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In an employment discrimination case, district court’s grant of summary judgment for defendant on grounds that the plaintiff failed to timely file a charge with the EEOC is vacated and remanded where defendant failed to show absence of a genuine factual dispute over whether plaintiff’s charge had been timely filed via fax where it was not the plaintiff who had to prove receipt, but the defendant who had to prove the absence of receipt and a fax confirmation creates a factual dispute sufficient to preclude summary judgment....

Battery is an intentional tort. Malpractice is negligence-based tort. One requires intent. The other is failing to meet the reasonable standard of care. Any 1L could tell you this. Why is this case in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals then? The decedent, Pauline Shuler, was allergic to Heparin (an anticoagulant). She wore a medical bracelet listing the allergy. Her charts listed the allergy. Everyone knew about the allergy. According to Shuler’s family, she was injected with Heparin multiple times, including an injection shortly before her death....

Brenda Smith walked into a WalMart, and walked out in handcuffs. She was arrested for taking $40 someone left in a change terminal, and sentenced to 40 days in jail for her wrongdoing. Then things got worse. Smith takes medication for an opioid addiction, but jailors said they wouldn’t give it to her. According to the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Smith v. Aroostook County, that was more wrong....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet. In 1996, Congress enacted Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) to provide Internet service intermediaries with general immunity from liability with respect to third-party content posted on their sites. Congress wanted the commercial Internet to flourish, with great benefits to the U.S. economy, and therefore did not want Internet intermediaries to be burdened with the phenomenally costly task of having to monitor and referee third-party content....

The Supreme Court’s oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges and the recent shootings at the “Draw Muhammad” contest in Texas have led to some pretty interesting theories about how the Constitution works. In both cases, the interplay of religious liberty, free speech, and the rights of others concern some people out in the world who are afraid of same-sex marriage or of events that are designed to make people angry, like the Draw Muhammad contest....

District court’s enhanced sentencing of a defendant convicted of drug possession during a traffic stop, based on other drugs found at defendant’s home, is affirmed where: 1) district court’s refusal to apply the exclusionary rule to evidence found in defendant’s home was not clear error based on lack of any evidence to support defendant’s bare assertion of misconduct; 2) district court did not clearly err in finding that the drugs seized from defendant’s home were part of the same common scheme or plan as the offense for which he was convicted, and thus, the drugs were properly used to enhance his sentence; 3) district court did not err in applying the enhancement under section 2D1....

The Supreme Court heard the final oral argument of the season last Wednesday. And while we’re still waiting for decisions in many of those cases, we can now get a sense of which attorneys had the biggest impact on the Court this term – at least when measured by their participation in cases argued. In fact, we can get more than a sense, we can get exact numbers, thanks to the folks at Empirical SCOTUS who counted up the Court’s top litigators so you don’t have to....

In an attempt to make porn distributors police themselves, Congress passed into law 18 USC 2257, which requires that they keep records of all their performers so they can prove no one in their employ is underage. They also must produce these records at the government’s request, or permit the government to inspect them at any time. Porn companies think this requirement is onerous and violates the First and Fourth Amendments....

Before your mom got sick, she tried to arrange everything so that she would not be a burden on anyone. But now, she is too far gone to pay much attention to what’s happening. You’re starting to sense that your siblings may not tell you everything. What do you do? How do you know when an older adult is abused? Are there any clues? Scams, Financial Exploitation, and Financial Abuse Signs to Watch For The following is a list of five tips for spotting possible theft or financial abuse from family members....

The man who killed a Ninth Circuit judge and left Representative Gabrielle Giffords fighting for her life cannot be forced to take anti-psychotic medications, the Ninth Circuit said. Jared Loughner was granted some temporary relief as his attorneys argued for a stay last Friday, arguing that prison officials should not force Loughner to take anti-psychotic drugs upon determination that he may be a danger to himself or others, writes the Tucson Sentinel....

