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This post was updated on March 30, 2022 Besides divvying up your estate to your beneficiaries, there are several other things to think about when executing a will. One consideration is whether to include funeral and burial instructions for your executor in your will. Just like distributing your assets, you may think that different family members have different ideas about how to best remember you. While including a burial plan in your will may seem like a good idea, it may not carry out your wishes exactly the way you want because your body isn’t considered “property” for estate planning purposes....

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in Hollingsworth v. Perry. In Hollingsworth, the Court is considering whether California’s Proposition 8 violates the Equal Protection Clause, and whether the Court should even decide the case at all. Don’t get your hopes up for a sweeping proclamation in favor of gay marriage; the Court seems hesitant to give such a “new” concept the go-ahead, Reuters reports. But that’s not necessarily an indication of how the Court will proceed in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) challenge, U....

In a Federal Tort Claims Act action by a railroad against the government based on the derailment of a train, judgment for plaintiff is reversed where: 1) the Tucker Act deprived the district court of jurisdiction over plaintiff’s negligent breach of contract claim because it was a contract claim under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Federal Claims; and 2) plaintiff’s negligent inspection and maintenance claim was barred by the exculpatory clause of the parties’ agreement, which did not violate Oklahoma public policy....

US v. McCalister, No. 09-5101, involved a drug conspiracy prosecution. The court of appeals affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for relief from judgment filed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), holding that Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) is not available to challenge a previous denial of an 18 U.S.C. section 3582(c) motion. As the court wrote: “Michael L. McCalister appeals the district court’s denial of his motion for relief from judgment filed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)....

District court’s sentencing and conviction of defendants for conspiracy with intent to distribute drugs is affirmed where: 1) defendants’ argument, that the district court failed to instruct the jury regarding freebase cocaine and that 21 U.S.C. section 841 is void for vagueness, is rejected as there is no language in the statute setting a minimum purity level in order for a substance to be considered crack cocaine; and 2) defendants’ remaining claims that they were denied a fair trial are without merit....

In 2016, a group calling themselves the Uintah Valley Shoshone Tribe began selling hunting and fishing licenses on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah. However, the federal government has never recognized a tribe by that name. The U.S. government filed suit, arguing that only the Ute Tribe had the right to regulate hunting and fishing on the reservation. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. But before we get into why, a little historical context:...

As the Second Circuit wraps up its Occupy Wall Street case, the Sixth Circuit is just getting started with its own Occupy issues. Up All Night The city of Nashville had no curfew in place for Nashville’s War Memorial Plaza, meaning people could stay there all night if they liked. That all changed on October 27, 2011, when city officials met with each other – and no members of the public – to establish a new “use policy” that would forbid anyone from being in the Plaza after 10 p....

According to a recent decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, a long-running citizen lawsuit against the largest petroleum company in the nation is not over yet. Two environmental groups, Sierra Club and Environment Texas Citizen Lobby, filed suit against ExxonMobil in 2010, alleging more than 16,000 Clean Air Act violations at the company’s Baytown, Texas facility. The case has moved between federal district court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals several times now....

Qualified immunity is the boon of government entities facing civil rights lawsuits under 42 USC § 1983. The hallmark of qualified immunity is that it “provides ample protection to all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law.” It’s designed to shield the government – which usually ends up meaning “police officers” – when government agents make honest mistakes about unsettled legal issues. Now you can add this to the canon of acceptable police practice: Dropping off a questionably drunk man in the middle of the night in freezing weather and hoping everything goes swell....

Sponsored Content As lawyers, we encourage prospective and current clients to never speak to law enforcement without an attorney present. But we can’t be everywhere at once. All too often, by the time a client comes to speak with us, the damage to their case has already been done. Whether it’s speaking to police during a traffic stop or after an accident, many cases are won or lost in those first few minutes when there is no attorney present....

Millions of parents are homeschooling their children. If you’re one of them, you might be wondering about whether you can turn homeschooling your own kids into a school in your home for other kids as well. And the answer to that question may depend on where you live. So, here’s a look at some state homeschool regulations and what they have to say about teaching other people’s children. State Statutes States like Alabama and Alaska don’t require you to file any paperwork to homeschool your own kids....

