Conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine affirmed but sentence vacated and remanded US v. Saenz, 09-3647, concerned a challenge to a conviction of defendant for conspiracy to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine, and imposition of a 293-month sentence. In affirming in part, the court held that defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to speedy trial was not violated as the length of the delay was not extreme for a complex multi-defendant conspiracy case....
A new email scam is popping up in inboxes nationwide, including in Minnesota. The phony emails purport to come from federal and state courts, but when opened, they infect recipients with computer viruses. In particular, the emails instruct recipients to make a court appearance at a specific day and time. The emails also instruct recipients to review an attached document for detailed case information. The U.S. District Court of Minnesota issued a warning about this scam on Christmas Eve, when we were all busy catching up on our holiday reading....
You may have heard that GameStop, the once-ubiquitous strip mall video game store, had a good week for its stock price: A really good week. The price rose nearly 700% over the span of a few days, earning billions for a few and costing hedge fund Melvin Capital an extreme loss estimated to also be in the billions. Not because of any earnings report, merger, or other event that would influence share price, but because some Reddit users decided en masse to buy the stock price of the company in a move called a short squeeze....
In the overly-formal world of appellate courts, it’s refreshing to run across the oddly non-staid opinion from time to time. Nothing breaks the monotony like an opinion written in limerick form or ten pages of angry rants about frivolous immigration appeals and another circuits’ procedures. If Petitioner again files a frivolous petition for review we will not grant him in forma pauperis status, will not grant him 30 days to brief his motion to stay removal, and will likely impose sanctions under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 38....
The Nine released four more Supreme Court decisions on Monday, bringing the outstanding opinion total for the 2011 Term down to ten. The four decisions are: Williams v. Illinois, Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham, Salazar v. Ramah Navajo, and Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band v. Patchak. We’re going to discuss these opinions in greater detail in the coming days. For today, we’re just going to cover the highlights of each opinion. Williams v. Illinois. In a 5-4 vote, the Court affirmed an Illinois Supreme Court decision allowing an expert witness to testify about DNA testing results performed by non-testifying analysts....
Where do we begin? There is so much legal news brewing in the Second Circuit that we couldn’t just pick one story to highlight. Here’s a quick roundup of litigation that’s making headlines in the Second Circuit. When Is Incest, Incest? Um, one would think the answer to that question is – always. But, in a recent Board of Immigration Appeals decision regarding whether a marriage between a woman and her husband by “half-blood” is void for incest under New York law, the Second Circuit certified the question to the New York Court of Appeals....
A peculiar bit of appellate procedure attended the issuance of an amended opinion in Garcia v. Does, the “Occupy Wall Street” case in which Occupy protesters claimed they were escorted onto the Brooklyn Bridge by police, then arrested when they were halfway across. Though the protesters won in federal district court, and again before a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit, that same panel reversed itself Monday. The panel remanded the case to Judge Jed Rakoff with instructions to dismiss the complaint, dissolving the en banc rehearing before it started....
In an amended opinion and order, the Ninth Circuit has declined a request for a rehearing en banc in Dariano v. Morgan Hill Unified School District. Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain and two other judges wrote a dissent to the denial for an en banc rehearing. What Happened Here’s a refresher: On May 5, 2010 (Cinco de Mayo), a group of students wore T-shirts with American flags on them to Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California....
Swimming can quickly turn from a great time in a bathing suit to a bad time in a lawsuit. If there’s a pool at your home or place of business, it pays to be aware of how you might end up on the wrong side of a personal injury lawsuit this summer. Here are three ways your pool can get you in legal hot water. 1. Your Pool May Be an Attractive Nuisance Attractive nuisance may sound like a great way to describe an ill-fated high school sweetheart, but it’s actually a legal doctrine....
Kurzberg v. Ashcroft, No. 07-0542, involved an action by five Israeli nationals who were illegally present in the United States on September 11, 2001, concerning certain alleged particulars of their arrest on that day and their confinement thereafter at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The court affirmed the dismissal of the action for failure to serve process, holding that 1) plaintiffs failed to comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(i) because they did not effect service on the U....
