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The State of Mississippi has tried Curtis Flowers for the murder of four people a total of six times. The first three resulted in convictions, each of which was overturned because of prosecutorial misconduct. Flowers is black, and Doug Evans – the state prosecutor in every case – seemingly did everything possible to keep black people off the juries involved. The fourth and fifth trials, which included more black jurors, resulted in hung juries....

Defendant’s securities fraud conviction is affirmed, where the Double Jeopardy Clause did not apply to defendant’s retrial because he himself moved for a mistrial. However, his sentence is vacated where the district court made insufficient findings regarding defendant’s role in the conspiracy for sentencing purposes. Read US v. Ware, No. 07-5222 Appellate Information Filed August 18, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Kearse Counsel For Appellant: Ulysses Thomas Ware, pro se....

A rap career can lead to a hard knock life; just look aspiring California rapper Almighty Aziz, the victim of a fatal shooting by Santa Clara Police. Almighty Aziz, (given name: Aziz James), flipped out at a party in 2008 and stabbed several fellow revelers before crashing through a window into a stranger’s house and holing up inside. Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that, in light of the circumstances, police were justified in the use of deadly force against James after he stabbed a canine officer and leaned toward the remaining officers with a knife....

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action claiming that county prosecuting attorneys and a county violated plaintiff’s constitutional right to be free from arrest without probable cause, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) the prosecutor’s motion for a bench warrant essentially constituted the initiation of new judicial proceedings against plaintiff for violating the terms of his community placement, and was not an investigative act; and 2) plaintiff pointed to no county policy or custom that caused his alleged injury....

Imagine the disappointment. You and your spouse have tried unsuccessfully for years to produce a child. Finally, you take the next step and pay handsomely for the services of a reputable fertility clinic. One day you receive news that leaves you ecstatic: Confirmed pregnancy! Then, on delivery day, joy turns to confusion — and then to anger — when you learn that your new baby can’t possibly be yours. Someone screwed up....

After about 10 years and two trips to the U.S. Supreme Court, Whirlpool’s lawyers can sleep a little better. Last week, a federal jury in Ohio rejected claims brought by consumers who bought its “Duet” washing machines between 2001 and 2008. This litigation has been going on for years and threatened to further restrict access to class action litigation. Many consumers who bought Whirlpool’s Duet washing machines between 2001 and 2008 noticed a funny smell coming from them....

Today be Talk Like a Pirate Day, and rather than keel-haul the lot of ye, ye may be well served reading these piracy-related cases from the U.S. Supreme Court. That’s right: Actual cases of real pirates on the High Seas, doubloons, eye patches, yard-arms. (OK, maybe not really any of those.) Actually, the Supreme Court has had little occasion to deal with cases involving piracy; and when it has, the cases have involved terribly unsexy topics like statutory construction and vagueness....

We’ve seen a lot of confusion emerge from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year in Miller v. Alabama. The Court issued a mushy standard to follow-up on two prior holdings, one banning the death penalty outright for minors, and another banning life-without-parole sentences for juveniles convicted of non-homicide offenses. In Miller, the Court addressed homicide offenders, and held that while a life-without-parole sentence may be appropriate, there must first be consideration of the offender’s age, childhood, life experience, degree of responsibility the youth was capable of exercising, and the chances for rehabilitation....

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores says two NFL teams conducted “sham interviews” with him just to say they met a quota in talking to Black candidates for head coaching jobs. That allegation is part of a class-action lawsuit in which he says the NFL and three teams engaged in racist hiring practices. He says the alleged sham interviews that he experienced twice are a demonstration of it. Other Black coaches also say the practice is common....

Free, reliable attorney resources are hard to come by, so Eighth Circuit practitioners will be pleased to learn that the Government Printing Office (GPO) has launched a free Eighth Circuit case repository pilot program. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is the only appellate court to participate in the pilot program, which launched in October. The program enhances access to federal court opinions through the Federal Digital System (FDsys), an outgrowth of the GPO....

