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When Arturo Andrade-Zamora petitioned to have his removal from the United States canceled, the Immigration Judge who handled his case decided that despite its vacatur, Zamora should be deported back to Mexico anyway. The circuit eventually agreed with the IJ and the BIA. Zamora came to the United States at some unknown point in the past and had been staying in the country without ever being lawfully admitted. The US government got wind of his illegal status and served him with a Notice to Appear for his removal proceedings....

In plaintiff’s suit against the underwriter of her benefits plan under ERISA for denial of long-term disability benefits, district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant is affirmed as, under the arbitrary and capricious standard of review, the defendant’s decision was rational and supported by the record. Read Black v. Long Term Disability Ins., No. 07-3550 Appellate Information Appeals from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin....

In a petition for review of the NLRB’s order finding that petitioner had interfered with its employees’ exercise of rights protected under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and imposing remedial measures, the petition is denied where: 1) while an employer may assert that an employee’s conduct is unprotected under the NLRA because it had an unlawful objective, the acts or objective of the national union cannot be imputed to an individual employee; and 2) petitioner’s repudiation was insufficient to cure its unlawful confiscation of union flyers....

Int’l Union, AFL-CIO v. Shell Oil Co., No. 10-55269, involved a class action alleging that defendants’ oil refineries violated various California labor laws. The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s order remanding the case to state court, holding that the denial of class certification did not divest federal courts of jurisdiction over cases properly removed under 28 U.S.C. section 1332(d). As the court wrote: “Defendants removed this putative class action from state court pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA), 28 U....

Sheehy Enter., Inc. v. Nat’l Labor Relations Bd., No.09-1383, concerned a petition for review of the National Labor Relations Board’s order affirming ALJ’s holding that the company committed an unfair labor practice by repudiating the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). In denying the petition, the court held that substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s conclusion that the company committed an unfair labor practice by repudiating the 2004 CBA. Furthermore, the company waived its affirmative defense that the section 10(b) statute of limitations bars the Board’s complaint and the argument that the Board should have deferred from hearing the matter in favor of arbitration cannot be considered as it failed to present it to the Board....

Today, the Seventh Circuit decided a criminal matter, a former inmate’s civil rights action and a tax matter involving a taxpayer’s challenge to the IRS’s increase the amount of income tax withholdings. In US v. Krumwiede, No. 08-4081, the court faced a challenge to the district court’s imposition of a 140-month sentence for stealing thirty-four firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer and other crimes. In rejecting the defendant’s contention that the district court erred in applying s four-level enhancement, the court held that there was no error as under Application Note 14(B) , section 2K2....

Earlier this week, we took a look at the Monsanto case, which had major implications for patent law and our nation’s farming industry. We also hinted at the outcome of the Court’s two other unanimous decisions for this week, one dealing with bankruptcy and defalcation, and the other dealing with a shady tow truck lot and the limits of federal law preemption. Defalcation Defined It is undisputed that Randy Bullock was not acting in bad faith when he violated his fiduciary duty as trustee to family life insurance trust....

“Everyone’s innocent in here, don’t you know that?” -Red, “The Shawshank Redemption” Earlier this week, the court released two opinions dealing with habeas corpus petitions. Though both were ideologically split 5-4 decisions, the McQuiggins v. Perkins majority opinion and dissent were unusually contentious. Scalia’s dissent spends as much time mocking the majority as it does discussing the law. Ginsburg’s opinion refers to the dissent as “bluster.” Underneath Scalia’s huffing and puffing, however, was a series of very valid points....

Silly lower court. Smuggling is smuggling. Bribery is bribery. Buying coat hangers from China, labeling them “Made in Mexico” and “re-importing” them under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to avoid import “dumping” duties is … smuggling. Duh. That’s the essence of the Ninth Circuit’s holding, which vacated the lower court’s lengthy sentence (based on bribery) and remanded for application of the clearly applicable smuggling sentencing guideline provision. Huizar-Velazquez made millions of dollars off of his hanger-smuggling scheme because most manufacturers in China are subject to a “PRC-Wide” anti-dumping importation duty of 187....

