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Defendant’s assault conviction is affirmed in part where, although the prosecutors engaged in improper questioning during cross-examination and improper vouching during closing arguments, the court could not say the prosecutors’ misconduct affected the outcome of the district court proceedings. However, defendant’s conviction is reversed in part where the jury instruction on one count defined “force” out of the statute entirely by equating it with physical intimidation. Read US v. Harrison, No....

Conviction and sentence for drug crimes is affirmed where: 1) the district court properly admitted the majority of agents’ interpretation testimony of the coded language of the narcotics trade; 2) a failure to exclude three interpretations as improper dual testimony was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt as the evidence against defendant was overwhelming, and the exclusion would not have resulted in a different verdict; and 3) defendant’s motion to remand his sentence is denied as remand is not required to petition the district court to reduce his sentence in light of the retroactive application of the revised crack guidelines....

A recently filed petition for certiorari is asking the High Court to take up the Feres Doctrine and correct the judicial doctrine that has been the cause of so much heartache for U.S. service members and their families. The case involves a married couple that were both in the armed services. Unfortunately, during childbirth at a military hospital in Washington state, Rebekah Daniel died. Her husband couldn’t get answers as to what happened, and in turn, filed a lawsuit alleging medical malpractice....

Here’s a future law job announcement from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has filled its Fall 2011 position for staff clerkships starting in August, but after Labor Day 2011, it will begin considering applications for the 2012-2014 clerkship program, according to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals website. To get an idea of the position, have a look at last year’s posting. According to the 2011 job posting on the court’s website:...

Here at FindLaw, we understand the pressures of being a legal professional - most of us are recovering lawyers - so we want to help by tossing you that preferred life preserver of the legal profession, the short list. Today’s topic: Third Circuit appellate mediation. What client doesn’t savor the thrill of appealing her case up the judicial food chain? It’s terribly exciting. It’s also expensive. While going to court is fun, it’s costly and time-consuming....

In plaintiffs-homebuyers’ putative class action to recover statutory treble damages pursuant to section 8(d)(2) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) of 1974, district court’s dismissal of the complaint for lack of jurisdiction is reversed as the plain language of RESPA section 8 indicates that Congress created a private right of action without requiring an overarching allegation. Finally, plaintiffs are not barred by the filed rate doctrine as it simply does not apply in this case....

Berry v. Chicago Transit Auth., 07-2288, concerned a challenge to the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant-employer, in plaintiff’s suit against her employer, Chicago Transit Authority, claiming sex discrimination and hostile work environment. In reversing in part, the court held that district court’s grant of summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim of a hostile work environment, as it related to the co-worker’s actions and the employer’s liability, was improper....

Air travel has become a nightmare with oversold flights, staff shortages, flight delays, and cancellations. Being bumped from a flight is an all-too-common occurrence these days. But people do not realize that, despite paying for a ticket in advance, the terms of purchase don’t entitle you to a particular flight. They merely promise you transportation from one city to another. Why Do Airlines Overbook Flights? Airlines want to fly at 100% capacity....

Galleon Group hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam may have to wait in jail for his insider trading appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The fallen financier is due to begin serving an 11-year sentence for securities fraud on Monday - the longest sentence ever ordered for insider trading violations. The three-judge Second Circuit panel has not yet ruled in the case, but the judges seem concerned that former-billionaire Rajaratnam would pose a flight risk; Judge Dennis Jacobs expressed concern that Rajaratnam would rather be living a lavish lifestyle in his native Sri Lanka than serving time in the U....

The Sixth Circuit decided two criminal cases today, involving convictions for OxyContin-related crimes, and aiding and abetting money laundering. In US v. Wallace, No. 07-2230, the court faced a challenge to a conviction for perjury, conspiracy to possess and distribute OxyContin and sentence of 78 months’ imprisonment. Followng a mistrial, the defendant was retried where the drug and perjury charges, stemming from the first trial, were tried together. However, the court vacated and remanded the case for resentencing in concluding that the sentence is procedurally unreasonable as the district court failed to comply with section 3553(c), which affected defendant’s substantial rights....

