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In a Freedom of Information Act action involving a request for documents regarding the effects of livestock grazing on Upper and Middle Columbia River Steelhead, the award of attorney’s fees to Plaintiff is affirmed in part, where the District Court ruled in Plaintiff’s favor on its Administrative Procedure Act claim, but reversed in part, where Defendants provided certain documents Plaintiff requested before the District Court ordered that they be turned over and thus Plaintiff was not a “prevailing party” with respect to those documents....

There’s a Supreme Court decision that’s been bothering us since June 28. Not the Affordable Care Act or the Stolen Valor Act decision. We’re talking about the one that almost no one else is talking about: First American Financial v. Edwards. The injury element - not the RESPA violation - sparked interest in the case because First American argued that Edwards only had a statutory cause of action, not an injury in fact....

There are two notable cases listed among Monday’s Supreme Court orders: Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons and Skilling v. U.S. Kirtsaeng is a grant, and Skilling is a denial. Let’s take a minute to discuss what we will and won’t be talking about during the October 2012 term. The first sale doctrine in copyright law allows the owner of a lawfully-purchased copyrighted work to resell it without limitations imposed by the copyright holder....

For many of us, one of the best things about the holiday season is the Nativity scenes. Well, not so much the scenes themselves – which are fine. No, we’re talking the inevitable squabbles that erupt every holiday season about these religious depictions. There’s usually a bunch of them. As the most dismal year in anyone’s memory draws to a close, those of us with twisted senses of humor were looking forward to this year’s offerings from the Nativity scene front....

Back in April, a Ninth Circuit panel issued a decision that, for the most part, was relatively straight-forward under controlling law. A disgruntled former Trump University student took to the Internet, and the courts, to express her thoughts that TU was a rip-off, and was met with a defamation suit in response. She (Anti-)SLAPP(ed) back, using the California-based semi-procedural mechanism against TU. The Anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation device allows a person to fight back against lawsuits that “masquerade as ordinary lawsuits but are intended to deter ordinary people from exercising their political or legal rights....

District court’s sentence of a defendant convicted of drug possession with intent to distribute is affirmed where, although under the terms of the plea agreement defendant did not waive his right to seek a reduction in the length of the sentence under 18 U.S.C. section 3582(c)(2), defendant was ineligible to seek a sentence reduction because the “starting point” for defendant’s sentence was the statutory, mandatory minimum sentence. Such minimum sentence was not reduced or otherwise affected by Amendment 706, which impacted only his base offense level, not his sentencing range....

In an insurance fraud prosecution, the district court’s amended restitution order is affirmed where the provisions of the governing statute in this case, the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982, were complied with because, inter alia, the restitution order was imposed at the time that defendant was resentenced following the court of appeals’ remand, and defendant did not show that she was prejudiced by the lapse of time preceding resentencing....

By mid-April, prime ministers and presidents of several European nations announced that their countries may begin to ease restrictions on business and industry in an effort to get their economies off the mat. At about the same time, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he wanted his nation to do the same. Clearly, many Americans share that sentiment. But when Trump took things a step farther, a bit of hell broke loose....

Once again, Minneapolis streets are filled with protesters over the killing of a Black man by police. Less than two years ago, police practices there came under heavy attack after an officer killed George Floyd by pinning him to the asphalt with his knee. This time, the issue is the department’s extensive use of “no-knock” warrants of the type that resulted in the Feb. 2 shooting death of Amir Locke, an innocent 22-year-old Black man....

The Tenth Circuit issued a temporary injunction that halted a rapid transit project in its tracks just days before shovels were set to hit the dirt. It’s a feather in Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry’s cap after his previous failed attempts to stop the ART. This is hardly the last anyone will hear of this legal battle. After all, $120 million has already been sunk into this thing. Small Business Opposition From the very beginning, there has been pushback from small businesses and local property owners....

