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The Second Circuit heard two petitions for review of Board of Immigration Appeals decisions, and one criminal appeal. De La Rosa v. Holder, 09-3099, involved a petition for review of the BIA’s order denying petitioner’s application for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture. The court of appeals granted the petition, holding that: 1) the BIA’s “weight of the evidence” review of the Immigration Judge’s findings did not conform to the dictates of 8 C....

If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound? And if a person puts child pornography in a shared folder, but no one downloads it, has that person “distributed” child pornography? By a 2-1 margin, the Third Circuit said “no.” David George Husmann was already on supervised release for a child pornography conviction when the probation department was alerted that his computer had accessed pornographic websites. A probation officer visited his house, ultimately seizing four USB flash drives....

A state district court judge cannot rely on judicial immunity to avoid a trial on obstruction of justice charges, according to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Shelly Joseph faces obstruction charges after allegedly helping a man evade immigration officials as he left her Newton, Massachusetts courthouse in 2018. She argues that she has “absolute judicial immunity,” but the First Circuit held that the privilege does not apply. At least not yet....

While e-cigarettes and vaping have certainly grown from a fad into a trend, the popularity has resulted in many teens wanting to get in on what they’re being told they’re too young for. However, as a few recent lawsuits against the most popular e-cigarette manufacturer JUUL claim, the products are designed to be attractive to teens, in order to addict a new generation of smokers, or vapers. One lawsuit out of Florida claims that a 14-year old got addicted to JUUL products, and as a result, started having seizures again (she had previously had seizures related to a medical condition, but had not had one for years prior to becoming addicted)....

In a constitutional challenge to two amendments to the New York Workers’ Compensation Law, the district court’s judgment abstaining from the case is affirmed where Burford abstention was appropriate because federal court intervention would be disruptive of a carefully established state system, and might also yield inconsistent and therefore conflicting results. Read Liberty Mut. ins. Co. v. Hurlbut, No. 09-1215 Appellate Information Argued: June 22, 2009 Decided: November 4, 2009...

Since its print debut in 1963, Marvel’s The Avengers franchise has battled some of the most fearsome villains in the galaxy. But their greatest foe might ultimately prove to be federal copyright law. On September 24th, Marvel filed lawsuits against some of the comics’ most notable creators and their heirs. The Disney subsidiary is invoking the “works made for hire” doctrine to retain complete control over some of their most popular characters, including Spider-Man, Black Widow, Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and Hawkeye....

Challenge to Treasury Department Regulations In Mayo Found. for Med. Educ. & Rsrch. v. US, No. 09-837, an action asserting that certain Treasury Department regulations, which provided that the services of a full-time employee – which included an employee normally scheduled to work 40 hours or more per week– were not incident to and for the purpose of pursuing a course of study, and thus not exempt from the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, were invalid, the court affirmed the Eighth Circuit’s order reversing judgment for plaintiff where the Treasury Department’s full-time employee rule was a reasonable construction of 26 U....

In the legal services industry, lawyers have been seriously lagging on adopting tech. And according to a recent survey, that lag could be costing law firms some serious money. Despite the fact that a vast majority of attorneys recognize and understand that legal tech can make their offices run more efficiently, that majority of attorneys aren’t actually adopting the time-saving, money-saving, tech. Notably, as a result, those firms in the minority that have adopted the latest in legal tech are realizing profits because of it....

Appellate advocacy. Many of us do mock trial in school, and if we’re lucky enough, are trained by experienced advocates in practice. Some, however aren’t so lucky, get bad advice, or need a refresher course after years stuck in state trial courts. The Sixth Circuit has a series of videos, produced by the Federal Defenders Office, aimed at training Criminal Justice Act appointed counsel on the finer points of effective written and oral advocacy, training on electronic case filing, tips for dealing with clients, and advice on avoiding billing mistakes....

Nike has been hit again for alleged discriminating working conditions, this time biased against women. Two former employees. Kelly Cahill and Sara Johnston filed a class action lawsuit in Portland’s federal district court, claiming they were subject to hostile working environments, which the company failed to address, and paid less with fewer opportunities than their male counterparts, despite having equal comparable performance. The suit accuses Nike of violating the Federal Equal Pay Act, the Oregon Equal Pay Act, and the Oregon Equality Act....

