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Wilson v. Rees, 09-6306, concerned a challenge to the district court’s dismissal, as untimely, of an inmate’s 42 U.S.C. section 1983 suit challenging Kentucky’s lethal injection protocol under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. In affirming, the court held that Bowling v. Ky. Dept. of Corrections, 301 S.W.3d 478, (Ky. 2009), and its aftermath do not disrupt the district court’s holding that defendant’s complaint is barred by the statute of limitations....

The Supreme Court struck down restrictive regulations on abortion providers in Texas today, in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt, ruling that those restrictions constitute an undue burden on a woman’s access to abortion, in violation of the Constitution. The restrictions, which required abortion providers to obtain admitting-privileges at hospitals and meet the requirements of surgical centers, would have forced the vast majority of Texas’s abortion clinics to close. Those requirements created substantial obstacles to abortion access while doing little to protect the health of women, the Court ruled in a 5-3 decision....

Defendant’s drug distribution sentence is affirmed where, although Defendant claimed that he became caught up in a drug conspiracy due to his inexperience and youth, the government presented evidence contradicting Defendant’s statements and the District Court did not abuse its discretion in determining that the 18 U.S.C. section 3553(a) factors did not support a downward variance. Read the full decision in US v. Beltran, No. 08-2191. Appellate Information: APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO (D....

District court’s conviction of defendant for drug conspiracy is affirmed where: 1) defendant’s Rule 404(b) argument fails because identity was the sole issue at trial and the evidence regarding the Texas drug transaction was highly probative on that issue; 2) defendant’s due process challenge to a witness’ identification testimony is rejected because the identification was sufficiently reliable under the circumstances of the case; and 3) defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel was not violated as the post-indictment, uncounseled identification did not occur during a critical stage of the criminal proceedings under Wade and Ash....

Mann Act Prosecution In US v. Hoffman, No. 09-3651, defendant’s conviction and sentence for transporting five minor females across state lines for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity in violation of the Mann Act are affirmed where 1) the evidence supported the jury’s conclusion that at all times defendant’s intent in transporting the girls across state lines was for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity; and 2) given the court’s sentencing colloquy, the record reflects that the court appropriately based the sentence on the sum of the evidence in light of the advisory sentencing Guidelines and the court’s analysis of the 18 U....

District court’s conviction of defendant for being a felon in possession of a firearm is affirmed where: 1) the 18 U.S.C. section 921(a)(20)(A) exclusion does not apply to defendant’s predicate conviction; 2) section 921(a)(20)(A) is not impermissibly vague, as an ordinary individual would have notice that the exception applies only if he or she committed an enumerated or similar offense related to the regulation of business practices; 3) the district court did not clearly err in denying defendant’s request to conduct a Franks hearing; and 4) defendant’s claim that district court erred in denying his motion to suppress the statements that he made when his home was searched is without merit....

Your child may travel internationally or domestically, as part of a class trip, or with an adult who is not their legal guardian. When they do, they will need a child travel consent form. Additionally, if divorced or legally separated, you may need to show a child travel consent form signed by their other parent to travel with your child. This consent prevents child abductions where a parent takes their child to another country in violation of the International Parental Child Abduction Act....

Opponents of the Affordable Care Act’s religious exemption to contraceptive coverage suffered a setback today, as the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s determination that even the religious exemption runs afoul of the First Amendment. The Third Circuit’s opinion falls in line with opinions from other circuits last year, holding that the religious exemption to contraceptive coverage doesn’t allow an employer to prevent an employee from ever obtaining contraceptives....

You know the old trope of the two friends who couldn’t be more different? “The Odd Couple”? “Bosom Buddies”? “The Patty Duke Show”? Well, Estate of Lagano v. Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office is like that, except one was Chief of Detectives for the East Brunswick, New Jersey, police department and the other one might be a mobster. (I smell a “Sopranos” spin-off!) Frank Lagano was under investigation; his friend Michael Mordaga was the detective....

February’s protestor sure isn’t going to be happy. Let’s hope for a sequel! Speaking of sequels, in a case many dubbed “Citizens United II,” the Supreme Court this morning held that the aggregate limits on direct campaign contributions to candidates and political parties were a violation of free speech, and therefore unconstitutional. Unsurprisingly, the decision was heavily split, with an unusual 4-1-4 lineup that pitted four conservatives against four liberals, with Justice Clarence Thomas steadfastly standing alone in concurrence with the judgment only....

