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When Homeland Security agents suspected that Yuri Bershchansky was electronically transmitting child porn, they obtained a search warrant, searched his home, seized his computer and got him to confess. Unfortunately, they got the address wrong. The warrant was for Apartment 2 in Bershchansky’s building, while Yuri was in Apartment 1. Searching the wrong address, even though it housed the right man, meant that agents had exceeded the scope of the warrant and all the evidence, from computer to confession, must be suppressed, the Second Circuit ruled last week....

For new attorneys practicing in the Utah District Court, it’s essential to have a good handle on using the electronic case filling (ECF) system. If you’ve practiced in the Tenth Circuit, you’re probably e-filed before, but each court has its own unique rules. Here are three tips for using the CM/ECF system in the Utah District Court, according to the local rules: In order for an attorney to register for the district court’s CM/ECF system, she/he must complete the court’s training program or provide reasons why the training requirement should be waived....

Meanith Huon’s battle with blogs will continue after the Seventh Circuit revived his lawsuit against Jezebel this week. Huon, an Illinois attorney, began his battle with Jezebel, once part of the Gawker network, and the legal blog Above the Law over their coverage of a rape accusation against him. Huon sued the blogs for defamation based on their portrayal of him as a serial rapist. Huon’s suit against Jezebel was originally dismissed in district court but was given new life on Monday, when the Seventh Circuit ruled that Huon’s accusations regarding the blog’s comments were strong enough to withstand summary judgement, particularly given Huon’s claims that user comments were created and developed with the help of Jezebel’s staff....

Clergy are entitled to an income tax break for housing expenses, a federal appeals court ruled. In Gaylor v. Mnuchin, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said the 65-year-old tax exemption is constitutional for historical and legislative reasons. The allowance is “simply one of many” tax exemptions for work-related housing, the appeals panel said. For a while, however, the “parsonage allowance” was not so simple. One judge in the case has been saying it is unconstitutional for five years....

Branham v. Gannett Satellite Info. Network, Inc., 09-6149, concerned a challenge to the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the employer, in plaintiff’s suit under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) against her former employer for being terminated from her job as a receptionist. In reversing, the court remanded the matter in concluding that the district court erred when it granted summary judgment to defendant based on the submission of negative medical certification indicating that plaintiff could return to work....

In an action under international law seeking to recover a painting on display at a Spanish museum that was allegedly stolen by Nazis during World War II, defendants’ appeal from a denial of their motions to dismiss is dismissed in part, where there was no final judgment on the issues of personal jurisdiction, standing, and the existence of a justiciable case or controversy. However, the district court’s order is vacated in part where the expropriation exception of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act applied when the foreign state (against whom a claim is made) was not the entity that expropriated the property in violation of international law....

Colorado has a sales tax of 2.9% for products purchased in the state, and a use tax of 2.9% for products purchased outside the state, but used in the state. Because of the Supreme Court’s 1992 decision in Quill Corp v. North Dakota, a state may not collect taxes from “retailers with no in-state physical presence,” and Colorado does not collect use taxes from out-of-state (i.e., catalog and online) retailers....

David Ganek, who ran a $4 billion hedge fund, would have you believe this is a day that will live in infamy. With his lawsuit thrown out by a federal appeals court, Ganek appealed to the court of public opinion. He said government agents – including former U.S. Attorney Preet Bahara – lied to get a search warrant of his offices. “This is a dangerous day for private citizens and a great day for ambitious, attention-seeking prosecutors who are now being rewarded with total immunity even when they lie and leak,” Ganek said in a statement....

Convicts sentenced for crack-related offenses under old federal guidelines may get a chance for a reduced sentence after a Third Circuit decision in early June. In US v. Savani et al., the Court determined that prisoners sentenced under the old federal sentencing guidelines for crack convictions, which imposed certain mandatory minimums, could appeal to lower their sentences once new guidelines were put in place. This may mean earlier release for some petitioners who would have been incarcerated for near a decade....

US v. Howard, 09-3840, concerned a challenge to a conviction of defendant for access device fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft, for forging her grandmother’s signature to obtain a student loan and to apply for credit card accounts. Runyon v. Applied Extrusion Tech. Inc., 09-3015, involved a plaintiff’s action under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act against his former employer. In affirming the district court’s grant of judgment as a matter of law in defendant’s favor, the court held that the district court correctly found that plaintiff did not present enough evidence to reach the jury on the central question of whether age was the real reason for his firing....

