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In a murder prosecution, the district court’s grant of a habeas petition is reversed where, even assuming state courts unreasonably applied federal law in determining that petitioner’s guilty plea was not improper, the inquiry became whether the failure to consider manslaughter “had a substantial and injurious effect or influence” on the determination that he was guilty of second-degree murder, and it did not have such an effect. Read Ruelas v. Wolfenbarger, No....

Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson, and Nietzsche (figuratively) walk into the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Hilarity ensues. The Seventh Circuit ruled this week that aspiring hip-hop artist Vince P. can’t sue Kanye West for ripping off his song, because both West and P. were ripping off Nietzsche. No, folks. We can’t make this stuff up. Vince P. was on the verge of hip-hop glory. He had written, recorded, and distributed a song entitled “Stronger....

As final exam season approaches, law students who haven’t started their course outlines are surely starting to panic. Heck, even if you’ve been diligently outlining from week 2 or 3, you’re still probably panicking because that’s just the nature of law school. At this point, actually sitting down to condense the semester’s class notes into an outline probably seems overwhelming. But, regardless of how it feels, if you start putting in the time now, it’ll get done, and you’ll be better and smarter for having done it....

When it comes to the Supreme Court, we live in the age of dissent. Dissents can give activists a guideline to changing the law and they can rally the faithful to a cause that’s just lost – for now. Scalia’s brash style, for example, shines brightest in losing dissents. But outside of blog headlines and Twitter quotations, a Supreme Court dissent can have real power. A new book by legal historian Melvin Urofsky, Dissent and the Supreme Court, reminds us of just that....

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a rather short decision dismissing a challenge brought by the Satanic Temple and a Mary Doe plaintiff against the state of Missouri’s abortion laws requiring certain prerequisites. If you had to read that a couple times because of the inclusion of the Satanic Temple (not to be confused with the Church of Satan), you’re probably not alone. The group doesn’t worship the devil, at least not seriously, but it does fight for social justice causes, particularly those that relate to or are founded upon religious beliefs....

When two federal courts in different circuits give conflicting opinions on issues concerning Fourth Amendment rights and national security, you know that the case is primed and ready for a writ of certiorari before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia came out with rather conflicting opinions regarding GPS surveillance of individuals. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court has granted review to these cases and has said that it will hear the appeal of the D....

Conviction for firearms possession and other crimes is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err in finding defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to counsel when he asked for permission to proceed pro se at trial; 2) the court did not err in failing to compel the attendance of one of defendant’s witnesses as defendant failed to show that her testimony would have been material; 3) the government’s failure to produce the transcript of a witness’s state court testimony did not violate Brady because the transcript was as available to defendant as it was to the government; 4) the court did not abuse its discretion by denying defendant’s request for expert funds as defendant failed to show that an expert on videotapes was necessary for his defense; and 5) the court did not err in refusing to give defendant’s proposed instructions on credibility and the effect of a co-defendant’s guilty plea....

US v. Vasquez-Martinez, 08-5977, concerned a challenge to the district court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress evidence found during an investigative stop, in a prosecution of defendant for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of that crime. As stated in the decision: “Vasquez-Martinez pled guilty at his arraignment hearing and at no point during the proceedings signed a written plea agreement. Nor did he make any attempt to enter a conditional plea of guilty that would have reserved his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress....

Few people want to serve on a jury. Taking time off from work, school, caring for children, or other responsibilities is hard. However, unless you can reschedule or claim a hardship, you must show up when the court directs you to appear on the jury summons. Skipping out on your jury duty could actually lead to legal consequences. How Jury Duty Works If you are a U.S. citizen and have a driver’s license, state identification card, or voter registration card, the state has your information and can summon you for jury service....

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads each day, many courtrooms are closing their doors to the public and postponing criminal cases. This is a situation that our country has not seen since the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, so many legal professionals and courts are making emergency plans as they go. During this time, it is very likely your case will face delays somewhere along the criminal justice process. What Parts of Criminal Cases Are Courts Suspending?...

