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Challenge to a district court’s decision to transfer a case in parties’ mirror-image lawsuits filed in two different district courts Research Automation, Inc. v. Schrader-Bridgeport Int’l, Inc., 09-2232, concerned a challenge to an Illinois district judge’s finding that a transfer to Virginia district court under 28 U.S.C. section 1402(a) was the most appropriate resolution of the parties’ competing motions, in parties’ mirror-image lawsuits filed in two different district courts involving a dispute between the seller and a buyer of an industrial cleaning machine....

Ladies and gentlemen, this is what an out-of-balance Supreme Court looks like. Today, a deadlocked Court issued a one sentence ruling in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, an important and highly-anticipated case about agency fees for public employee unions. Perhaps to avoid a similar outcome in a challenge to Obamacare contraception rules, the Court also shifted gears in that case. Less than a week after oral arguments – arguments which indicated an equally divided Court – the Court has asked the parties to submit possible alternative systems to the current exemption procedures for religious employers who do not want to provide birth control coverage to their employees....

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against two groups of plaintiffs on Wednesday, denying federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) claims stemming from staggering subprime mortgage losses during the peak of the mortgage crisis. In the first suit, Gray v. Citigroup, Inc., the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against 153,000 workers whose 401(k) plans were depleted as a result of Citigroup’s subprime-related losses. Citigroup’s share price fell 52 percent from between 2007 and 2008, resulting in $18....

Blair v. Bethel Sch. Dist., No. 08-35895, involved an action alleging that plaintiff’s First Amendment rights were violated when his fellow school board members voted to remove him as their vice president because of his relentless criticism of the school district’s superintendent. The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for defendants, on the ground that the board’s action did not prevent plaintiff from continuing to speak out, vote his conscience, and serve his constituents as a member of the board....

Just in time for Memorial Day, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an unpublished opinion this week concerning the question that’s been on every legal mind: Is there a constitutionally-protected right to public pools? Surprisingly, the answer may be yes, but the Sixth Circuit lacked jurisdiction to address the issue because the appellant brought a post-trial summary judgment appeal instead of an interlocutory appeal. In 2007, Jeff Zucker, a Cincinnati Police Officer, booted Robert Kennedy from a swimming pool owned and operated by the City of Cincinnati, based upon accusations from pool staff that Kennedy had been lurking in the pool area to watch children swim....

Last week, a group of armed ranchers and anti-government militants took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters outside Burns, Oregon. Though the men have a variety of complaints against the federal government, the armed occupation first started after protests against the imprisonment of two ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond, for arson. But before it was an insurrection, the Oregon standoff was an unusual criminal case, and one that got right up to the steps of the Supreme Court....

Many people don’t know much about the holiday Juneteenth — if they know about it all. In fact, this holiday commemorates one of the more significant events in American history. Juneteenth is a celebration of the final emancipation of slaves in the United States on June 19, 1865, a little more than one month after the Civil War ended. Despite President Abraham Lincoln’s issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation 2 1/2 years earlier, slaves were not freed until the war’s end....

In an appeal from the district court’s denial of appellant’s motion to intervene in an action brought by the U.S. under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the order is reversed where the proposed consent decree would eliminate appellant’s contribution right as to the settling defendants, and thus appellant had an interest in the outcome of the action. Read US v. Albert Inv. Co., No. 08-6267 Appellate Information...

Conviction and sentence of an anesthesiologist, who had operated a pain-management clinic, for health care fraud and related crimes is affirmed where: 1) any error in admitting a video of a doctor performing certain medical procedures was harmless given the overwhelming evidence that defendant was not performing medically necessary procedures and that the procedures were not those for which he was billing, and also considering the weak evidence to the contrary; 2) defendant’s claim that admission of the video violated the Confrontation Clause is rejected; 3) there is sufficient evidence to support defendant’s conviction for health care fraud under 18 U....

In an insider trading prosecution, the restitution order issued against defendant is reversed, where the gain from defendant’s offense should be calculated in a manner that is more narrowly focused on producing a figure that reflects, in at least approximate terms, the proceeds related to his criminally culpable conduct. Read US v. Nacchio, No. 07-1311 Appellate Information Filed July 31, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Holmes Counsel For Appellant: Maureen E....

