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When the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down a state law restricting medical abortions, it did so in a 388 word (including citations and headings) opinion. The cursory treatment of the case can be summarized as “this matter is controlled by … Planned Parenthood v. Casey,” which prohibits unreasonable restrictions on abortions. That opinion left many questions unanswered. Indeed, when the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari earlier this year, the Court certified two questions to the Oklahoma Supreme Court: asking whether the statue “prohibits: (1) the use of misoprostol to induce abortions, including the use of misoprostol in conjunction with mifepristone according to a protocol approved by the Food and Drug Administration; and (2) the use of methotrexate to treat eptopic [sic] pregnancies....

Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. and one of its subsidiaries agreed to pay $2.3 billion to settle civil and criminal charges regarding its marketing of the drug Bextra. As part of the settlement, Pfizer pled guilty to a felony violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for marketing the drug with the intent to deceive and mislead the public. The criminal portion of the fine is the largest fine ever levied by the United States government, breaking the previous record set by drugmaker Eli Lilly and Company with its illegal campaign for the drug Zyprexa just last January....

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a Fourth Amendment unreasonable search claim from a fired Nebraska prison guard this week, finding that the district court’s decision did not warrant further review. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) employed the guard, Brian True at the Lincoln Correction Center (LCC) from 1995 until 2007. True was advised when he was hired that DCS conducts unannounced searches of employees’ vehicles in its parking lots to prevent contraband from entering the prison....

Unless this nation’s highest court grants cert to the Langbord family, ten very rare and highly prized 1933 Double Eagle $20 (face value) gold coins are – and always have been – the property of the United States of America. By the way, that’s not $200 that’s at stake: it’s at least $75 million. No wonder there was such a fight! The coins in question have some pretty interesting history. Back in the early 30’s, the U....

In an action under the Administrative Procedure Act seeking to compel action by the Environmental Protection Agency on plaintiff’s complaint that a city failed properly to utilize EPA funds to address environmental problems, dismissal of the action on mootness grounds is reversed where the voluntary cessation exception to the mootness doctrine applied. Read Rosemere Neighborhood Ass’n. v. EPA, No. 08-35045 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted April 14, 2009 Filed September 17, 2009...

In US v. Harrison, No. 09-2907, the court of appeals affirmed defendant’s possession with intent to distribute cocaine base conviction, holding that the time elapsed between the stop at issue and the arrest was only five to six minutes, and the questions about the passengers’ comings and goings were subsumed in that brief interval, and this additional questioning did not prolong the stop so as to render it unconstitutional. As the court wrote: “Defendant-appellant Jonathan Harrison appeals the judgment of the United States District Court for the 31 Northern District of New York (Mordue, C....

Matthew Whitaker, acting attorney general, will keep his job at the Justice Department – for now. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge that claimed Whitaker’s appointment was illegal because he was not confirmed by the Senate. President Trump named Whitaker to fill in for Jeff Sessions, who resigned in November under pressure from the president. Arguing in Michaels v. Whitaker , Justice Department lawyers said former presidents have appointed high level officials 160 times without Senate approval....

In objections to a settlement of tort claims against the insurer of an asbestos manufacturer, the Court of Appeals’ order sustaining the objections is reversed where the terms of a prior injunction issued in bankruptcy proceedings regarding the manufacturer barred direct actions against Defendant, and the finality of the Bankruptcy Court’s orders generally stood in the way of challenging their enforceability. Read the full decision in Travelers Indemn. Co. v. Bailey, No....

District court order suppressing disputed evidence related to a bank robbery charge against defendant is reversed where: 1) the out of court identification of defendant based on evidence seized from his apartment was admissible under an attenuation theory as the officer did not know or should have that the search was likely to be unconstitutional, and thus there was no flagrant and purposeful misconduct that merits application of the exclusionary rule to evidence unearthed subsequent to the warrantless search; 2) the bait bills tying defendant to the robbery were admissible as consent to the search was a sufficient intervening event to break the causal chain between the illegal search, and a search where the bills were found; and 3) defendant’s confession was admissible as there was probable cause for his arrest....

