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Operation Fast and Furious is one of the all-time best botched-government-operation titles. How can you not appreciate a mission that invokes Vin Diesel? But Congressional investigations and tort claims stemming from the Operation could be on hold: Wednesday morning, President Obama invoked executive privilege over thousands of pages of government documents detailing the scheme, reports The Washington Post. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, led by Rep. Daniel Issa, began investigating the program last year, and Agent Terry’s parents filed a lawsuit against the ATF in February for its role in their son’s death....

Internet websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have provided an easy way for people to share their opinions on a wide variety of topics. Unfortunately, it has also provided a platform for harassment. To help reduce instances of online harassment and hate speech, these sites have certain policies in place. If a user is found to violate these policies, their posts are removed and usually their account is deleted. But, not all videos and posts that involve mocking someone else are considered a violation of these policies....

Most swimming pools have been open since Memorial Day but the rising temperatures mean pools are getting more use - and that means lawsuits from pool related injuries are also on the rise. With temperatures rising, swimming pools seems like a summer oasis. But slick surfaces, deep water, and pool chemicals can turn a favorite summer pastime into a dangerous situation. Be safe near the pool this summer but protect yourself and your loved ones....

A judge can make or break your criminal case, so you should really watch what you say in his or her presence. While you probably know well enough that you don’t have to answer police questions, you will have to answer to a judge. Here are five things all defendants will want to avoid saying to a criminal judge: 1. ‘I Did It.’ Most judges will try to ignore spontaneous confessions from criminal defendants, but remember not to confess to a criminal judge....

This blog has previously written about the furor surrounding the drop box. Many states are deploying them to soothe voters’ fears about U.S. Postal Service inefficiencies with delivering mail-in ballots on time. But the Trump campaign and many Republican elected officials argue that drop boxes are voter fraud magnets. Without constant surveillance, they say, voters could stuff boxes or simply throw out ballots already deposited. But the drop box wars have now entered a new phase....

It’s hard – nearly impossible, in fact – to win an immigration appeal if you’re not appealing the correct removal order. Nadeisha Lotha Fuller was admitted to the United States in 1992. In 2003, an immigration judge ordered Fuller removed on the ground that she had been convicted of an aggravated felony. Fuller asked the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to reconsider that order. The BIA granted Fuller’s motion, vacated the order of removal, and issued a new final order of removal....

Brown v. Kelly, No. 07-3356, involved a class action by persons allegedly arrested pursuant to an unconstitutional New York anti-begging statute. The Second Circuit affirmed in part the district court’s class certification order, holding that the citywide plaintiff class did meet the requirements of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a) and 23(b)(3). However, the court reversed in part, on the ground that the district court erred in certifying a statewide defendant class because the defendant class representatives did not meet the adequacy and typicality requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a), and the district court also erred in certifying a statewide plaintiff class because the certification of this class was contingent on the bilateral certification of both a statewide plaintiff and a statewide defendant class....

GoDaddy is a domain registrar and web hosting company. It allows users to pick a domain name and offers various hosting service plans. It also provides website backups, GoDaddy account support, and other online services. The Second Circuit ruled that it is immune from defamation claims based on the websites it hosts. Under the Communications Decency Act, there are protections in place for: Websites Apps Hosting companies Other “interactive computer services” These types of companies and services are protected from claims of:...

Summary judgment against plaintiffs’ on their Fourth Amendment excessive force claim reversed Cyrus v. Town of Mukwonago, 09-2331, concerned plaintiffs’ 42 U.S.C. section 1983 suit against a town, a lieutenant, and other defendants, claiming that their son’s death was caused by the use of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. In reversing the district court’s grant of defendants’ motion for summary judgment, the court held that there are material facts in dispute about the extent to which the deceased attempted to evade the officers and the how many times the officer tasered the deceased to bring about his arrest....

US v. Mock, No. 09-4154, involved defendant’s appeal from the district court’s denial of defendant’s motion for a reduction in sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. section 3582(c)(2). The court of appeals affirmed on the grounds that 1) neither the district court nor the court of appeals was free to address, in a proceeding pursuant to 18 U.S.C. section 3582(c)(2), defendant’s arguments regarding procedural errors at his original, now-final sentencing; and 2) at least for purposes of a motion for a reduced sentence, the record disclosed that defendant was sentenced as a career offender under U....

