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If you’ve got a teenage kid at home, chances are they use TikTok. If they haven’t filled you in yet, it’s a popular app for sharing 15-second video clips. Teens everywhere are creating short, funny videos in a bid to rack up views. Seemingly overnight, TikTok’s popularity has soared, with more than 110 million downloads to smartphones in the U.S. The app is owned by the China-based ByteDance Technology Co. Despite assertions by the company that TikTok is operated outside of China, lawmakers have raised national security concerns and criticism that it censors content unfriendly to China....

Wild bighorn sheep used to number in the millions, grazing along the steep cliffs of rocky mountains. But today, there are less than 70,000 left, their numbers having dwindled as a result of habitat loss, hunting, and disease spread from domestic sheep. In order to prevent further decline to bighorn sheep populations in Idaho, the U.S. Forest Service closed about 70 percent domestic sheep grazing allotments in the Payette National Forest in Idaho....

District court’s enhanced sentencing of a felon convicted of possessing a firearm and firing a gun under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) is affirmed where, based on defendant’s own testimony, there was sufficient evidence that he had used his firearm in connection with a violent crime. Read US v. Foster, No. 08-1914 Appellate Information Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Evansville Division. Argued Decmber 2, 2008Decided August 18, 2009...

In a child pornography prosecution, defendant’s sentence is vacated where the district court was required to use its discretion in determining whether to vacate defendant’s receipt conviction or his possession conviction to avoid double jeopardy concerns. Read US v. Hector, No. 08-30271 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted June 5, 2009 Filed August 18, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge O’Scannlain Counsel For Appellant: John Rhodes, Assistant Federal Defender, Federal Defenders of Montana, Missoula, MT...

In a capital habeas matter, denial of the petition is affirmed where petitioner claimed that defense counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to investigate and then present evidence of petitioner’s drug addiction and alleged mental impairment to the jury during the penalty phase of his trial, but there was no reasonable probability that the evidence he pointed to would have altered his sentence. Read Wackerly v. Workman, No. 07-7034 Appellate Information...

A water analyst hired by Chicago’s non-profit Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) will be allowed to publish the findings of a water report that “left the Alliance dissatisfied.” Even though the plaintiff in the case sought to be completely disassociated with the report, it does not appear that will be possible under the terms of the court finding. The circuit’s response? Tough luck. AWE, a non-profit organization operating out of Chicago, hired James Fryer to analyze the urban water usage and how the local municipal programs affected water demand elasticity during times of water shortages....

So many things seem to go wrong for criminal defendants on trial, especially when they point out the errors on appeal. Sandra Bart made her case to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals after her conviction in United States of America v. Bart. Along with her claims of insufficient evidence, abuse of discretion and denial of motions, she complained of juror misconduct. And why not blame the jury? One of the jurors apparently told others in the courthouse elevator that Bart was guilty....

Small businesses are looking for ways to stretch the company budget these days. In these times where all companies are looking to run lean and mean, some employers may want to investigate whether or not they are required to pay employees the federal minimum wage. Some employers are not covered by this law. However, there are additional state laws regarding minimum wage that may apply. The following is a brief run-down of the general rules....

There are good reasons to become a blogger. You like making sassy comments. You have a pipe dream of building an Internet following that will lead to a book deal. You generally enjoy writing. But you don’t go into blogging for the money. Especially not for a piece of a $315 million pie. Seriously. You might have a better shot at winning the Powerball than making it big as a blogger....

In a case of mistaken identity and a lot of agency finger-pointing, the Second Circuit recently revived a claim by Brooklyn resident Luis Hernandez that he was unlawfully detained based on his name. Police in Manhattan arrested Hernandez in 2013 on a misdemeanor public lewdness charge. During his processing, the Department of Homeland Security issued an immigration detainer, saying Hernandez was the subject of an order of removal. There was just one problem: Hernandez is a U....