Well, this is awkward. Just as Neil Gorsuch faced a barrage of hard hitting questions for the third day in a row, the Supreme Court overruled him on a controversial opinion from 2008. Senator Dick Durbin took the judge to task over that ruling, where the judge rejected a challenge by the parents of an autistic boy who claimed that his school had failed to provide him the educational services required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act....

Morris v. Zefferi, No. 08-3141, involved an action alleging that an officer violated plaintiff’s constitutional rights when defendant transported plaintiff, who at the time was a pretrial detainee, in a dog cage in a K-9 vehicle during a ninety-minute drive to a county courthouse. The court of appeals affirmed on the grounds that 1) based on the totality of the circumstances, defendant’s decision to transport plaintiff in this manner transgressed today’s broad and idealistic concepts of dignity, civilized standards, humanity, and decency; and 2) the unconstitutionality of defendant’s alleged conduct should have been obvious to defendant based both on common sense and prior general case law....

For a country founded on the principle of the separation of church and state, we sure like to put giant religious imagery on hilltops whenever we get the chance – and then we’re surprised when someone complains. The Mount Soledad saga continues, with still no word from the Supreme Court as to whether cert will be granted. And now, Big Mountain Jesus will be coming up before the Ninth Circuit too....

An auto-fill function can cover a multitude of sins. It can cover poor spelling mistakes. It can fill-in for a thesaurus. It can even make a slow typist faster. And in the latest version, it can help a law firm avoid discrimination. Oops, we meant to say “create diversity.” Textio Says Textio, a text analytics startup, has been helping companies find more diverse candidates for about five years. It “unlocks the best language” to engage prospective new hires....

Student debt is reaching a crisis level as college costs grow year after year, and interest rates keep many people in debt. President Biden has already extended the pause on student federal loan payments during the pandemic until September 30, 2021. But as vaccines roll out and an end to the pandemic may be in sight, many are wondering what happens to their student debt when the pause ends. Will President Biden Cancel Student Debts?...

The Criminal Justice Act (“CJA”) established a system to provide attorneys to defendants in federal criminal cases who could otherwise not afford legal representation. If you are currently a member of the CJA panel, and are interested in getting more experience, the Standing Committee is currently accepting applications for lawyers to serve on the Standing Committee on the Criminal Justice Act. CJA Standing Committee Vacancies The Standing Committee of the U....

Rent-A-Center West, Inc. v. Jackson, No. 09-497, involved an employment discrimination action. The Court reversed the Ninth Circuit’s reversal of the district court’s dismissal of the action based on the parties’ agreement, holding that, under the Federal Arbitration Act, where an agreement to arbitrate includes an agreement that the arbitrator will determine the enforceability of the agreement, if a party challenges specifically the enforceability of that particular agreement, the district court considers the challenge, but if a party challenges the enforceability of the agreement as a whole, the challenge is for the arbitrator....

Facing charges for a DUI, DWI, OUI or any of the popular drunk driving acronyms is stressful, confusing, and possibly life changing. For many drunk driving defendants, it is their first experience with the criminal courts, or maybe even any court. It is natural to have questions, and it is smart to research the answers to those questions and even smarter to talk to a lawyer about your specific case....

Action Based on Denial of Insurance Benefits In Fier v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Am., No. 09-17520, an action based on the denial of benefits to plaintiff under two insurance policies that he purchased from defendant life insurer, the court affirmed judgment for defendant where 1) the policy unambiguously served to terminate “disability benefits” at the time an insured person earned greater than eighty percent of his pre-disability earnings; and 2) the terms “dismemberment by severance” were unambiguous and required “actual, physical separation....

Judge Richard Posner is known for his way with words, especially his ability to criticize deserving parties in a caustic, humorous, and legally sound manner. So on first glance, it may seem strange that he’d criticize a district court judge for his “tone of derision that pervades his opinion” before reassigning the case on remand. Except there is one big difference: Posner’s opinions stand on solid ground. U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur’s opinion, and his handling of an employment discrimination case, seem to have been far less stable, reports the ABA Journal....