Public-sector unions cannot force membership dues when representing a class of employees. That was the result of the Supreme Court’s landmark 2018 decision in Janus v. American Federation, which overruled 41 years of precedent. Lower courts are now interpreting this decision, and mostly interpreting Janus narrowly. The U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals, on October 4, distinguished and limited the reach of Janus. The unanimous panel held that an economics professor at the University of Maine relied on an improper reading of both state law and Janus when claiming that, as a non-paying employee represented by a labor union with which he disagrees, his First Amendment rights were violated....

If all courts were like the U.S. Supreme Court, then access to the law would literally be free. They might also take a little longer to allow electronic filing. The High Court announced that it will make “virtually all filings” available to the public at no cost. It is part of a new electronic filing system, to be up and running by Nov. 13, 2017, and similar to programs already working in other federal courts....

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) policy this week that prohibits inmates from advertising for pen-pals, finding that the restriction on inmate pen-pals does not violate inmates’ First Amendment rights. The policy grew out of a 2005 investigation that IDOC launched in response to complaints from family members of an elderly man who had allegedly been defrauded by prisoners. The investigation revealed that a majority of the 350 inmates advertising online for pen-pals had misrepresented themselves to the public on the websites....

Lawyers for Arkansas treasurer Martha Shoffner argued before U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes that Shoffner should be acquitted on 14 bribery and extortion charges. Holmes withheld judgment on Shoffner’s earlier request to be ordered free on grounds that prosecutors didn’t prove that any federal laws were broken. But Holmes opted to entertain the argument only if the jury returned any guilty verdicts, The Associated Press reports. A jury convicted Shoffner last week, clearing the way for both sides to present written arguments to Holmes on why she should or should not be acquitted....

Not making the varsity squad for any high schooler can be tough. But when that high schooler’s mom files a federal lawsuit over it … that’s just unbelievable. But believe it or not, that’s just what happened at St. Louis’ Ladue High School when one junior didn’t make the varsity soccer team, and then was also excluded from the junior varsity team. While this might seem to defy ordinary logic, the school pointed to an established policy, but then the mother pointed to Title IX....

When a defendant decides to skip town instead of appearing at a change of plea hearing, he might not want to later plead guilty to failure to appear. It’s a calculated risk, of course, but the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals explains this week why a guilty plea to the latter charge could be a bad idea. In 2004, a grand jury charged Humberto Jacobo with conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine....

BIA’s denial of a Zimbabwe national and his wife’s petition for asylum and related relief is affirmed where: 1) the record does not compel a conclusion that petitioner suffered a past persecution nor that petitioner’s fear of future persecution is objectively reasonable; and 2) as petitioner failed to satisfy the lower burden of proof required for asylum, he cannot prove that it is more likely than not that his freedom would be threatened on account of a protected ground if he was returned to Zimbabwe....

In an action under the First Amendment and various employment statutes challenging defendant-Baptist Homes for Children’s policy of firing and not hiring gay and lesbian employees, dismissal of the complaint is affirmed in part where the termination of plaintiff based on her sexual orientation did not constitute discrimination on account of religion. However, the ruling is reversed in part where plaintiffs sufficiently demonstrated standing as state taxpayers for their Establishment Clause challenge....

US v. Spencer, 09-1114, concerned a challenge to the district court’s modification of defendant’s 262-month sentence to 210 months on crack cocaine counts. In affirming the sentence, the court held that courts cannot modify a sentence below the amended guideline range under 18 U.S.C. section 3582(c)(2) unless the sentencing court originally sentenced the defendant below the guideline range. US v. Johnson, 09-5397, concerned a challenge to the district court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress evidence as the fruit of an illegal seizure, in defendant’s prosecution for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute....

US v. Parker, 09-4044, concerned a petition for habeas relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel claim in proceedings arising from the conviction of defendant for conspiring to possess more than 5 kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute, and the imposition of a 121-month sentence. In denying the petition, the court held that defendant provided no reasons to suggest that his counsel’s erroneous advice, and not his own perjury, caused him to receive the sentence he received....