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With how simple it has become to manipulate images and documents, one big potential problem for lawyers is learning how to spot fake photographic and documentary evidence. As technology continues to improve, fake pictures and documents are getting harder and harder to distinguish from real ones, and while no lawyer would knowingly present false evidence, if a client brings you a fake photo or a forged document and you get duped by it, the end result could be catastrophic....

What would you if you had just been confirmed for a seat on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals? Open a bottle of champagne? Take a long lunch? If you were U.S. District Judge Bernice Donald, you would head back to the bench to uphold a Shelby County ordinance banning alcohol in sex-related businesses. All in a day’s work, right? The rules were never implemented due to the lawsuit, reports The Commercial Appeal....

In plaintiffs’ section 1983 lawsuit against the city of Philadelphia and various police officers arising from an impromptu street celebration after the Eagles’ National Football Conference championship win, the judgment of the district court is affirmed where: 1) district court’s deductions and adjustments in calculating the attorneys’ fees were well reasoned and amply supported by the record; 2) district court properly rejected plaintiff’s argument that it should have instructed the jury that any amount of force used to effect an arrest without probable cause is per se excessive; 3) district court did not err in granting defendants’ motion for judgment as a matter of law on the supervisory liability claim and on the Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution claim as there is insufficient evidence on the record to support these claims; and 4) it was not an abuse of discretion to deny plaintiffs’ request to admit rebuttal evidence with respect to their First Amendment claims....

District court’s denial of defendant’s motion to compel arbitration of plaintiff’s retaliation, gender discrimination, and Family and Medical Leave Act claims is reversed where plaintiff was not a transportation worker exempted from the Federal Arbitration Act and defendant did not waive its right to arbitrate by failing to move for arbitration during the EEOC proceedings prior to plaintiff’s filing of this suit. Read McNamara v. Yellow Transp., Inc., No. 08-2654...

Legislation and litigation are increasingly testing the boundaries of Supreme Court precedent regarding abortions. In part, perhaps, because the analysis courts use to weigh the constitutionality of laws restricting abortion access are less clear than they have been in decades. In 2020, Justice Roberts joined with liberal justices in holding that Louisiana’s abortion law was unconstitutional in June Medical. However, Justice Roberts differed in his analysis from the plurality. Lower courts must therefore determine how much weight to give the plurality opinion in that case versus Justice Roberts’ analysis....

President Donald Trump announced that he tested positive for COVID-19 after a week of campaign events. The president is quarantining at the White House. The news affects not just the daily discharging of presidential duties, but there is the matter of an election with Trump on the ballot already underway. In the former, there are clear procedures, but in the latter … it could get complicated. What Happens if Trump Cannot Fulfill His Duties?...

It seems that the U.S. government can prosecute money. In a recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, U.S. v. $133.420.00 in U.S. Currency, the San Francisco-based court ruled that Damon Louis, the currency’s co-defendant, did not have standing to challenge a civil forfeiture action for the sum, which was found in Louis’ car. Officer Craft then led his drug-sniffing dog around the vehicle. The dog alerted, and Officer Craft told Louis that he had probable cause to search the car....

Fifty years after Gideon v. Wainwright, a woman who dedicated her career to the federal public defender’s office, and likely passed on many more lucrative paths, has just been unanimously confirmed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. According to the Gazette, she is just the second woman and first public defender to serve in the history of the 122-year-old court. Instead, after a brief stint teaching at the University of Illinois College of Law, she helped found the Cedar Rapids Federal Public Defender’s Office in 1994....

The Tenth Circuit decided two cases today, one involving the allegedly wrongful termination of a public employee for exercising her First Amendment rights; and the other involving a criminal matter. In Rohrbough v. Univ. of Colo. Hosp. Auth., No. 07-1498, plaintiff claimed that her employer, a public hospital, fired her in retaliation for exercising her First Amendment rights. The district court granted summary judgment to defendant. The Tenth Circuit affirmed, holding that plaintiff’s speech was unprotected because it was made pursuant to her official duties as a “Transplant Coordinator” in the hospital’s Heart Transplant Unit....

