The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of wildlife conservation groups that sued to stop the killing of wolves in Idaho. While the win doesn’t mean that the wolf-bloodshed will immediately stop, it will help to ensure that it is done more thoughtfully. In short, the lawsuit sought to force the authorities in Idaho to do an environmental impact study to figure out what impact the killing of wolves would have on the ecosystem....
Last week, the Ninth Circuit heard oral arguments in Facebook v. Power Ventures. There’s a $3M judgement at stake, but that’s nothing compared to the impact the case could have on the reach of an anti-hacking law, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. That law, once intended to punish hackers who broke into computer systems, has been read by some circuits to prohibit all sorts of unauthorized access, from looking at protected company files to access someone’s Facebook information....
District court’s grant of summary judgment to defendants on plaintiffs’ claim that the denial of a visa for an Islamic scholar violated their First Amendment rights is vacated and remanded where: 1) the district court had jurisdiction to consider the claim, despite the doctrine of consular nonreviewability; 2) the Immigration and Nationality Act provision expanding visa ineligibility to those who contributed funds to a terrorist organization before the provision was enacted was validly applied; 3) the knowledge requirement of the statute required the consular officer to find that the applicant knew his contributions provided material support; and 4) the record does not establish that the consular officer who denied the visa confronted the with applicant with the allegation that he knowingly rendered material support to a terrorist organization, thereby precluding the applicant for an opportunity to satisfy the provision that exempts exclusion if the he can demonstrate that he did not know, and should not reasonably have known, that the organization was a terrorist organization....
In an action seeking a declaration of coverage under an auto insurance policy, summary judgment for Plaintiff is reversed, where the policy’s household drop-down exclusion limited the liability coverage available in the wrongful death suit to the minimum amount required under state law. Read the full decision in Babinski v. Am. Family Ins. Group, No. 08-1986. Appellate Information: Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.Submitted on December 12, 2008Filed on June 18, 2009...
In an action under the Housing and Community Development Act challenging eviction notices issued by defendant-landlord, summary judgment for plaintiffs is affirmed where the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “good cause” regulation did not preempt the operation of the City of Los Angeles’s eviction control ordinance. Read Barrientos v. 1801-1825 Morton LLC, No. 07-56697 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted March 2, 2009 Filed October 9, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Wardlaw...
Dismissal of plaintiff’s action against the Indiana University School of Optometry arising from his expulsion from the school is affirmed as the court correctly concluded that plaintiff failed to point to any specific promise that the university made which established that plaintiff might have had an entitlement to a continuing education or any other entitlement. As such, plaintiff’s complaint failed to contain enough information to state a legally cognizable claim. Read Bissessur v....
In plaintiffs’ lawsuit against defendants, alleging copyright infringement and various state law claims relating to the use of samples in rap recordings, district court’s denial of defendants’ motion requesting that attorney fees be imposed as a condition of granting plaintiffs’ motions to voluntarily dismiss without prejudice the twenty cases at issue is affirmed as the district court did not abuse its discretion either by failing to provide specific reasons for its decision, or by deciding not to impose attorney fees as a condition of dismissal under Rule 41(a)(2)....
In Magwood v. Patterson, No. 09-158, a capital habeas matter, the Court reversed the Eleventh Circuit’s reversal of the grant of petitioner’s petition, holding that, because petitioner’s habeas application challenged a new judgment for the first time, it was not “second or succcessive” under 28 U.S.C. section 2244(b). As the Court wrote: “Petitioner Billy Joe Magwood was sentenced to death for murdering a sheriff. After the Alabama courts denied relief on direct appeal and in postconviction proceedings, Magwood filed an application for a writ of habeas corpus in Federal District Court, challenging both his conviction and his sentence....
Fletcher v. Burkhalter, No. 09-7003, involved a civil rights action claiming that defendant signed a probable-cause affidavit that led to plaintiff’s improper arrest for engaging in a fraudulent land sale. The court of appeals affirmed the denial of summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds, holding that: 1) the court lacked jurisdiction to consider defendant’s argument that the district court erred in holding that there was sufficient evidence to support a finding of malice; and 2) the approvals of the district attorney and the judge did not absolve defendant of liability....