In a petition for review of the BIA’s order denying petitioner a waiver of the spousal joint-filing requirement for removal of the conditions on his permanent resident status, the petition is denied where: 1) petitioner produced virtually no documentation in support of his claim of a bona fide marriage; and 2) the Immigration Judge’s discussion of extreme hardship was brief, but her reasoning was sufficiently clear and supported by the evidence....

The Second Circuit ruled in favor of Hi-Def video upload service Vimeo over allegations that the latter ignored red flags when its employees heard popular songs on the Vimeo’s website. At the same time, it also affirmed the broad safe-harbor protections afforded under the DMCA, regardless of publication date of the copyrighted material. It’s a decision that made the EFF giddy with delight. It makes sense as the digital freedom group co-wrote an amicus in the case....

One of the most controversial cases of the last year in New York City has been the litigation surrounding the former Bloomberg Administration’s stop and frisk policy. As the case progressed through the appeals process, it became clear that the outcome would be dependent on politics, and not the judicial system. As of last week, there may be a political end in sight. There have also been developments surrounding the heartbreaking school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut....

Employment discrimination cases pop up every so often in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and here, the court addresses the elements of a prima facie racial discrimination case. The court sided with the employer, Teva Pharmaceuticals. Nevertheless, the discussion on employment discrimination is always interesting and worth digging into. The plaintiff was an African-American male who was employed as a salesman for Teva. In brief, his Teva supervisors determined that his performance was sub-par....

In 1998, 15-year-old Kip Kinkel murdered his father and mother before heading to school and turning his guns on his classmates. Two students died, twenty-five were wounded, and Kinkel, after considering an insanity defense, pled guilty and was sentenced to nearly 112 years in prison. The process leading to the plea deal raises some issues in retrospect. Three weeks before the plea deal was reached, Kinkel’s medications for schizophrenia were withdrawn for purposes of a mental health examination....

Northstar Fin. Advisors, Inc. v. Schwab Invs., No. 09-16347, involved an action by investors claiming that a large American investment trust operating a series of mutual funds unlawfully deviated from the investment policies set forth in its registration statement, to the detriment of the fund’s shareholders and in violation of section 13(a) of the Investment Company Act. The court reversed the denial of defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint on the grounds that nothing in section 13(a) as originally enacted or as subsequently amended either created a private cause of action or recognized one existed with the clarity and specificity required under Supreme Court precedent....

Divorcing a Ponzi-schemer offers greater financial stability than marrying a Ponzi-schemer. Last week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ordered two federal agencies to un-freeze the ill-gotten gains that an alleged-Ponzi schemer’s ex-wife received through their divorce settlement. Unlike the still-married Ruth Madoff, who forfeited $80 million following husband Bernie Madoff’s arrest, this ex-wife may have a shot at keeping the funds. Janet Schaberg was married to Stephen Walsh for more than two decades....

We all know that an attorney is supposed zealously represent his client. Dean Boland was just too zealous an advocate for his own good. In an attempt to help defendants resist child-pornography charges, Boland — a technology expert and lawyer — downloaded images of children from a stock photography website and digitally imposed the children’s faces onto the bodies of adults performing sex acts. Boland’s aim was to show the trial court that the defendants may not have known they were viewing child pornography....

The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has remanded an orthodontist’s case back to the lower federal court, which can now hear the pressing legal issue of whether or not he, as a licensed dentist, can practice as a dentist. The case will potentially shed some light on the somewhat perplexing law that limits one of the state’s professional licenses. Dr. Ben Burris of Fayetteville Arkansas is an orthodontist licensed in the state of Arkansas and has undergone the same training as any other dentist in the state....

Get ready for a flashback to first-year Contracts, with a modern twist. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled recently that a bank and a hospital had formed an enforceable contract regarding the sale of medical equipment in an offer-and-acceptance-based breach of contract dispute. On February 13, 2008, Mark Loosli, a Tetra employee acting on behalf of Republic, offered via email to sell the CT scanner to West Penn for $750,000, and the ultrasound equipment for an additional $30,000....