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What’s the illegal part of being an illegal immigrant? Is it a crime to simply be an undocumented immigrant residing in the United States? What about sneaking across the border? The confusion lies in the legal difference between improper entry and unlawful presence. Here’s what you need to know: To be clear, the most common crime associated with illegal immigration is likely improper entry. Under federal criminal law, it is misdemeanor for an alien (i....

An en banc Fifth Circuit ruled against Texas’s controversial voter ID law today, affirming a district court opinion that found the law, known as SB 14, to have a discriminatory effect on minority voting rights in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The ruling came just in time as well. In April, the Supreme Court declined to intervene in the voter ID dispute, giving the Fifth Circuit until July 20th to act on the issue – a deadline the Fifth just barely made....

District court’s denial of plaintiff’s petition for habeas corpus in a murder case is affirmed where the court properly held that the claims plaintiff raised in her habeas petition were procedurally defaulted as the petition did not raise any of the three theories of ineffective assistance of counsel she presented to the state appellate court and thus could not be asserted on appeal. Read Johnson v. Hulett, No. 06-2458 Appellate InformationAppeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division....

Remember those criminal cases that you read in Con Law? Well, it’s very likely that future editions of the Con Law textbook will include Kansas v. Cheever. Kansas v. Cheever: Background Scott Cheever, a methamphetamine user, shot and killed Sheriff Matthew Samuels of Greenwood County, Kansas. Cheever presented a voluntary intoxication defense and argued that because of his drug use, he did not have the appropriate mental state to commit premeditated murder....

A group of 194 employees fired by Vanderbilt University in the summer of 2013 can’t pursue a class action – and planned settlement – against the university over Vanderbilt’s violation of “mass layoff” laws, the Sixth Circuit ruled last week. The canned employees alleged that Vanderbilt never provided them or 279 other employees 60-days notice as required by the mass layoff provisions of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. But, to fall under WARN, a layoff must effect at least 500 workers, the Sixth found, and the two groups of fired employees were let go too far apart to be combined for WARN purposes....

Mattel Inc., the world’s largest toy maker, has been fined $2.3 million by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for importing toys that violated federal laws banning lead paint in consumer products. The landmark fine is tied to lead paint violations that prompted the recall of millions of Mattel and Fisher-Price toys in 2007. In 2007, about 95 Mattel and Fisher-Price toys – including the “Sarge” car and a number of Barbie toys – were found to be in violation of a 1978 federal law prohibiting toys from containing more than ....

The arbitration clause is “one-sided,” “adhesive,” “favors LexisNexis at every turn, and as a practical matter makes it practically unfeasible” to assert individual claims, as it requires arbitration to be brought in Dayton, Ohio, where LexisNexis is located. Oh, and it also requires the customer to split the tab and cover his own legal fees, regardless of the case outcome. So why did the Sixth Circuit just enforce such an arguably (but not legally) unconscionable clause?...

For many observers, the report issued by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on the issue of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was more of a Rorschach Test than a definitive document. Those who believe President Donald Trump acted improperly certainly found enough evidence to confirm that belief. And those who were convinced the entire investigation was a waste of time could point to the fact that the president wasn’t charged with any crimes to support their position....

The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit struck down portions of New York City’s Local Law 17 in The Evergreen Association v. City of New York, but held that the definition of “pregnancy service centers” wasn’t impermissibly vague. Local Law 17 required pregnancy centers to disclose whether they have licensed medical professional on staff, whether the center provides referrals for abortion, emergency contraception, or prenatal care, and that the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene encourages pregnant women to consult with a licensed doctor, according to the opinion....

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed H.B. 2036 into law in April 2012. The bill restricts and criminalizes an abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy or later, except in a “medical emergency.” In August, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals enjoined enforcement of the bill. The law’s supporters claim that H.B. 2036 protects maternal health, because abortions at 20 weeks or beyond are more dangerous than procedures performed earlier in pregnancy. Opponents say that medical emergency exception to the law is too narrow, and could jeopardize a woman’s life or seriously harm her health....