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Iowa’s HIV law was not unconstitutionally vague as to Adam Musser, who was convicted of knowingly transmitting the HIV virus to four women. Musser was convicted in four separate trials of criminally transmitting HIV in violation of Iowa Code § 709C.1. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals set out to determine whether the statute violated the due process clause because it was vague and overbroad....

Federal judges have to abide by an ethics-based Code of Conduct. Well, most of ’em, anyway. The Supreme Court, being, well, supreme, sets its own rules. In his 2011 end-of-year report, Chief Justice John Roberts addressed the rising tide of Supreme Court ethics questions by arguing that the Code of Conduct, which is mandatory for all other federal judges, should not be mandatory for Supreme Court justices, as it does not “adequately answer some of the ethical considerations unique to the Supreme Court....

Chief Justice John Roberts may scoff at the thought of allowing cameras in the courtroom, but Justice Elena Kagan, the newest addition to the bench, thinks it would lead to greater confidence in the Court. Asked about allowing cameras in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Kagan said, “I think it’s a good idea … If everybody could see this it would make them feel so good about this branch of government and how it operates,” reports the Aspen Daily News....

In an attempt to keep voters from being harassed by signs and people with handbills, many places around the country have geographic limits on signage around polling places. A state law in Kentucky says that no one can engage in electioneering within 300 feet of a polling place. That seemed a little too far for Judge William O. Bertelsman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, who ruled earlier this week the state’s law was unconstitutional....

In an action seeking a declaration that defendant was barred from collecting delay damages under the parties’ construction subcontract, summary judgment for plaintiff is reversed where the district court erred by: 1) refusing to consider discovery documents produced by plaintiff in its initial disclosures; and 2) discounting two affidavits submitted by defendant without first analyzing their admissibility under the sham affidavit rule. Read Law Co. v. Mohawk Constr. & Supply Co....

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals interprets settlement agreements like contracts: absent ambiguity, the four corners control. This week, the appellate court ruled that, even in the face of changing technologies, a court can’t redefine the terms of a clearly-written settlement. Thousands sued, claiming they had been injured by the drugs. Wyeth ultimately entered a settlement agreement, which largely enjoined class members from suing Wyeth for all diet drug-related injuries....

In US v. Moreland, No. 05-30541, the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part defendant’s convictions for mail and wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and money laundering, on the grounds that 1) defendant’s waiver of his right to counsel was not conditioned on specific assurances from the district court regarding the level of participation he could expect from standby counsel; 2) defendant’s ineffective assistance claims were more appropriate for collateral proceedings; 3) the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting only a two-week continuance because the need for a continuance was defendant’s fault; 4) even though the prosecution’s questioning was improper, it did not amount to plain error; 5) the prosecutor’s statements in closing argument were reasonable based on the evidence; and 6) the prosecution did not waive its right to seek restitution....

New Jersey is considering a law that will give some animals the right to have their own legal representation. A bill that recently passed out of the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee would provide court-appointed legal advocates for animals when they experience “pain, stress, or fear at human hands.” The New Jersey Senate passed a version of the bill last year, but because it never made it to the Assembly, the Senate would have to take it up again this session before the measure would become law....

Every year there are plenty of new laws that might have an impact on our lives. So, it can be helpful this time of year to scan the legal horizon, identify the most important of the bunch, and see if any new trends have emerged. That is what we have done, and here are a few things we have found: Police Reforms The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police on Memorial Day 2020 sparked a wave of protests across the U....

The big Supreme Court news today is a recent New York Times/CBS News poll showing that only 44 percent of Americans approve of the Nine. The Times notes that the Court’s popularity may have slipped because people think that the Court’s opinions, like Bush v. Gore and Citizens United, are influenced by personal or political views. Perhaps a new batch of 2012 Term cases will spike the Court’s approval rating. Here are three cases that we’ve been thinking about this week....

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on the Alien Tort Act this week, ruling that Bougainville islanders can sue mine owner Rio Tinto for war crimes and genocide during a civil war with the Papua New Guinea government. The court concluded that Morrison v. National Australia Bank does not bar the claims. Bougainville residents revolted against Rio Tinto in 1988 amid human rights and environmental complaints against the company....