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Justice Scalia is no longer on the Supreme Court, but his influence certainly remains. And President Trump seems committed to continuing, even extending, that legacy. He’s spoken of appointing justices “very much in the mold of Justice Scalia,” for example, and his shortlist is full of Scalia-like originalists and textualists. But when it comes to Trump’s signature issue, that “big, beautiful wall” meant to offset the Statue of Liberty, one of Justice Scalia’s opinions might stand in Trump’s way....

Bad news for defendants in embezzlement cases: Iowa courts do not have to consider the but-I-put-the-money-back defense at trial. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that an Iowa court did not err in barring evidence that an accused embezzler returned stolen money to his employees’ Individual Retirement Account (Simple IRA). James Norman Van Elsen solely owned Van Elsen Consulting, Inc. (VEC), a small actuarial business that serviced insurance companies....

The President keeps an open record of everyone who visits the White House. Congress broadcasts its most sleep-inducing business over three different C-SPAN channels. The Supreme Court? They like a bit more privacy. That privacy is earning the Court a fair amount of criticism as it gets ready to begin its new term. From the cardinal halls of Stanford Law to the pink mail boxes of Palm Beach, Florida, the Supreme Court is facing accusations that it is too secretive in its doings....

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action claiming that defendant unlawfully took a portion of plaintiff-committed inmate’s Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits each month and applied the money to partially defray the cost of plaintiff’s care at a state hospital, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where 38 U.S.C. section 5301(a)(1), when read in combination with pertinent regulations such as 38 C.F.R. section 13.71, does not prohibit direct payments of VA benefits to a state hospital for ongoing veteran patient care....

In a contract case involving two separate agreements involving the applicability of an arbitration clause in the latter of the two agreements, dismissal of the case is affirmed where: 1) res judicata bars consideration of the arbitrability issue as a state court already reached that issue and resolved it with sufficient finality; and 2) a finding of improper venue was proper as only the district court in the particular forum of the forum selection clause can issue an order compelling arbitration....

“The force” was with Randy Alman one October afternoon in Westland, Michigan. Unfortunately, that “force” was a cruiser-combating task force staffed by officers from the Westland Police Department and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department. Based on what was likely a misunderstanding, those officers arrested Alman in Westland’s Hix Park and charged him with criminal sexual conduct, solicitation or accosting, being a disorderly person, and battery. Enter Luke Skywalker. Yes, the assistant county prosecutor assigned to the case was actually named Luke Skywalker....

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin will host a joint memorial ceremony for Circuit Judge Terence Evans on Friday September 23, 2011, at 4 p.m. in the Ceremonial Courtroom of the Milwaukee Federal Courthouse. The service is open to the public. Judge Evans died from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and acute respiratory distress syndrome in August at the University of Chicago Medical Center....

It was just announced that the charges against former-Empire actor Jussie Smollett have been dropped. In case you missed this headline-shattering, viral news, basically, Smollett was attacked by two people purporting to be Trump supporters and shouting racist stuff, but it turns out that Smollett may have had a hand in orchestrating the attack. And while he may be catching a break from Chicago prosecutors, many others aren’t planning on letting the actor off lightly for his allegedly staged hate-crime....

Rapper Ye, the artist formerly known as Kayne West, can’t stay out of the news for one reason or another. However, lately, he has been making many life changes affecting his estate plan. He should take time to review what estate planning documents he has in place and what he needs to update. Is Ye Married? In current news, TMZ reports that Ye “wed” Bianca Censori, an architectural designer and employee of Yeezy, the rapper’s fashion line....

The 7th Circuit recently ruled in favor of detainees who claim the Lake County Sheriff failed to provide enough water to support sanitary conditions at the jail during a 3-day water shutdown. The court found qualified immunity would not protect officials against claims that they failed to provide adequate drinking water and flushable toilets for detainees. How Did This Happen? The idea of making do with five bottles of water to cover an entire day’s worth of hydration and cleanliness seems almost too ridiculous to believe....

