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Salazar v. Buono, No. 08-472, concerned an action involving an underlying Establishment Clause challenge to a Latin cross placed on federal land by members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) to honor American soldiers who died in World War I. The Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit’s order precluding the government from transferring the cross and the land on which it stood to the VFW in order to comply with a prior injunction, holding that 1) plaintiff had standing to maintain the instant action because a party that obtains a judgment in its favor acquires a “judicially cognizable” interest in ensuring compliance with that judgment; but 2) the district court erred in enjoining the government from implementing the land-transfer statute on the premise that the relief was necessary to protect plaintiff’s rights under the 2002 injunction....

In Friedman v. Rehal, No. 08-0297, a sexual abuse prosecution, the court affirmed the denial of petitioner’s habeas petition, holding that 1) the fact that hypnosis may have been used to stimulate alleged victims’ memory recall and potentially induce false memories of abuse was a circumstance that would fit comfortably under the general understanding of impeachment evidence – evidence that “is offered to discredit a witness . . . to reduce the effectiveness of [her] testimony by bringing forth evidence which explains why the jury should not put faith in [her] or [her] testimony”; and 2) even if hypnosis evidence comes within Brady’s broader definition of exculpatory evidence, the petition would still have to be denied....

Action Regarding Police Cruiser Accident In Howell v. Boyle, No. 09-36153, an action for injuries plaintiff sustained when defendant, a police officer, struck her with his police cruiser as she walked across a highway, the court certified the following questions to the Supreme Court of Oregon: 1) is plaintiff’s negligence action constitutionally protected under the Oregon constitution’s remedy clause, Or. Const. art. I, section 10, irrespective of the jury’s finding of comparative negligence?...

AED Legislation Gyms and health clubs. The Scripps Howard News Service reports that 14 states require AEDs in health clubs, although “most exempt spas in hotels.” Dental offices. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Illinois requires dental offices which administer anesthesia to have an AED. Private schools. Some states, like Texas, require AEDs in all schools, including private and charter schools. Swimming pools. Depending on the local laws of your county or city, any swimming pool may be required to have an AED, or at least employees with AED training....

It’s true that dogs don’t lie, but they do make mistakes. So why did the U.S. Supreme Court say the reliability of police dogs – and the risk that they falsely identify drugs in searches – should be based on their certification? Nobody certifies dogs for “false positives.” The answer is, in Florida v. Harris, the Supreme Court made a mistake. The truth is that, like the tail that wags the dog, sometimes the High Court just goes with its errors....

In an action alleging racial discrimination in the sale of real property, summary judgment for defendants is reversed where a prima facie case of housing discrimination is established whenever the actions taken by the property owner lead one to reasonably infer, if such actions remain unexplained, that it is more likely than not that such actions were based on discriminatory criterion such as race. Read Lindsay v. Yates, No. 08-3633...

For decades, DeAndre Williams lived as a Nazarite by eating no meat or “fruits of the vine.” It was especially difficult the last seven years because he was in prison and officials refused his request for kosher food. Instead, he scrapped together cereal, bread, fruits, vegetables, and soup to get by. That really got to the judges of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. In Williams v. Annucci, the appeals court said he deserved better....

“If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” Scratch that. Now you can make foie gras anywhere but New York City. That’s because the NYC City Council overwhelmingly voted on Wednesday in favor of banning the sale of the (delicious, admittedly) delicacy, considered by many to be the pinnacle of French haute cuisine. Remind Me What Foie Gras Is? Foie gras is French for “fatty liver.” More specifically, it is the fatty liver of either a duck or a goose....

Thanks to Astrue v. Capato – and most federal benefits cases we’ve come across in the last year – we’re stuck with this idea that the courts are constantly denying Social Security requests. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, however, tried to help us overcome our Social Security cynicism this week by reversing a blanket denial and giving an Oklahoma woman another shot at her disability claim. (Don’t get too excited; this is an unpublished Tenth Circuit opinion....