Police officers in the Chicago PD’s Bureau of Organized Crime filed a class action case against the department alleging unpaid overtime for checking emails, sending and receiving text messages and calls during off-duty time. The case, Allen v. City of Chicago, involves a class of 52 officers that were seeking unpaid overtime. Unfortunately for the officers, the district court ruled in favor of the department after a bench trial to a magistrate judge....
The acts committed by former Cal State University East Bay Criminal Justice Professor Kenneth Kyle, and his accomplice Tessa Vanvlerah, are too disturbing to recount in detail. The pair sexually assaulted Vanvlerah’s 3-month-old infant daughter, leading to two consecutive life sentences for the mother, and a 37.5 year sentence, pursuant to a plea, for Kyle.The pair met online, and were caught after the FBI noticed him sharing footage of the crimes on a file-sharing network under the screen name “cruelsob....
With that in mind, here are some practical ways to limit smartphone use without compromising your accessibility. You may even find some to be a helpful way to increase productivity. Use an old-fashioned alarm clock. When the first thing you do in the morning is reach for your phone to hit snooze, you’re starting off the day with work email, news, and maybe even Twitter mentions. It’s not helpful. Take time offline each day, morning or night....
It’s easier for the government to take your DNA than it is for the government to take your diary. That’s weird, right? Both contain your deepest, darkest secrets. But if you’re arrested in a state like Maryland or California, the cops can automatically collect a sample of your DNA and store it in a database. Even if you’re never convicted. Or charged. The ruling in the case, Maryland v. King, could have broad implications....
The Montana Supreme Court may have defied the U.S. Supreme Court last month in its Western Tradition Partnership v. Attorney General decision, but the federal courts are falling in line with the Nine when it comes to campaign finance laws. Last week, U.S. District Judge William Johnson struck down provisions of the New Mexico Campaign Reporting Act that limited financial contributions to be used in federal campaigns and for independent expenditures in state races, reports NMPolitics....
David Pittington was trying to make a living as a low wage-earner in a small-town, Tennessee theater. He worked in a wooden shack outside, collecting $8 to $10 an hour. He didn’t complain too much, except about how management treated his wife, who also worked there. When the company fired him, he sued for wrongful discharge. A jury gave him $10,000 in back pay, but an appeals court said that wasn’t enough in Pittington v....
In a petition under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction seeking the return of Petitioner’s son to her custody in Israel, judgment for Respondent is affirmed where Petitioner failed to establish that there was an actual “removal or retention” by Respondent or that the alleged retention was “wrongful.” Read Jenkins v. Jenkins, No. 08-3534 Appellate Information Argued: December 11, 2008 Decided and Filed: July 1, 2009...
When Fleetwood Mac cooed “tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies,” they were referring to lies that can spare feelings in a relationship, not lies to support a defendant’s request to withdraw a guilty plea. This week, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals attempted to clarify that point, holding that a district court need not allow a defendant to withdraw a guilty plea when the defendant’s request is based on a lie....
Excess Insurance Coverage Dispute In Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co. v. RGIS Inventory Specialists, LLC, No. 09-0753, an action seeking a declaratory judgment to the effect that defendants were not entitled to coverage under an excess insurance policy for an underlying personal injury judgment because of defendants’ untimely notice, the court affirmed summary judgment for defendants where, under the specific circumstances of this case, defendants provided timely notice within the meaning of the excess liability insurance policy’s notice provision....
In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 and Title IX action against a university arising after the university required women on the co-ed wrestling team to compete against men under men’s rules, summary judgment for defendants is reversed where: 1) plaintiffs were not required to give the university notice of, and an opportunity to rectify, the specific violation to make out a Title IX claim; 2) the record did not contain undisputed facts showing a history and continuing practice of program expansion that was responsive to women’s interests; and 3) as plaintiffs were students and therefore subject to the policy that allegedly discriminated on the basis of sex at the time they filed their complaint, their section 1983 claim was not time-barred....
The NBA season is in jeopardy, and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is to blame. After weeks of union decertification talk, NBA players took action this week. On Monday, negotiations between players and owners ended, and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) voted to disband. As members of the NBPA - a union - players were stuck in the collective bargaining process. Now that the players have elected to disband the NBPA, they can pursue an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA owners....