In a bankruptcy action seeking an undue hardship discharge of substantial student loan debts, district court judgment is reversed where defendant is not entitled to an undue hardship discharge under 11 U.S.C. sec. 523(a)(8), as defendant is a recent law school graduate who is reasonably likely to be able to make significant debt repayments in the foreseeable future and qualified for the Department of Education’s twenty-five year Income Contingent Repayment Plan....

The Carl Lewis Senate bid has encountered another judicial roadblock. Last week, we reported that Lewis won an injunction battle to run for New Jersey’s Eighth Legislative District. On Thursday, Lewis lost the summary judgment war. At issue was whether Lewis met New Jersey’s four-year state residency requirement to run for office. New Jersey Secretary of State Kim Guadagno, a Republican, said that Lewis did not qualify. After hearing Lewis’s equal protection claims, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this month that Lewis’s name must be added to the ballot....

Among the federal appeals courts, the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals doesn’t make many headlines. After all, most of its decisions are not precedential. That, and they don’t read like crime novels. They are overwhelmingly complex and technical because the Federal Circuit handles patent and trademark disputes. Even if you are an intellectual property attorney, chances are you missed many cases over the past few months. Here are a few that are not so complicated; they are about drugs and robots:...

Last year, Google self-driving subsidiary Waymo and Uber settled a civil lawsuit claiming that the latter stole the former’s autonomous vehicle software. The man at the center of that controversy, Andrew Levandowski, had left Google to found his own company, Otto, which was quickly scooped up by Uber. While the settlement covered civil claims between the two companies, it didn’t foreclose criminal punishment. And earlier this week, federal prosecutors charged Levandowski with 33 counts related to the theft of trade secrets, claiming he stole around 14,000 “engineering, manufacturing, and business files” from his former employer before resigning....

The Second Circuit heard arguments last Friday on whether contract lawyers are entitled to overtime pay. “Legal practice” is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime rules. However, one lawyer argued that his document review job was so rote and tedious it does not amount to the practice of law, meaning he’s entitled to overtime. The case presents an odd situation where a lawyer stands to make more money – perhaps substantially more – should his labor be considered too simple to be the practice of law....

Johnnie Lee Savory was convicted of a double murder in 1977 - when he was just 14 years old. His first conviction was thrown out when the courts found his confession had been given involuntarily. But, he was convicted again when his case was retried with new testimony from acquaintances who claimed he made statements indicating he had committed the crime. Although they later recanted their testimony, Savory remained imprisoned for the first several decades of his adult life....

Opioids – pain relievers derived from synthetic forms of opium – are everywhere. From the president to the pusher, everybody seems to be talking about opioids. By all accounts, there is an “opioid epidemic.” And that was a problem in a case against a doctor and hospital accused of over-prescribing the drug. The defendants appealed a $16.7 million verdict, saying the judge allowed jurors to hear too much about the epidemic....

We get a little giddy as First Monday approaches. And then we start mentally planning a visit to the Supreme Court to hear oral arguments and chortle at Justice Antonin Scalia’s quips. If you want to attend Supreme Court oral arguments, but you’ve never contemplated the logistics of such a venture, FindLaw is here to help. The Supreme Court’s courtroom is small. Within that tiny space, there is designated seating for the justices, their law clerks, the Marshall, the Marshall’s aides, attorneys, the justices’ special guests, and media....

The arrest of a reporter who’s covering the continuing unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, is raising eyebrows… and legal questions. Wesley Lowery was in Ferguson reporting on the protests that followed the shooting of an unarmed teenager by police last weekend. According to Lowery’s first-person account in The Washington Post, he (along with other reporters) has been using a McDonald’s near the demonstration to charge his devices and use the restaurant’s free WiFi....

Judge Robert Bacharach has entered the ranks of filibustered judicial nominees, and he wasn’t even a controversial choice. Judge Bacharach’s nomination was derailed this week due to the Senate’s Thurmond/Leahy Rule. The “rule” is actually a Senate custom: Senators typically do not approve judicial nominations close to a presidential election since a possible new president would want to make his or her own appointments, The Hill reports. According to the Heritage Foundation, which opposed an up-or-down vote on Judge Bacharach’s nomination, “Mr....