In an appeal challenging a condition of defendant’s supervised release barring him from entering San Francisco without the prior approval of his probation officer, the appeal is dismissed where: 1) the condition was reasonably tied to the court’s stated aims of rehabilitation and deterrence and was no more restrictive than reasonably necessary to serve those purposes; and 2) the language of defendant’s plea agreement waiver encompassed the appeal, and the waiver was knowingly and voluntarily made given the circumstances surrounding the agreement....

The qui tam action brought against Wells Fargo in 2011 has been brought back to life by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, thanks to a recent ruling of the Supreme Court. The case alleges, under the False Claims Act, that Wells Fargo, Wachovia, and World Savings banks all falsely certified compliance with banking laws in order to qualify for loans from the Federal Reserve System. The plaintiffs, or realtors, in the action, had their claims dismissed and that dismissal affirmed; however, on appeal again, as the appellate court noted, the standard has now changed, which resulted in a remand to the district court....

The right to speak out and assemble with others in protest is enshrined in the First Amendment for a reason. It is one of the most crucial rights ensuring the U.S. remains a “free” country. Protesting your government’s actions should not and does not make you an enemy of the state. So what does it mean when the attorney general says that some protestors should be charged with sedition? Should you be worried about attending a protest that has the potential to turn violent?...

After months (or probably years) of planning and expenses, what if you found out your marriage was not valid under state law? After spending over $30k on their wedding day, a pair of Ohio newlyweds are going viral after they discovered their marriage was not legitimate. Their officiant, the bride’s grandfather, forgot to mail their marriage license to the probate court to register the marriage before it expired. When attempting to put her husband on her military health insurance, the bride discovered the license in her paperwork, meaning her grandfather had never sent it to the court....

When do you hire outside counsel? It’s not a trick question. Lawyers typically answer “it depends,” but it doesn’t have to be that complicated. You can break it down into two answers: You hire outside counsel only when you can’t do the work in house. Otherwise, hire outside counsel when you have no better choice. Do the Work In House As in any legal representation, attorneys have to start with the client’s best interests in mind....

It takes a big person to admit when they are wrong, and last week, Judge Posner did just that. In 2007, Judge Posner wrote the Crawford v. Marion County Election Board decision, which upheld an Indiana voter ID law requiring voters to show valid ID when voting at a polling place. In 2008, the Supreme Court affirmed Judge Posner’s Crawford decision. Earlier this year, Judge Posner released his 40th book, “Reflections on Judging” in which he states:...

This post was updated on March 31, 2022 There comes a time in life when you start thinking about how to make sure your family and loved ones have what they need when you die. The prospect of making an estate plan for their benefit might seem a bit daunting. But if you break things down into parts it becomes easier. One good way to start is to think about the kinds of documents you will need for an effective estate plan....

With the heat wave sweeping the country right now, you might be wondering: How can an attorney beat the heat in triple digit temperatures? The best solution may to be turn to tactics your Southern (and prepster) colleagues have been employing for years: summer dressing. If you’re ready to buy into summer dressing, without spending too much of your wardrobe budget, you’re in luck. Retailers are in the process of clearing out spring and summer stock to make way for fall....

A former teen actress went before the Third Circuit on Friday in an attempt to revive her defamation suit against Bill Cosby. Renita Hill has accused the comedian of drugging and sexually assaulting her when she was a 16-year-old actress on the TV show “Picture Pages.” When Cosby’s lawyer denied Hill’s accusations, as well as those of scores of other women, she sued, alleging that the denial rose to the level of defamation....

Where the Eleventh Circuit dismissed a claim under the Alien Tort Claims Act last month, the Ninth Circuit – under different, but similar, circumstances – reversed a dismissal. The case before the Ninth Circuit was originally filed by former child slaves forced to harvest cocoa in Ivory Coast. The defendants were Nestle USA, Cargill, and Archer Daniels Midland – all American food companies that made chocolate products from Ivory Coast cocoa....

The U.S. Supreme Court lifted a stay of execution granted to Allen Nicklasson by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, clearing the way for his execution. Late Wednesday night, Nicklasson was put to death nearly 23 hours after he was originally scheduled to die. Nicklasson was put to death for the August 1994 murder of motorist Richard Drummond, who stopped on a highway to help Nicklasson and two others whose car had broken down, reports The Associated Press....