An Alabama woman who suffered a miscarriage after another woman shot her in the stomach will not face manslaughter charges, the local prosecutor announced last week. The case of Marshae Jones generated an intense outcry across the country shortly after a grand jury indicted her in late June. According to police, Jones started an altercation late last year that ended with her suffering the gunshot wound. Police arrested the shooter on manslaughter charges, but a grand jury chose not to indict her, presumably concluding that the woman was acting in self-defense....

The 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas shocked the nation and renewed the debate on gun control. By easily modifying his AR-15 to discharge approximately nine rounds per second, gunman Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and injured hundreds in a matter of minutes. That ability to modify to weapon is the linchpin in a wrongful death lawsuit filed this month by the parents of one of those victims against eight manufacturers of the AR-15....

In plaintiffs’ declaratory judgment action claiming that defendants were not entitled to compensation under an alleged contract involving real estate development, summary judgment for plaintiffs is vacated and remanded as there is no federal subject matter jurisdiction over the case because the only federal issue in the case arises as a possible defense to a state law claim. Furthermore, this conclusion is not altered by the fact that the statute at issue is the Securities Exchange Act, nor is this a case where a state law claim necessarily raises a stated federal issue, actually disputed and substantial, which a federal forum may entertain without disturbing any congressionally approved balance of federal and state judicial responsibilities....

Another Seventh Circuit judge is in hot water these days, and no, it’s not for forgetting a case for a few years this time. Judge Posner, perhaps one of the highest profile judges in the federal courts, minus only those on SCOTUS, came under fire after he did his own Internet research on a case – and citing Wikipedia in the process. The case involved a prisoner suing pro se after prison officials took away his medication....

Recently, headlines have been buzzing about the rumored retirement of Justice Kennedy. However, there hasn’t been any announcement from the justice, nor the Court, about it. But the tradition of SCOTUS retirement speculation never stops. Rather, the rumor mill has been churning thanks to the stump speech of a GOP Senator from Nevada, Dean Heller. Reportedly, during a campaign event, Heller claimed that Justice Kennedy will be retiring this summer. According to some, Heller is at risk of losing his Senate seat, particularly given the fact that Nevada voted Hillary in 2016....

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that Indiana cannot cut Medicaid funding to abortion providers, reports The Wall Street Journal. In 2011 Indiana adopted a law prohibiting state agencies from providing state or federal funds to “any entity that performs abortions or maintains or operates a facility where abortions are performed.” That law made Indiana the first state to deny the Planned Parenthood Medicaid funds for general health services including cancer screenings, The Associated Press reports....

As observers of the legal world, we implore you: Don’t irritate the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, or you could be slapped with attorney sanctions and a scathing opinion that forever links your name with the term “bungling attorney” on the Internet. Cathleen Sambrano filed a discrimination charge against her employer, the U.S. Navy, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Because Sambrano was employed by a federal agency, EEOC had authority to resolve the grievance rather than simply mediate....

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided this week that a state court rules violation does not dissolve judicial immunity. Before ascending to the bench, Tennessee Judge James G. Martin was a lawyer and sometimes-mediator at a Nashville law firm. In 2008, he mediated Christopher Savoie’s divorce and child custody arrangement. Just months after Martin became Judge Martin, he was assigned to review a restraining order in Savoie’s custody arrangement with his ex-wife....

The Supreme Court granted cert this morning in Hill v. U.S., an appeal from the Seventh Circuit to address whether the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 can be applied to sentencing for an offense that occurred before the statute’s effective date. The Fair Sentencing Act, which became effective August 3, 2010, raised the amount of crack cocaine necessary to trigger the 10-year mandatory minimum term from 50 to 280 grams, and the amount needed to trigger a 5-year mandatory minimum from 5 to 28 grams....

An ‘Information Governance Plan’ is a three-word solution to a bigger three-word problem: managing discoverable data. Without a plan, dealing with data discovery can be a nightmare. No, it’s worse than that. It’s a life-mare because it will take a lifetime to sort out. That’s why your company needs an Information Governance Plan. Any questions? Since you asked, here’s a how-to guide for managing discoverable data: A How-To Guide Courtesy of Zapproved, you can download a free copy of A How-To Guide for Managing Discoverable Data....