There are a few Supreme Court cases each term that become part of the collective consciousness: Last year, there were the healthcare and immigration cases. This year, there are the Voting Rights Act, same-sex marriage, and affirmative action cases. These are the issues that people get excited about. These are the topics that people discuss around the dinner table. These are the captions that law geeks write on their legal pads in swirly letters and circle with hearts....

We go to the emergency room because we need immediate, competent medical attention. Sadly, not all emergency room staff perform healthcare to that standard. Understaffed, mismanaged, or mistake-prone emergency rooms can cause more harm than good. You can face misdiagnosis, medication errors, and general emergency room errors from busy staff. And, like all doctors and medical professionals, the staff working in the emergency department can be liable for medical malpractice. How do you know if you have a medical malpractice case?...

In Kirk v. Carpeneti, No. 09-35860, a challenge to Alaska’s merit selection system, brought by a group of individuals seeking to establish the principle that all participants in the judicial selection process must either be popularly elected, or be appointed by a popularly elected official, the court affirmed the dismissal of the action where there was no such constitutional requirement. In Quan v. Computer Sci. Corp., No. 09-56190, a class action pursuant to ERISA by participants in an employer’s 401(k) plan against named and de facto fiduciaries of the plan, claiming imprudent investments by the fiduciaries, the court affirmed summary judgment for defendants where 1) the Moench presumption was fully reconcilable with ERISA’s statutory text and did not encourage insider trading, when properly formulated; and 2) plaintiffs did not generate a genuine issue of material fact sufficient to rebut the Moench presumption that continued investment in the stock at issue was prudent....

Discussions of the Supreme Court last week were focused on three things: (1) rehashing the healthcare argument, (2) speculating about the justices’ reaction to Justice Department’s judicial review homework assignment, and (3) the prison strip search decision in Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of County of Burlington. There was, however, a second opinion from the Court that we should discuss: Rehberg v. Paulk. In Rehberg, the Court was asked to decide whether a complaining witness who provides false testimony in a grand jury proceeding is entitled to absolute immunity from federal civil rights lawsuit....

Juana Sanchez sued Prudential Pizza for sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The parties avoided a trial when Sanchez accepted Prudential Pizza’s offer of judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 68. Prudential Pizza’s offer said that it included “all of Plaintiff’s claims for relief,” but it didn’t specifically refer to costs or attorney fees. The district court concluded that the offer was unambiguous and included attorney fees....

There are no state or federal laws against most opposite gender siblings sharing a room in their own home, but some institutions do regulate how spaces are shared. When it comes to children sharing rooms, the relation of the children and the context in which they are sharing a room often determines whether there are or are not legal regulations for parents and guardians to consider. Foster Child Housing Requirements Families considering fostering a child will have to meet certain housing requirements, which vary from state to state....

In re: Trout, No. 09-1332, concerned a bankruptcy trustee’s appeal from a decision of the bankruptcy appellate panel affirming the bankruptcy court’s determination that, having successfully avoided a preferential vehicle lien under 11 U.S.C. section 547, the trustee was not entitled to a money judgment equal to the value of the avoided liens under section 550(a). The court of appeals affirmed, on the ground that the bankruptcy estate had been sufficiently returned to its pre-transfer status by avoiding the preferential lien at issue and stepping into the lien priority of the avoided creditor under 11 U....

An injunction preventing Michigan’s governor and secretary of state from enforcing ballot-access signature requirements will remain in place, for now, thanks to a Sixth Circuit panel. A group of activists, led by 25-year-old Amani Sawari, filed for the injunction earlier this summer when Michigan’s stay-at-home order prevented them from collecting the signatures needed for their referendum. The group proposes a criminal justice reform initiative, which they hope to get on the ballot for Michigan’s 2020 general election....

At the close of business Friday afternoon on the East Coast, Special Counsel Robert Mueller submitted his report to Attorney General William Barr. Yes, THE Mueller report, after 22-months, and a whole lot of political drama, is done. Early reports indicate there will be no new charges being filed by Mueller’s team. The Mueller report is the final culmination of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into the Trump presidential campaign and Russian collusion and/or interference....

John Steinbeck’s heirs won’t be standing in front of the U.S. Supreme Court anytime in the near future. The U.S. Supreme Court denied their petition for certiorari in a dispute centered around the copyrights to the famous author’s works. The case was filed by Thomas Steinbeck, the sole surviving son of John Steinbeck. Currently, Thomas and his daughter, Blake Smyle, receive a portion of the proceeds from Steinbeck book sales, reports The Associated Press....