Suit Alleging Fraudulent Tax Shelters In Rezner v. Bayerische Hypo-Und Vereinsbank AG, No. 09-16402, an action alleging that defendant engaged in a scheme to defraud the U.S. of tax revenue through fraudulent tax shelters that caused injury to purchasers of such shelters, the court reversed summary judgment for plaintiff where the district court erred in concluding that plaintiff had satisfied the proximate causation requirement for a civil RICO claim. Related Resources...

In an ERISA action challenging a denial of plaintiff’s application for long-term disability benefits, dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where, because the parties did not provide any reason to ignore the plain language of the policy, the clear repudiation rule did not apply and the language of the policy governed. Read Rice v. Jefferson Pilot Fin. Ins. Co., No. 08-4180 Appellate Information Argued: August 4, 2009 Decided and Filed: August 24, 2009...

The Sixth Circuit is seeing a lot action lately on the same sex marriage front, with all four states in the circuit facing appeals on the issue. As the Sixth Circuit will join the national debate on same sex marriage, we also have other cases making progress though the courts related to hate crimes and a death row inmate’s attempt at a second chance. Read on for details … Same Sex Marriage Appeals The Sixth Circuit has decided to hear appeals, dealing with four different state laws related to same sex marriage bans, on the same day, reports the Rochester-Rochester Hills Patch....

Scottie Pippen was named one of the NBA’s top 50 greatest players, and won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. His stellar athletic career ended in 2004 and he followed up with endorsement deals, basketball analysis and … a few bad investments. Pippen tried to mitigate his financial losses by suing his former legal and financial advisors, who he felt gave him bad advice. The media heard of his financial troubles and reported that Pippen had filed for Bankruptcy, which he had not....

US v. Brown, No. 09-2296, concerned defendant’s appeal following the district court’s grant of his motion for a reduction in sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. section 3582(c)(2) and the 2008 Guidelines amendments, which retroactively reduced base offense levels for particular offenses involving cocaine base. The court of appeals affirmed on the ground that, in section 3582(c)(2) proceedings, a district court lacks authority to reduce a defendant’s sentence below the amended Guidelines range, and such proceedings did not constitute a full resentencing of the defendant....

The Supreme Court issued orders this morning — at its new, earlier time — announcing six new cases for the 2012 term. If you can’t wait for this year’s opinions to begin rolling out, you’re in luck: The Court also issued an unsigned opinion upholding West Virginia’s congressional redistricting plan, Reuters reports. First, let’s discuss the decision. Plaintiffs in the redistricting case, Tennant v. Jefferson County Commission, claimed that West Virginia’s 2011 congressional redistricting plan violated the “one person, one vote” principle....

Today’s all about the music: rap lyrics as threats, the final countdown for same-sex marriage advocates, and cops facing the music in court (or not). Here are today’s three selections for our SCOTUS roundup: If a man writes criminal threats in the form of rap lyrics, is he actually making those threats, or is he simply doing what most rapper do: writing over-the-top, violent boasts over beats? In a rare case of a victorious party supporting certiorari, same-sex marriage plaintiffs, who are undefeated in federal courts, are asking the Supreme Court to take the case anyway....

An 18-year-student sued Apple for $1 billion, alleging the company wrongly accused him of stealing from its stores. Ousmane Bah says he didn’t steal anything. Instead, he says Apple used facial recognition software that falsely identified him. Police arrested Bah, but then released him when they discovered the error. It turned out someone stole Bah’s identity in another arrest for the theft of Apple pencils. They cost $1,200 because it’s Apple, of course....

It’s said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When it comes to business casual, a similar subjectivity applies. What goes in a “business casual” California startup environment might get you barred from a Virginia courtroom. Still, hopefully, a few general rules will help. 1. Err on the side of over-dressing. Ever see “that guy” in your office who rocks the V-neck T-shirts because they are somehow more formal than a crew neck?...

In today’s modern world of internet connected thermostats and smart refrigerators, there’s almost nothing worse than a slow WiFi connection. And when it comes to legal work, slow WiFi can lead to increased costs, decreased productivity, and whole lot of lawyer, and support staff, stress. Simply put, with the state of the internet today, there is no excuse for slow WiFi. So if your home or office is suffering from slow web speeds, check out the following tips below to hopefully get your speeds back up so you can return to streaming Netflix (or your CLEs) while reviewing online discovery without one or the other always buffering....