An Atlanta attorney whose tuberculosis sickness prompted a very public health scare in 2007 has sued federal health officials for invasion of privacy, claiming that the release of personal information damaged his reputation, his livelihood, and his marriage. In May 2007, Andrew Speaker took a well-publicized trip to Greece for his wedding, despite having been diagnosed with a particularly drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) held a press conference on May 29, 2007 “stating a patient with a rare form of tuberculosis, extensively drug-resistant TB which often proves fatal, had taken an international flight,” according to CNN....

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 challenge to Ohio’s lethal injection method of execution, the dismissal of the action is affirmed where: 1) the continuing-violations doctrine did not toll the statute of limitations; 2) the statute of limitations set forth in Cooey v. Strickland, 479 F.3d 412 (6th Cir. 2007) (Cooey II), did not constitute a “new rule of law” that could not be applied retroactively; and 3) Cooey II did not fully adopt the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act’s statute-of-limitations provisions....

Another horrific mass school shooting. This time, Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen kids and two teachers murdered. Instead of getting to praise their children for getting great grades, some parents spent the night in hospitals wondering if their children would survive. Other parents grieved. Most Americans naturally wonder whether additional restrictions on gun ownership would have prevented this tragedy. We will never know. But there seems to be bipartisan support that we at least try something....

R.J. Reynolds and Phillip Morris were denied certiorari in their bid to catch a break from the wave of lawsuits over the deaths of smokers costing them millions of dollars. The cigarette makers, in a series of eight cases, were essentially challenging the ability of plaintiffs to rely on determinations made in a decade-old class action, which is basically what the result of that action provided. However, the Court rejected the multiple cert petitions....

Uber has been going in reverse lately, but is about to turn a big corner. After agreeing to pay $148 million in a privacy case this week, the ride-hailing company got some good news in another. In O’Connor v. Uber Technologies, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said Uber drivers are bound by their arbitration agreements. That means their class actions are headed for a dead end. Uber drivers will have to fight their battles one at a time....

Franklin v. Kellogg Co., 09-5880, involved a plaintiff’s suit against Kellogg Company on behalf of herself and all similarly situated employees to recover wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for time spent donning and doffing Kellogg’s mandatory food safety uniforms and protective equipment, and for time spent walking to and from the changing area and the time clock. Wright v. Bell, 07-5305, concerned a challenge to the district court’s denial of defendant’s request for habeas relief from his 1984 conviction for committing two murders and a sentence of death....

In 2003, an air marshal named Robert MacLean went to the press with a story that the TSA was ineffectual at protecting us from potential airplane hijackings. He was eventually fired, leading to a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against the TSA. The TSA had always maintained that MacLean shouldn’t get whistleblower protection because he disclosed internal policies in violation of federal law, obviating his whistleblower status. In a 7-2 decision issued today, the Supreme Court sided with MacLean....

Being hot and sweaty is the pits. It’s why people usually only wear a towel when they use a sauna, and why many more don’t even want to think about being inside of one. And why some people just like to get really — really — comfortable when they’re at home. But one Utah woman’s attempt to use these facts as a teachable moment for her stepchildren about sexism will now see her facing criminal charges....

We’re used to reading public prayer cases from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. This week, the Second Circuit took a stab at the Establishment Clause, finding that a New York town’s invocation policy was unconstitutional. Greece, N.Y. has started its Town Board meetings with a short prayer since 1999. In 2008, residents Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens sued the town and Town Supervisor John Auberger in federal court, asserting that aspects of this prayer practice violated the Establishment Clause....

Jesse Ventura has been many things in his life - a professional wrestler, Navy SEAL, and Minnesota governor - but he’s no longer a patriot. That’s because U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson dismissed Ventura’s lawsuit against Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Ventura, who received a titanium hip implant in 2008, claims that he is unconstitutionally subjected to TSA’s enhanced body-imaging technology and full-body patdowns because he does not pose a threat to airline safety....