In habeas proceedings resulting from petitioner’s convictions of second-degree unintentional felony murder following a joint jury trial with two co-defendants, denial of the habeas petition is affirmed where defendant’s joinder with his co-defendants for trial and the state trial court’s decision not to sever his trial did not constitute an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court in Zafiro. Read Christian v. Dingle, No. 08-2294...
The existing Border Search Exception, which is quite handy for digging through terrorists’ and drug smugglers’ luggage, doesn’t exactly fit with the realities of modern life. Whereas we once could dig though someone’s belongings in an hour or two, the Cotterman case presented a different scenario: a convicted pedophile caught with images of himself and an underage girl after his laptop was seized at the border and examined at a laboratory 170 miles inland....
Scott Peterson, whose criminal trial dominated the newly-minted 24-hour news cycle in the early 2000s, may be granted a new trial after spending more than 15 years in prison. The San Mateo County Court is expected to make its decision in the coming weeks. Peterson was convicted in 2004 of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. In the intervening years, true crime junkies have pored over his case. Many are convinced of his guilt....
Susan Fowler, the ex-Uber engineer whose viral blog post about the hostile working environment she endured while working for the booming ride-hailing app, has filed an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court. In addition to detailing her harrowing experience, her brief argues in support of invalidating forced employee/contractor arbitration clauses, which is at issue in a set of three cases which the High Court has consolidated. Specifically at issue in the cases before SCOTUS is whether bans on class actions and collective actions through arbitration agreements violates federal law....
In a case that Court-watchers were eagerly anticipating, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously today in Holt v. Hobbs that a prison policy prohibiting inmates from growing beards unless they have a dermatological condition violates the First Amendment. Holt, a prisoner in Arkansas, converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdul Maalik Muhammad. Muhammad’s reading of Muslim scripture required him to grow a beard, something prison policy forbade. Muhammad sued pursuant to the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA)....
In re: Graves, No. 08-1462, involved an appeal from the bankruptcy appellate panel’s holding that the Bankruptcy Code’s turnover provision, 11 U.S.C. section 542, did not empower a trustee to demand turnover from a debtor in this case. The court of appeals affirmed with modification, on the ground that debtors’ interest in a 2006 tax refund, irrevocably applied pre-petition to 2007 taxes, was not subject to turnover under 11 U.S.C. section 542(a)....
In an action brought by a former suspect in the 2004 Madrid train bombings and his family claiming that several provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) as amended by the PATRIOT Act were unconstitutional, judgment for plaintiff is reversed where, in light of the limited remedy available to plaintiff under a settlement agreement with the government, he did not have standing to pursue his Fourth Amendment claim because his injuries already had been substantially redressed by the settlement, and a declaratory judgment would not likely impact him or his family....
There’s a big problem in the chocolate industry that many of the big manufacturers don’t want anybody to know about: A large chunk of the world’s chocolate is farmed by child slaves (and child labor) in Africa’s Ivory Coast. Yes. Child slaves and child labor. It is heartbreaking to read or hear about. The problem goes deep and is both systemic and institutionalized. And the Ninth Circuit just reversed a Central District of California dismissal in a case brought under the Alien Tort Statute by former child slaves against Nestle and other chocolate producers for aiding and abetting slavery....
When do sanctions transcend beyond warranted to the rarefied ranks of “richly deserved”? Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook offered a little insight on that topic this week based on an attorney’s botched attempt to remove an action for sanctions in a lawsuit to a federal court. Attorney David Novoselsky, purporting to represent plaintiff MB Financial as guardian of minor Cristina Zvunca’s financial interests, sued six defendants in a state court....
ERISA Withdrawal Liability Action In Resilient Floor Covering Pension Fund v. M&M Installation, Inc., No. 09-17047, an action on a theory of ERISA withdrawal liability, the court reversed summary judgment for plaintiff where, assuming it is possible to be responsible on an alter ego theory, a non-union company may be liable when there is commonality between the union and nonunion firms and an abuse of the double-breasted structure to avoid payment of withdrawal liability....
