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The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the insider trading conviction of a Chicago man who had traded based on inside tips from relatives. The man, Bassam Salman, argued that those who tipped him off to insider information must have gained some pecuniary benefit from the tip in order for him to be convicted of securities fraud, echoing a position recently adopted by the Second Circuit. But the Supreme Court easily rejected that logic, reaffirming the inference of a benefit whenever insider information is given to friends and family – settling a circuit split and potentially clearing the way for increased insider-trading prosecutions....

In US v. Marcus, No. 08-1341, perhaps more popularly known as the “S&M Svengali” case, the Supreme Court reversed the Second Circuit’s reversal of defendant’s forced labor and sex trafficking conviction, on the ground that the Second Circuit’s plain error standard, under which a retrial was necessary whenever there was any possibility, no matter how unlikely, that the jury could have convicted based exclusively on defendant’s conduct prior to the enactment of the statute under which he was charged, was inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s approach to plain error, under which: 1) the error must affect the appellant’s substantial rights, which in the ordinary case means it affected the outcome of the district court proceedings; and 2) the error must seriously affect the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings....

Even outside the Internet, your statements can come back to haunt you. Yesterday, the Tenth Circuit examined the doctrine of judicial estoppel, a “harsh remedy” that prevents a party from taking a different position on an issue in subsequent litigation. Background The case begins innocuously enough: Vehicle Market Research (VMR) owned some software that was used to calculate the value of an automobile loss for insurance purposes. VMR’s sole shareholder, a human named John Tagliapietra, filed for bankruptcy in 2005....

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a judgment against a woman who sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act after her employer fired her for excessive absenteeism. Kirsten Williams, who went months without reporting for work, blamed her absences on depression and anxiety attacks. The appellate court said she had no case because she could not do her job. “In the end, this case reflects the reality that there are some jobs that a person with disabilities is simply unable to perform,” the unanimous panel said....

In an action for property damage based on an oil spill caused by Defendant’s tanker, the Exxon Valdez, the District Court’s order awarding post-judgment interest on punitive damages starting in 2008 is reversed, where the Supreme Court “meaningfully ascertained” Plaintiffs’ entitlement to punitive damages in 1996, and thus that was the proper date from which to start the post-judgment interest. Read the full decision in Baker v. Exxon Mobil Corporation, No....

With the delta variant of COVID-19 on the rise, Americans remain split about whether to get vaccinated. Now there’s a new front in the vaccine wars, as judges in several states are requiring defendants on probation to get vaccinated. Probation is an alternative to jail where an offender remains in the community but must follow conditions imposed by the court or risk a jail term. While courts have a lot of leeway about what conditions to impose, requiring vaccination as a probation condition is new, untested, and sure to be controversial....

Believe it or not, anyone can request that federal agencies turn over official records. The same is true of state agencies as well. Under federal law, the Freedom of Information Act, commonly referred to as FOIA, allows anyone to obtain copies of important government records from federal agencies simply by request (and usually paying an associated fee). States have similar laws that apply to state and local agencies. However, not all records are available, and not everything in the available records will be disclosed, as there are several categories of information that cannot be produced for national security, individual privacy, and a whole host of other reasons....

Patel v. Attorney General, 09-1572, concerned an Indian citizen’s petition for review of the BIA’s final order affirming the denial of her application for cancellation of removal. In dismissing the petition, the court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review petitioner’s claim that she met her burden of showing an exceptional hardship, because it challenges a discretionary determination and does not present a constitutional question or a question of law. Further, petitioner’s motion for a stay of voluntary departure is denied as, in light of 8 C....

For almost 60 years, visitors to Montana’s Big Mountain resort have been greeted by a life-sized statue of Jesus. Occasionally dressed in ski gear, arms spread, Jesus looks out over the resort’s slopes. That statue is officially known as “Big Mountain Jesus.” Big Mountain Jesus, however, makes his home on government land, for Big Mountain and its ski runs are located in Flathead National Forest. That fact doesn’t make the statue an impermissible government endorsement of religion, the Ninth Circuit ruled last week, tossing a lawsuit by the Freedom From Religion Foundation....

Carlson v. Astrue, No. 09-1123, concerned petitioner’s appeal from a judgment upholding the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of petitioner’s application for supplemental security income. The court of appeals affirmed, on the grounds that 1) the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) consideration of petitioner’s physician’s signed residual functional capacity assessment satisfied the obligation to receive an expert opinion on equivalence; 2) it was reasonable for the ALJ to conclude that petitioner’s control of his diabetes prevented future episodes of ketoacidosis with vomiting and nausea, and thereby limited the severity of the impairment; and 3) substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s conclusion that petitioner’s impairments did not equal the severity of all the criteria in Listing 5....