In a bankruptcy trustee’s motion to avoid a transfer made pursuant to a state court judgment dissolving the Debtor’s marriage, the order denying the trustee’s motion is affirmed where, under Oregon law, a party who challenges a dissolution judgment must allege and prove “extrinsic fraud,” and the trustee failed to do so. Read Batlan v. Bledsoe, No. 07-35567 Appellate Information Argued December 9, 2008 Decided June 25, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Graber...

While it might not be a great motivator for children to behave, children can potentially be sued for their actions. But it’s usually the minor’s parents who foot the bill. The law offers some legal rights and protection to minor children who are sued, but for the most part, they can still be held liable for their legal misdeeds. Is My Child Liable? The law, and most juvenile courts, follow some guidelines for children:...

Walker v. Monsanto Co. Pension Plan, 09-3637, concerned a challenge to the district court’s grant of defendant’s motion for summary judgment in a class action lawsuit challenging the manner in which certain credits accrue in the defendant company’s pension plan as inconsistent with a provision of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In affirming the grant of summary judgment, the court held that the interest credits have no impact on the accrued benefit at normal retirement age and therefore have no effect on an employee’s rate of benefit accrual, and Notice 96-8 and Revenue Ruling 2008-7 are wholly irrelevant to plaintiffs’ claims....

A federal prison inmate’s appeal on a medical malpractice claim was rejected by the Tenth Circuit. The court also rejected the inmate’s right to counsel argument in his case against the hospital and doctor who treated him. Louis Darryl Tarantola sustained injuries to his head and face in a prison altercation. He was then treated by Dr. George Speer at Cushing Memorial Hospital, but Tarantola claims that the doctor knowingly and deliberately provided him substandard medical care leading to disfigurement and permanent scars....

Whether or not LinkedIn seems like a good idea – and even if you don’t know what you’re supposed to be using it for – in-house lawyers seem to love it. According to a survey by research firm Acritas, 43 percent of female GCs and 33 percent of male GCs are on LinkedIn. That’s a large proportion of GCs – especially for women. So what’s the deal with in-house counsel using LinkedIn so much?...

During a recent panel discussion at Columbia Law School on “strategic litigation as an approach to policy change,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg provided some rather damning words of wisdoms for lawyers and law students everywhere: Basically, Justice Ginsburg, who is not just a trail-blazer but a pop culture icon, is pointing a finger at the legal profession and saying that lawyers need to do more pro bono work. “If you are a true professional, you will use your degree to help make things a little better for other people....

Judges routinely order criminal defendants to wear ankle monitors in lieu of incarceration. But some ankle monitors also take and record phone calls from probation officials, and that is causing a stir among privacy advocates. What if somebody else calls? What if the defendants make incriminating statements? Of course, people have privacy rights. But most defendants don’t complain for any day they don’t have to spend in jail. Privacy Rights The Track Group can call and record defendants while on probation or awaiting trial....

Thomas Hurlow pleaded guilty to charges of drug and gun possession, and waived his right to habeas corpus review. Ignoring the waiver, Hurlow petitioned for § 2255 review alleging ineffective assistance of counsel in the negotiation of the plea agreement. Giving a strict reading to his plea deal, the district court stated that he’d waived his § 2255 right to review. The Seventh Circuit, however, disagreed. Thomas Hurlow lived with his fiancée Tina Funk and her children....

They had nothing on Michael Taylor Gardner without his cell phone. That was his argument anyway, saying police shouldn’t have searched his cell phone without his permission. But the judge didn’t buy it, and he was convicted of trafficking a minor for sex and producing child pornography. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, mostly because Gardner gave his cell phone to a 17-year-old girl and she gave it to the cops....

States proposed more than 1400 pieces of legislation related to immigration between the beginning of 2007 and early July, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). “In the continued absence of a comprehensive federal reform of the United States’ challenged immigration system, states have displayed an unprecedented level of activity - and have developed a variety of their own approaches and different solutions”, declares a NCSL Press Release. According to the N....