time in three hours around these parts, which means one thing: running the clock out like an NFL team with the lead. You don’t want to think, do you? (If you do, check out our coverage from earlier this week – it’s fun and informative!) Instead, let’s have a little bit of fun with a roundup of some Supreme Court-related things we’ve stumbled upon across the Internet this week, including Jay Z v....
US v. People First of Tennessee, 09-5474, concerned a challenge to the district court’s denial of the State of Tennessee’s motion under Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 60(b)(5), requesting the court to vacate the injunctive relief and dismiss the case, in a case arising from the district court’s original 1993 ruling that the state was violating the substantive due process rights of mentally retarded residents at a state operated home for mentally retarded individuals....
A legal battle over beer, wine, and liquor licensing has been brewing for years in Indiana. Monarch Beverage – the state’s largest beer distributor – won’t let go of a state law that prohibits companies from holding permits for both beer and liquor wholesaling at the same time. After the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, however, one thing is clear: the strange brew battle is not over yet....
Involuntarily medicating incompetent defendants is a tricky issue. Shawn Mackey was indicted for failing to register as a sex offender, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2250(a). After the parties determined Mackey was incompetent to understand the proceedings against him or assist in his own defense, the district court granted the government’s motion to medicate Mackey involuntarily to restore his competency to stand trial. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s application of Sell v....
The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the nomination to the federal appellate bench of federal district court judge Ralph Erickson by a vote of 20-0. Now Erickson will need to win the approval of the full Senate before becoming eligible to accept the position as the Eighth Circuit’s newest jurist. Though nominated in a nearly bi-polar political climate, Erickson’s nomination has received bipartisan support, which should mean he will be a lock for the full Senate vote....
Let’s start with a caveat here: Reading the tea leaves of oral arguments is always a dangerous game. For one, Justice Clarence Thomas remains silent, so you’ll get nothing out of him. Two, the rest of the justices generally agree that in nearly all cases, it’s the briefs and law that decide the case, not the oral arguments. That being said, for a case this important, we’re definitely willing to pull out our crystal ball and review the transcripts and recaps for hints of the possible outcome....
Eddie Ford was driving to work on July 17, 2007, listening to music, when he noticed a police officer rapidly approach him from behind. He changed lanes to allow the officer to pass. The officer followed. He changed lanes again. The officer followed again. No lights or sirens were visible. When they arrived at a stoplight, Ford got out of his car and approached the officer to find out why he was following him so closely....
How many times have you stared at Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and thought to yourself, “I can’t help but wonder … isn’t RBG just an older Carrier Bradshaw?” Of course you have not. But if you understand that reference at all, you’ll love the newest Supreme Court parody making the rounds around the Internet. If you don’t, well, we have a list of interesting cases set for the fall. Also, even though we just talked about the death penalty on Friday, the courts are ridin’ again, west sidin’ again, with the Ninth Circuit staying an execution pending a challenge to a state’s secret lethal injection drugs....
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals takes crayons seriously. The New York-based appellate court ruled this week that the Valley Central School District did not violate a 10-year-old’s First Amendment rights when he was suspended for six days for expressing a “wish” for violence towards his school and teachers in a classroom drawing assignment. In 2007, B.C.’s science teacher told students to fill in a picture of an astronaut and write various things in various sections of the astronaut....
Weinstein v. Islamic Repub. of Iran, No. 09-3034, involved efforts to collect on a default judgment against Iran and in favor of the family of an individual severely injured in a 1996 suicide bombing in Jerusalem. An order granting plaintiff’s motion for appointment of receiver to attach defendant’s property in satisfaction of the prior judgment is affirmed as: 1) section 201(a) of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act provided courts with subject matter jurisdiction over post-judgment execution and attachment proceedings against property held in the hands of an instrumentality of the judgment-debtor, even if the instrumentality was not itself named in the judgment; 2) Congress, by virtue of providing subject matter jurisdiction over execution and attachment proceedings based in part on the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s determination of what assets were blocked, did not unconstitutionally delegate its authority to the Executive Branch; and 3) there was no conflict between the TRIA and the Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights....
In US v. Loaiza-Sanchez, No. 09-2999, the court affirmed defendants’ sentence for conspiring to distribute, and possessing with intent to distribute a substantial quantity of methamphetamine, holding that 1) a person’s legal status as a deportable alien is not synonymous with national origin; and 2) the district court considered defendant’s arguments for a downward variance but appropriately exercised its discretion in rejecting them. Related Resources Full Text of US v. Loaiza-Sanchez, No....