Few things are as infuriating as a delayed flight, and canceled flights can be downright enraging, especially around the holidays. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the airline industry into a tailspin like never before with hundreds, if not thousands, of flights being canceled. Unfortunately, airlines don’t guarantee their schedules and the fine print on your ticket (or email confirmation) usually means you can’t sue for a canceled flight. But that doesn’t mean you can’t or won’t be compensated, and you may have some legal rights if your flight was canceled....

Forestal Guarani S.A. v. Daros Int’l, Inc., 08-4488, concerned a challenge to the district court’s grant of defendant’s motion for summary judgment in an Argentinian corporation’s breach of contract suit against a New Jersey corporation under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. In vacating the judgment and remanding the matter, the court held that the district court incorrectly concluded that Argentina’s declaration, opting out of the provision in the Convention allowing a contract to be proved even if it was not in writing, imposed a writing requirements and that the absence of a written contract in this case precluded the plaintiff’s claim....

Last month, you may have donated to the cause of fighting diabetes. November is “National Diabetes Month,” the rallying cry for a number of seemingly noble charity campaigns purporting to prevent and ameliorate the serious condition. Drug stores and pharmacies are in a prime position to spread the word about such campaigns, so naturally, you likely recall visiting being asked to donate to medical causes like diabetes at your latest pharmacy visit....

Envision Healthcare, Inc. v. PreferredOne Ins. Co., No. 09-2019, concerned an insurance company’s third-party suit for indemnification against a wholesale insurance broker in Minnesota state court, arising from a lawsuit brought by an insured for improperly rescinding an insurance policy, and the insurance broker’s counterclaim suit against the insurance company in an Illinois federal court. The court held that because the third-party proceedings in Minnesota are parallel to the federal case and because it was not an abuse of discretion for the district court to abstain from hearing the declaratory action under the Wilton/Brillhart abstention doctrine, district court’s dismissal of the insurance broker’s suit against the insurance company in federal court was properly dismissed....

Petition for Review of Denial of Motion to Reopen Removal Proceedings Dismissed In Duarte-Ceri v. Holder, No. 08-6128, a petition for review of the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s motion to reopen removal proceedings, the court held the petition in abeyance and transferred the matter to the district court where petitioner was still “under the age of eighteen years” when his mother was naturalized, but there had been no factual finding as to the actual timing of petitioner’s birth, and thus a new hearing on the nationality claim was required....

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled in favor of a pair of debtors who successfully argued that FDCPA requires creditors to inform debt-holders that their balances could increase due to interest and fees. This is a relieving bit of case law that will surely give people with accounts payable some additional respite from worries of imbalances in their books. “Current Balance”: Enough Information? The case involves Annmarie Avila and Sara Elrod (plaintiffs) who sued the firm Riexinger and Associates, LLC (defendant)....

‘Physician, heal thyself,’ the proverb goes. A recent opinion from the Seventh Circuit provides an important addendum: once you’re done, get back to work quickly. The court recently dismissed an ADA suit by a doctor who failed to get back to work tout suite after taking medical leave to deal with his bipolar disorder. Larry Hooper, M.D., was fired for not returning to work after he had been cleared by a psychiatrist and warned by his employer, Proctor Health Care in Peoria, Illinois....

The Google v. Oracle litigation over Java APIs is on its ninth year, and now, second appeal to the United States Supreme Court. Google has filed a petition for writ of certiorari seeking to resolve one fundamental issue for software copyrights (whether APIs can even be copyrighted), and one specific issue relating to whether Google’s specific use of the Java APIs to create a new program constitutes fair use. The whole controversy dates back to the days when smartphones were just establishing their market dominance pre-2010....

If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably aware of the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court is populated by nine justices. You probably even know their names. (If you haven’t taken a moment recently to congratulate yourself on that accomplishment, maybe you should do so now. Go ahead. We’ll wait.) Why is a passing familiarity with the Supreme Court an accomplishment, you ask? Because two-thirds of Americans can’t name a single Supreme Court justice, according to a recent FindLaw....