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Patel v. Attorney Gen. of the US, No. 09-1066, involved a petition for review of the BIA’s decision upholding the denial of petitioner’s motion to terminate removal proceedings. The Third Circuit denied the petition on the ground that the confidentiality provisions of section 245A(c)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act did not apply to an application for employment authorization submitted by the child of a Legal Immigration Family Equity Act adjustment-of-status applicant....

In 2018, the U.S. Attorney General’s office under Jeff Sessions reversed longstanding precedent in holding that immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals do not have the authority to suspend immigration proceedings. The decision, Castro-Tum, made it harder for judges to use discretion in dismissing cases. It was also a departure from the traditional limited government, hands-off principles of the Republican party, of whom Jeff Sessions is, of course, a prominent member....

In a dispute involving attorney’s fees, district court judgment is affirmed where the district court properly denied the plaintiffs’ request for attorneys’ fees under the applicable federal fee-shifting statutes, as the parties’ settlement agreement did not require the court’s approval, incorporation in a court order, or retention of jurisdiction for future oversight and enforcement and thus lacked the necessary judicial imprimatur to confer upon the plaintiffs prevailing party status. Read Bill M....

The Ninth Circuit today decided criminal, civil rights and immigration matters. Kin v. Holder, No. 05-73079, involved a petition for review of the BIA’s denial of petitioners’ asylum application. The Ninth Circuit denied the petition, holding that the Immigration Judge’s adverse credibility determination was supported by substantial evidence. Zetino v. Holder, No. 08-70390, also concerned a petition for review of the BIA’s denial of an asylum application. The court of appeals denied the petition on the grounds that 1) because the court could not discover a sufficiently meaningful standard for evaluating the BIA’s decision rejecting an untimely brief, it lacked jurisdiction to review petitioner’s claim that the BIA abused its discretion in doing so; and 2) the proceedings were not so fundamentally unfair that petitioner was prevented from reasonably presenting his case....

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Constitution Party of Kansas on Tuesday in its legal crusade to become a recognized political party. The Constitution Party of Kansas sued the Secretary of State of Kansas, now Kris Kobach, alleging that its members’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights are violated by the Secretary’s refusal, consistent with Kansas law, to keep track of Kansas voters’ affiliation with the Constitution Party because the Constitution Party is not a recognized political party under Kansas law....

In Holmes v. Kimco Realty Corp., No. 08-4834, the court dealt with the issue of a tenant’s common law duty to maintain a multi-tenant parking lot, in a plaintiff’s suit against a retailer for injuries when he fell on the snow in the parking lot. As stated in the decision: “The signs at the entrance to the lot identify multiple tenants, not just Lowe’s. While a Lowe’s customer will undoubtedly park as close as possible to that store, he could park anywhere in the lot....

Propensity evidence or proof of knowledge? It’s a tricky question. Timothy “New York” McGlothin’s apartment was searched after he was identified as a suspect in a bank robbery. Authorities found a Glock pistol in a closet with letters addressed to McGlothin, a Yankees cap, and a stack of $2 bills. He was convicted of being a felon-in-possession using a constructive possession theory. At trial, the prosecutors introduced two prior incidents involving McGlothin and a firearm:...

It feels like we write this a lot here at FindLaw, but it is impossible to understate the importance of our First Amendment protections. The Freedom of the Press allows us to critically examine our government to ensure that it is responding effectively to our needs. To be able to do this without fear of reprisal trumps frustrations with media we disagree with. But if you’re a government employee, what do you do when the disinfecting sunlight cast by an inquisitive press turns toward you?...

In a class action lawsuit brought by former employees of UPS claiming that defendants raised the amount of health insurance contributions required of union retirees in violation of the retirement plan and, consequently, ERISA, judgment of the district court is affirmed where: 1) district court correctly concluded that UPS violated the Summary Plan Description by collecting additional contributions from local union retirees without collecting from other IBT retirees covered by the plan; and 2) with respect to additional contributions UPS collected from the local union retirees during the term of the 2008 CBA, district court correctly concluded that UPS’s determination was within the range of reasonable interpretations, and therefore, not arbitrary and capricious....

Krupski v. Costa Crociere S.P.A., No. 09-337, concerned a personal injury action for injuries plaintiff suffered on a cruise ship. The Court reversed the Eleventh Circuit’s affirmance of the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s claims against a newly added defendant, holding that relation back under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(c)(1)(C) depended on what the party to be added knew or should have known, not on the amending party’s knowledge or timeliness in seeking to amend the pleading....