The last time we wrote about Whitewood v. Wolf was last December when Judge John E. Jones, of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, denied the state’s motion to certify an interlocutory appeal. On Monday, both parties filed motions for summary judgment, effectively asking Judge Jones to decide the case on the briefs rather than waiting for trial, which is scheduled for June 9, 2014. In July 2013, one widow and 10 gay couples sued to challenge Pennsylvania’s “mini-DOMA,” claiming that the law violated their right to equal protection under the law....

With Justice Breyer’s recent retirement announcement, the country is once again focused on the Supreme Court nomination process. This nomination comes at a particularly interesting time for the Supreme Court, which is set to decide monumental cases in the coming months on a variety of hot-button issues such as abortion and gun rights. It also marks yet another of a line of many vacancies in the last several years, from Obama to Trump, all of which have resulted in contentious nominees and appointments....

Some people really love their magazines. On Thursday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals found that a South Dakota prisoner who was denied delivery of a magazine has a right to file a civil rights claim against the prison for mail censorship. Anthany Kaden, an inmate at the South Dakota State Penitentiary (SDSP), alleges that the prison’s warden and staff violated the First Amendment by refusing to give him a magazine he had ordered because it was too violent....

After what can only be called a meandering journey of legal issues through the courts, the Sixth Circuit remanded a collective bargaining agreement case back to the district court, again to re-evaluate the law consistent with SCOTUS’s newly greenlit “ordinary principles of contract law.” Chief Judge Cole was quick to point out that the case of Tackett v. M&G Polymers had seen the inside of his courtroom before, and readers of his opinion could almost hear the weariness through his pen....

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing arguments Wednesday in Sherman v. State of Illinois, better known as the Bald Knob Cross case. Rob Sherman, famous in the Midwest for his separation of church and state challenges, brought the claim to contest a $20,000 state grant allocated to restore the 11-story cross. The Bald Knob Cross - built with area farmers’ profits from selling pigs - was erected on Bald Knob Mountain in 1959....

It must be appeals week in Bid Rig III. Another New Jersey politician who found himself tangled in the FBI’s sting is now appealing before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Bid Rig III, it was a sting operation carried out by the FBI several years back. The operation was aimed at catching New Jersey area politicians who were corrupt, by sending in an FBI informant....

This post was updated on December 20, 2022. It’s another snowy day and you can’t wait for spring to arrive. But it’s not here yet, and someone has to shovel all the snow covering the walkway. Is snow removal the responsibility of the property owner or the renter? That depends on your where you live, because snow removal laws vary by state and municipality. Snow removal is required of owners in some places and renters in others, and sometimes local ordinances make demands, so it’s not enough to know just your state’s snow removal law....

If you’ve ever seen the movie Super Troopers, the tale behind this case will sound very familiar to you. Clark County Deputy Sheriff Edward J. Bylsma ordered a burger from Burger King, drove off, and feeling suspicious, he checked the burger before chowing down. He found a nice fat wad of spit, which DNA testing linked back to a fast food worker. The worker got 90 days in jail. The officer got emotional distress, nausea, food aversion, and sleeplessness....

District court judgment overturning the conviction for conspiracy and honest services mail fraud and granting a judgment of acquittal is affirmed where, even if defendant did not know the details of the disclosure requirements, the evidence was sufficient for a reasonable jury to conclude that defendant had the specific intent to aid and abet honest services mail fraud and to conspire to commit honest services mail fraud. Read US v. Carbo, No....

Convictions for conspiracy to defraud the IRS are affirmed where: 1) materiality is an essential element of the charged 18 U.S.C. section 286 offense, but is not required to show a section 287 violation; 2) despite the fact that the indictment did not use the term material, it sufficiently alleged facts that warrant an inference of materiality and 3) the deficiency in the jury instructions as to materiality was harmless error....

Defendants’ cocaine distribution convictions and sentences are affirmed where: 1) the indictment was not duplicitous because the evidence, viewed most favorably to the verdict, sufficiently established a single conspiracy between defendants; 2) to meet its burden, the government needed to show only that each defendant conspired with others within the limitations period; and 3) a reasonable juror would not naturally and necessarily interpret a codefendant’s opening statement as commenting on defendants’ failure to testify....