In a First Amendment challenge to rules promulgated by the Washington State Board of Pharmacy requiring pharmacies to deliver lawfully prescribed FDA-approved medications, a preliminary injunction in favor of Plaintiffs is reversed, where the District Court erroneously treated Plaintiffs’ as-applied challenge as a facial challenge. Read Stormans, Inc. v. Selecky, No. 07-36039 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted July 8, 2008 Filed July 8, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Wardlaw Concurrence by Judge Clifton...

In a rare twist, Subway is going to get some bread back. After a class action challenged the length of its footlong sandwich, Subway settled by promising to measure up and pay $520,000 to the plaintiffs’ attorneys. An appeals court reversed in Subway Footlong Sandwich Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, however, because the settlement did nothing meaningful for consumers. “The settlement acknowledges as much when it says that uniformity in bread length is impossible due to the natural variability of the bread-baking process,” said the U....

Our spidey-sense tells us that we haven’t seen the last of the Stan Lee lawsuits. Stan Lee Media Inc., (SLMI) lost a challenge in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals this week to intervene in a seven-year-old settlement between Stan Lee (the man) and Marvel over rights to some of Lee’s most famous characters. Lee and Marvel settled a claim in 2005 over rights to several popular, Lee-created comics – like Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, and the Fantastic Four....

We all know distracted driving is a problem. Many of us are using “do not disturb” functions that can mute alerts when we’re on the road. Even if we’re not willing to completely give up our smart phones and watches while behind the wheel, we know that hands-free options are better. And states are passing more and more anti-distracted driving laws. But the message isn’t getting through to everyone. And the residents of some states are worse offenders than others when it comes to distracted driving....

Only a few hours ago, the Court concluded a marathon two-and-a-half hours of oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, the consolidated same-sex marriage cases that undoubtedly form the basis of the big civil rights decision of our time. The Court divided the arguments according to the two questions presented: First, whether the same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional, and second, whether Ohio’s refusal to acknowledge an out-of-state same sex marriage violates the Full Faith and Credit Clause....

If you are an unfussy carnivore in Wyoming, you have reason to celebrate. On April 12, Governor Mark Gordon signed into law a bill adding Wyoming to a surprisingly large and growing list of states that allow residents to eat roadkill. Starting July 1, Wyoming residents will be able to collect roadside carcasses for consumption if they are the result of unintentional collisions with motor vehicles. Some animals – grizzly bears, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats – are excluded....

A class action on behalf of all Facebook users active between May 27, 2010 and September 26, 2011, alleges that Facebook violated federal and state privacy laws by tracking users even when they were logged out of Facebook. However, a district court threw out the lawsuit, finding that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the claims, and that even if they did have standing, Facebook’s actions as alleged did not violate any privacy laws....

In a case by four firms defined as “adult entertainment businesses” under a revised Indianapolis ordinance alleging that the ordinance violates their First and Fourth amendment rights, judgment of the district court is affirmed to the extent that it sustained the licensing procedures but is reversed to the extent it concerns the coverage and substantive requirements. The case is remanded for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the city has evidence that the restrictions actually have public benefits great enough to justify any curtailment of speech....

This post was updated on March 30, 2022 A beloved pet can be as much a part of your family as your spouse, child, or sibling. When it comes time to write a will, devoting a piece of your estate to your favorite animal companion may seem like the best way to ensure that the pet is taken care of after you pass away. There are several ways to do this, but first, you need to be aware that naming your pet as a beneficiary is not a good idea because pets can’t own property....

Judge Frank Easterbrook, reviewing the law on fantasy sports and publicity rights, punted. Writing for the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Easterbrook asked the Indiana Supreme Court to interpret a state statute on publicity rights. He said there is no clear law on the subject. The case depends on whether Indiana views paid fantasy sports as illegal gambling, and whether it treats illegality as material to the right-of-publicity. In Daniels v....

The Ninth Circuit decided two criminal cases and one personal injury matter. In US v. Garrido, No. 08-10398, the Ninth Circuit affirmed defendant’s drug and firearm possession conviction, on the ground that the district court did not err under Fed. R. Evid. 701 and 702 by allowing lay witnesses to testify that defendant used a gun during the robbery. However, the court vacated defendant’s sentence where the district court erred when it concluded that it had no legal authority to consider a reduction for acceptance of responsibility after defendant failed to plead guilty and contested the charge that he used and carried a firearm....