It also produced a three hundred page court opinion finding that the billion dollar judgment to be based on fraudulent evidence, bribery and deceit – and preventing enforcement of the judgment under an anti-racketeering statute often used for mobsters, not environmental lawyers. Steven Donzinger originally brought case against Chevron and pursued it vehemently for years. After an Ecuadorian court found for the plaintiffs and entered a judgment just shy of $9 billion, Chevron moved to prevent its enforcement under the United States’ Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act....

A Mexican citizen who pled guilty to violating U.S. immigration law cannot have his sentence overturned because the district court failed to directly reference applicable sentencing guidelines, the Sixth Circuit ruled on Monday. Jose Solano-Rosales was sentenced to supervised release after he pled guilty to entering the U.S. without authorization after having been previously removed subsequent to a felony conviction. During the sentencing, the district court never explicitly referenced the relevant federal sentencing guidelines, which generally recommended against supervised release....

If you were planning on drowning your sorrows in booze the next time you attended a funeral in Pennsylvania, you may need to bring your own flask. The Third Circuit recently upheld an old law on the books, and some funeral directors are miffed, reports LancasterOnline. And, adding to those that are upset are Orthodox Jewish therapists, as they join the charge challenging New Jersey’s law banning gay conversion therapy....

It’s been 140 days since Merrick Garland was nominated to the Supreme Court, making his the longest pending Supreme Court nomination in history. But you didn’t hear much about this milestone from the White House. And if you tuned into the Democratic National Convention last week, you probably didn’t hear much about Merrick Garland at all. Indeed, when Hillary Clinton accepted her party’s nomination, she barely mentioned the Supreme Court and never once uttered Garland’s name....

A Honduran immigrant with HIV has been given a second shot at escaping deportation, after a divided Seventh Circuit remanded his deportation case for reconsideration last Thursday – and issued a harsh critique of the immigration judge who heard it, saying she “made a hash” of the record. Rigoberto Velasquez-Banegas immigrated to America, without authorization, in 2005. In 2014, the government sought to deport him. But Velasquez-Banegas argued he would face severe persecution in his native Honduras, where his HIV status would be taken as a proxy for his homosexuality, exposing him to homophobic threats and violence....

Last Updated: December 18, 2019 The holiday shopping season has grown ever longer, as more retailers are now open prior to Black Friday on Thanksgiving Day itself. If you’re a store owner, are you legally required to pay overtime or premium “holiday” pay? The short answer is “no.” In general, private employers are not required by law to pay a special wage for work over the holidays. However, some exceptions may apply....

The actress Rose McGowan was one of the first to come forward with allegations that Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her. According to McGowan, Weinstein raped her in 1997. She signed a nondisclosure agreement with Weinstein in 1997 that prohibited her from speaking out about the incident. Weinstein is currently being tried in New York for unrelated sex crimes. Allegations of sexual misconduct began pouring in against Weinstein in 2017. In February of that year, McGowan was criminally charged for cocaine possession....

In an ERISA action claiming that defendant’s benefit plan violated ERISA’s minimum benefit accrual rules, partial summary judgment for plaintiffs is reversed where the plan complied with ERISA’s minimum benefit accrual rules, and defendant did not violate ERISA’s section 204(h) notice requirements. Read Lonecke v. Citigroup Pension Plan, No. 08-0459 Appellate Information Argued: March 20, 2009 Decided: October 19, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Wesley Counsel For Appellants: Myron D. Rumeld, Proskauer Rose LLP, New York, NY...

The Donald isn’t the only Trump child looking to make a name in government. In fact, while Donald Trump is just getting started on his governmental ambitions, his sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, has been in public service for decades, having worked as a U.S. Attorney, district court judge and, currently, a senior judge for the Third Circuit. Though she hasn’t made as many headlines as her brother, Maryanne Trump Barry shares a bit of his political DNA....

For former missionary worker Matthew Durham, his appeal of a conviction on multiple counts of sexual abuse and rape of orphan children while working in Kenya was rejected in a detailed, 100 plus page opinion of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Durham’s challenge however did present a novel argument, challenging the foreign commerce clause’s reach. Because his conduct occurred outside of the United States, the panel of Tenth Circuit justices split on whether using the foreign commerce clause to punish noncommercial illicit sexual activity was constitutional....