Many people who need a lawyer hesitate to hire one because they aren’t sure what they’re paying for. However, what if we could remove some of that uncertainty, and make it easier for everyone to access the counsel they need? In Utah, some significant regulatory changes are looking to do just that. A recent Utah Supreme Court ruling moved the state toward fewer restrictions on non-lawyer ownership and investment in law firms....

A lawyer uses a peremptory challenge on a juror who repeatedly uses a male pronoun to reference his partner. The issue in the case? HIV drugs and price gouging. GlaxoSmithKline, the plaintiff, objected to the challenge but was overruled. Though GSK won, the verdict was miniscule compared to the amount sought. The question is, of course, whether striking a juror on the basis of sexual orientation is permissible. Batson protected African-American jurors....

FOIA Request In American Small Bus. League v. US Small Bus. Admin., No. 09-16756, a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to compel Defendant United States Small Business Administration (SBA) to produce Verizon Wireless cell phone records that the agency no longer possessed, the court affirmed summary judgment for defendant where 1) the SBA did not actually possess the records in July 2008, and SBA had no obligation either to retain the records or to seek the records once they were no longer in its possession; and 2) Verizon did not maintain the phone records pursuant to a records-management contract with SBA....

In Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, district court’s judgment in favor of the trustee, who had filed an adversary action against the defendants claiming fraudulent conveyance under the section 4(a)(2) of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) bankruptcy court did not commit clear error in finding that statutory condition for a fraudulent conveyance was satisfied; and 2) district court’s ruling with respect to the dividend is reversed as the trustee is entitled to the dividend because it was an integral part of the leveraged buy-out....

In a petition for review of the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s application for a conditional adjustment of status under 8 U.S.C. section 1255(d), the petition is granted where petitioner met the statutory requirement of being under twenty-one at the time he entered the U.S. A K-2 visa holder who timely applies for an adjustment of status under section 1255(d) must be under twenty-one when he or she seeks to enter the United States, not when his or her subsequent application for adjustment of status is finally adjudicated....

In US v. DeSilva, No. 09-2988, the court of appeals vacated defendant’s child pornography sentence, on the ground that the district court committed procedural error by engaging in clearly erroneous fact-finding at defendant’s sentencing when it relied upon a psychologist’s report – which was prepared for use at a pretrial bail hearing – to find that defendant, an admitted child molester, posed no danger to the community. As the court wrote: “We are called upon here to determine whether the United States District Court for the Western District of New York committed procedural error by engaging in clearly erroneous factfinding at defendant’s sentencing when it relied upon a psychologist’s report–which was prepared for use at a pretrial bail hearing–to find that defendant, an admitted child molester, posed no danger to the community....

Law school is on the horizon, with only a summer between here and there. What better time to read up on your classics? Sure, you will soon be reading casebooks that will ruin your eyesight over the next few years. Of course, there will be days when reading another court opinion will make you nauseous. But that is exactly why you need to read the classics. Compared to law school reading, it will be a pleasure and an education....

In an action under the Fair Labor Standards Act brought by truck drivers against a wholesale importer and distributor of wine claiming that they were not paid overtime, judgment for the defendant is affirmed as the portion of the transportation that is entirely within Illinois is nevertheless interstate commerce within the meaning of the Motor Carrier Act and therefore, the Fair Labor Standards Act exempts from its overtime provisions any employee with respect to whom the Secretary of Transportation has power to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service pursuant to the provisions of section 31502 of title 49....

Today, the Seventh Circuit decided a criminal matter involving a defendant’s challenge to his sentence and an employment case involving a plaintiff’s claim for overtime pay under the FLSA. In US v. Portman, No. 09-1083, the Seventh Circuit faced a challenge to a conviction for multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and possessing and creating falsely altered checks, and a sentence near the low end of the guideline range on remand , from 60 months’ to 48 months’ imprisonment....

Most people hate going to the dentist – not Arthur Conley. The court reiterated that the denial of serious medical care, including dental care, is prohibited under the Eight Amendment. Taking the alleged facts as true, the court went on to examine the constitutional liability of the prison officials using a two prong test with and objective an subjective component. Objective Test First, Mr. Conley had to show “considerable pain” to qualify as substantial harm under the Eight Amendment....