Prisoners may exercise their rights, but that does not include a right to exercise outside. So said the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Lowe v. Raemisch. The appeals court said the Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, but it does not clearly establish a constitutional right to exercise outdoors. “[D]eprivation of outdoor exercise for two years and one month would not have obviously crossed a constitutional line,” Judge Robert Bacharach wrote for the unanimous court....

In a petition for review of Respondent power administration’s decision to execute an amended contract with an aluminum company, agreeing to make a payment to the aluminum company so it could purchase power from one of Respondent’s competitors, the petition is granted, where the transaction was not consistent with sound business principles. Read Pacific Northwest Generating Coop. v. Bonneville Power Admin., No. 09-70228 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted July 7, 2009...

There are scary car accident statistics and then there are scary car accident statistics. This is the latter. A new study from AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety, 939 people were killed in red light running crashes in 2017, representing a 28 percent increase since 2012 and a 10-year high in the data. A survey of drivers as part of the study also showed that 85 percent of drivers thought running a red light was very dangerous, but almost a third say they had done it within the past month....

The Supreme Court is ready to begin its February oral arguments – well, in what’s left of February, anyway. After two weeks of arguments in January dealing with religious speech, housing discrimination, and whistleblowers, the Court took some time off (while one justice took a nap at an inopportune time). Now that Justice Ginsburg has had her beauty rest, let’s see what’s in store for next week. From the Ninth Circuit, a U....

Guy v. City of San Diego, No. 08-56024, concerned plaintiff’s appeal from the district court’s denial of his motion for a new trial on damages following a jury verdict reached in his 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action alleging excessive force by police. The court of appeals affirmed in part, on the ground that substantial evidence supported the jury’s finding that plaintiff suffered only nominal damages. However, the court reversed in part, holding that an attorney’s fee award would serve a purpose beneficial to society by encouraging the City of San Diego to ensure that all of its police officers were well trained to avoid the use of excessive force, even when they confronted a person whose conduct had generated the need for police assistance....

Most business owners already appreciate the benefits that incorporation or partnership can provide. But should entrepreneurs consider having their small business held in a trust? Once you understand how trust ownership works, along with some of the pros and cons, your business may be ready to benefit from being held in a trust, with you as a beneficiary. Here are the basics of what you need to know: How Does a Trust ‘Hold’ a Business?...

Litigants submitted briefs to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals this week in a civil rights lawsuit claiming that a principal violated a fourth grader’s rights by banning a recess Bible study, reports the Christian Post. Samuel and Tina Whitson, represented by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), are asking the Cincinati-based court to overturn a 2009 jury decision in favor of Knox County Schools. In 2005, the Whitsons filed their bible study lawsuit against the school district, claiming that the school violated Luke’s First Amendment right to read his Bible during recess....

According to the outspoken and sharply articulate judge Richard Posner, “we have a crappy judicial system” and “most of the [legal] technicalities are antiquated crap.” The jurist has recently found himself making headlines not just for the flavorful language of his social commentary, but also for supporting a revolutionary idea for the U.S. Supreme Court: increasing the number of justices to 19. In a recent interview, Judge Posner expressed support for expanding the judiciary....

At the same time that the United States seems to have dialed reproductive rights back a notch, Mexico may be progressing in the opposite direction. A few weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court made a preliminary ruling in Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, a dispute concerning Texas passing the most restrictive abortion law to date. Denying the injunction requested by pro-abortion plaintiffs, the Court allowed Texas’s law to take effect on September 1st....

We have all complained at least once in our lives that going to the dentist is torture. For New Jersey triple-murderer Craig Szemple, he may not have been over-exaggerating. Although a lower federal court dismissed his lawsuit against the state Department of Corrections because he only at most pleaded a case of medical malpractice, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals overturned its decision, stating that Szemple’s complaints - although unproven - “goes beyond a claim of mere negligence....