Being a small business owner can be difficult in even the best of times. You are called upon to be the finance department, marketing specialist, head product developer and human resources expert all at once. But, when the economy takes a turn for the worse, running a small business becomes even more challenging. For example, in these difficult economic times, you may be wondering how to lay off employees. Here are five things you should think about when you are considering laying off employees:...

Some Supreme Court correspondents have suggested that Justice Kagan has been ruling with her conservative colleagues a little bit more frequently, signaling that she is moving more to the right on the political spectrum, or seeking to play the “long-game” to garner support. If you see these opinions, you might want to think about just skipping over them. Justice Kagan’s dissenting opinion in this term’s Janus case makes abundantly clear that she’s not likely to be part of the conservative majority unless they’re deciding the case like she is....

District court’s denial of a petition for habeas relief by a defendant convicted of rape and kidnapping is affirmed as the physical evidence supporting a vaginal rape charge was sufficiently weighty that the prosecution’s conduct, while highly inappropriate, did not have a substantial and injurious effect on the jury’s verdict. Read Jaradat v. Williams, No. 09-3193 Appellate Information Argued: November 17, 2009 Decided and Filed: January 14, 2010 Judges Opinion by Circuit Judge Merritt...

The Obama administration has announced its nomination of Kansas Supreme Court Justice Nancy L. Moritz to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. The announcement was made by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, who supports the confirmation. Moritz has served on Kansas’ highest court since 2011. Justice Moritz, 53, would fill the vacancy on the Tenth Circuit that has been open now for more than two years. This has been ever since Judge Deanell Tacha retired her spot on the bench to be dean of the law school at Pepperdine University....

If you’re a living, breathing, person with a place to live and access to the internet, then the probability is high that you’ve at least heard of Marie Kondo and her magic of helping people tidy up. There’s even a whole Netflix series, but first it was a book. Now, Marie Kondo has become a movement. Her name even gets used as a verb (as in Marie Kondo’ing). And if you’re into it, or your law practice is sorely in need of some tidying up, below you can get some helpful advice on how to apply the KonMari method to your law office....

Richard Posner, the celebrated Seventh Circuit judge, has a bone to pick with the Supreme Court. This summer, he raised many hackles by declaring that the Court was “at a nadir,” with no “real stars” on the bench since Justice Robert Jackson died in 1954. Just this October, Judge Posner argued, once again, that the Court “is awful,” saying that only Justices Ginsburg and Breyer were good enough to sit on the Supreme Court....

In Bessemer & Lake Erie R.R. Co. v. Seaway Marine Transp., No. 08-4676, the Sixth Circuit decided the issue of liability and damages in an admiralty case. As stated in the decision: “While it may be the case that a moving vessel must rebut the presumption to absolve itself of all liability, we know of no case law to the effect that the vessel must rebut the presumption to relieve itself of some liability - that is, to raise a comparative fault defense against the stationary object....

We mentioned Monday that the Supreme Court has finally set the dates for Affordable Care Act oral arguments. It’s terribly exciting, and we can only hope that the ensuing coverage and branding opportunities will rival the royal wedding. (There has to be a vendor somewhere in D.C. willing to produce Supreme Court/individual mandate tea towels or novelty gavels, right?) Shockingly, the individual mandate is not the only hot-button issue the Nine will hear in the Spring....

Adding color to your legal writing is a good idea. Vivid imagery and analogies can make a legal point stick in the minds of judges. But there is a line that you don’t want to cross as an attorney, which is exemplified by a recent opinion issued by the Sixth Circuit. The Sixth Circuit drew the line at saying your opponent is “affixing its buzzard-like grin . . . ready to ravenously pounce upon the medical facilities in these areas like the buzzard swoops down upon the carcass of a dead cow....

In a suit by a Bulgarian construction company against a Bulgarian-American bank claiming predatory lending practices, brought after the same parties settled a suit brought by the bank against the construction company for breach of contract in Bulgaria, dismissal of the suit on forum non conveniens grounds is affirmed as, not only was the court well within its discretion, but correct as a matter of common sense in concluding that Bulgaria was an available, adequate forum to resolve the dispute over a Bulgarian loan contract and balanced all of the relevant private and public interest factors, which strongly favored Bulgaria as the more convenient forum....