People across the world have been waiting for news of a vaccine since the start of the pandemic. The recent announcement that pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna have each developed vaccines with high success rates is certainly welcome, but the vaccine approval process is far from over. Here’s what comes next. Phase 3 Trials In the United States, approval and certification of drugs falls under the jurisdiction of the FDA, whose Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) is responsible for approving vaccinations....

In a bankruptcy adversary proceeding seeking to prevent the discharge of a debt owed to plaintiff by his attorney (the debtor), judgment for plaintiff is affirmed where: 1) the parties had an attorney-client relationship during the relevant period under Colorado law; 2) the loans to defendant were not “standard commercial transactions” exempt from the requirements of Colo. R. Prof’l Conduct 1.8(a); and 3) the bankruptcy court’s finding that defendant had the requisite intent to deceive plaintiff was not clearly erroneous....

In a textbook example of the absurdity that can occur when state officials, for better or worse, decide not to defend state laws, a federal court just made gay marriage legal over the opposition of no one at all, and with no appeal likely. Here’s the summary, in plain English: voters passed a discriminatory law, the state joined the plaintiffs to oppose the law, the federal court held oral arguments with no opposition, a third-party’s last-minute motion to intervene was denied, and there likely will be no stay, nor an appeal, thanks to the lack of opposition....

If you read this blog regularly, you’ve probably gathered that we love court hearings. It may be nerdy, but we think they’re really interesting. Real-life courtrooms may not be anything like the legal dramas on TV, but they still provide the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, and the hurdles of civil procedure. For some Supreme Court observers, however, real agony occurs on the sun-drenched steps of First Street: There’s limited space in the courtroom for a Supreme Court hearing, and many won’t make it inside....

The COVID-19 pandemic has prodded Americans to discover new outdoor activities that don’t involve crowds. Many of these activities focus on exercise, like hiking and biking. But Americans have also rediscovered the joys of the good, old-fashioned afternoon drive. And as they motor along, they’ve rediscovered other good, old-fashioned things — like abandoned buildings. If Facebook, Instagram, and Flickr are any indication, Americans are not only noticing these buildings; they’re photographing them in huge numbers....

Defendant’s drug conviction is reversed, where the trial court’s admission of the prosecution’s certificates by laboratory analysts, stating that material seized by police and connected to Defendant was cocaine of a certain quantity, violated petitioner’s Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses against him. Read Melendez-Diaz v. Mass., No. 07-591 Appellate Information Argued November 10, 2008 Decided June 25, 2009 Judges Scalia, J. delivered the opinion of the Court. Kennedy, J....

Things in the Third Circuit are heating up as cert petitions get filed, denied, and in one case, argued before the Supreme Court. Let’s just say it’s been a busy week. Today, we’ll give you a breakdown of cases originating in the Third Circuit as they (try to) make their way to the Supremes. Drake, et al. v, Jerejian, et al. – Petitions Filed Last year, the Third Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision that held constitutional a New Jersey law that required a gun owner must show a “justifiable need” to receive a permit to carry a firearm....

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that opposition to China’s one-child policy, absent further evidence of persecution, does not justify an immigration appeal reversal. A three-judge panel denied petitioner Chun Hua Zheng’s asylum denial appeal, finding that Zheng had not demonstrated that it was more likely than not that she would be persecuted for her political opinions if she returned to China. A person “who has been persecuted for … resistance to a coercive population control program,” is considered to have been “persecuted on account of political opinion” under U....

California Prop 8 has been a legal rollercoaster. Those of us along for the ride have watched the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals negotiate twists and turns through issues like ProtectMarriage’s standing to defend the law, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for trial videotapes, and allegations of judicial misconduct. Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit heard oral arguments in two of the three issues before the court in the California Prop 8 challenge: public access to the trial videotapes, and whether or not Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision in the trial should be voided on the grounds of judicial misconduct....

US v. Smith, 09-1443, concerned a challenge to a conviction of defendant for conspiracy to distribute marijuana, money laundering, concealment of information from the Social Security Administration, and making false statements, and sentence of ninety-two months’ imprisonment. In vacating the conviction, the court remanded the matter as, given the district court’s failure to meet the requirements of Rule 11(b)(1)(N) and the fundamental nature of the underlying right at issue, the plea agreement’s appellate waiver does not preclude defendant from challenging on direct appeal the district court’s alleged denial of his right to counsel of his choice....