Florence, Minnesota really doesn’t want your dirty, salacious strip club. When a businessman attempted to open The Juice Bar, a non-alcoholic adult entertainment venue, the town banned all commercial business through zoning regulations. Yes, all business. According to the Eighth Circuit, banning the strip club and all other businesses from operating within city limits was entirely constitutional, especially since the town is only 0.27 square miles. The ordinance prohibiting The Juice Bar began as a not-so-neutral zoning restriction that banned any “sexually-oriented” business within 250 feet of any property used for residential use, day cares, schools, parks, or libraries....

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals is letting a Delaware inmate pursue his claims against a corrections officer, even though the officer passed away in 2006. Wardell Leroy Giles, a prisoner in the Delaware penal system, brought excessive force and deliberate indifference claims against officers, including Gary Campbell, based on a confrontation that occurred during Giles’ transfer to the Sussex Correctional Institution in 2001. In 2004, the District Court granted summary judgment in favor of several defendants, including Campbell, on the basis that they were entitled to qualified immunity....

US v. Marzzarella, 09-3185, involved a prosecution of defendant for possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, in violation of section 922(k). In affirming the district court’s denial of defendant’s motion to dismiss the indictment, the court held that section 922(k) passes constitutional muster even if it burdens protected conduct. Further, section 922(k) passes muster under intermediate scrutiny as regulating the possession of unmarked firearms - and no other firearms - fits closely with the interest in ensuring the traceability of weapon....

Kawhi Leonard is heading to Oakland after he and his Toronto Raptors dropped game two of the NBA Finals to the Warriors on Sunday. And he also may be heading to court, to “claw back” his Klaw logo from Nike. According to a lawsuit filed in California on Monday, Nike applied to copyright Leonard’s hand-drawn logo while he was a client, without his consent. Now that Leonard has signed a new deal with New Balance and presumably wants to take the logo with him, it may take some legal wrangling to do so....

In Murphy v. Deloitte & Touche Grp. Ins. Plan, No. 09-2028, an action concerning defendant’s denial of disability benefits under an ERISA plan, the court vacated summary judgment for defendant where 1) the court’s case law prohibited courts from considering materials outside the administrative record where the extra-record materials sought to be introduced related to a claimant’s eligibility for benefits; and 2) neither a claimant nor an administrator should be allowed to use discovery to engage in unnecessarily broad discovery that slows the efficient resolution of an ERISA claim....

Now we’re talking. After weeks of vacation and little to no Supreme Court news, after issuing a few orders on Friday, the Court dropped a thirty-page orders list this morning, which included another three Justice Alito recusals (all of which, much like the others, involved big-name corporations and likely stock interests). More importantly, the Court denied certiorari in the first 20-week abortion ban case to reach the docket. And, of course, oral arguments were heard in the landmark Noel Canning case this morning, which asks whether the President can exercise his recess appointment powers while the Senate is in pro forma (they keep the lights on, but no business is handled) sessions....

Former University of Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely V is taking his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2012 for beating his ex-girlfriend, also a lacrosse player, to death. As is fitting for his station in life (he grew up in a 1.5-acre estate and attended elite private schools), Huguely is represented by none other than former solicitor general Paul Clement from the firm of Bancroft, PLLC in Washington, D....

July 4th is right around the corner, and cops are cracking down on fireworks, both legal and illegal. Undercover officers in California are targeting online fireworks sales, and resorts in Colorado are leaving their powder dry for fear of forest fires. So we thought it might be a good time for everyone to review their local fireworks laws to prepare for the holiday week. Here’s a roundup of what you need to know about fireworks regulations, from our archives:...

One week from today, Neil Gorsuch will be sitting before the Senate, facing a barrage of questions over his judicial record and how he may perform on the Supreme Court. But when Gorsuch’s nomination hearings begin, he’ll be prepared. The Tenth Circuit judge and President Trump’s nominee to fill the Court’s long vacancy has been waging a stealth campaign in the background, according to CNN, meeting with senators and prepping for his upcoming grilling with a series of so-called “murder boards....

In an Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) action claiming that defendant demoted plaintiff because of his age, judgment for plaintiff is reversed where the burden of persuasion should not have been shifted to the defendant in this ADEA case considering that plaintiff never set forth any direct evidence of age discrimination, and the jury instruction at issue impermissibly shifted the burden in such a manner. Read Gross v. FBL Fin....