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Federal authorities recently announced charges against 25 people in the Southern District of Florida for their alleged participation in a wire fraud scheme that led to illegal licensing and employment of nurses. All face up to 20 years in prison. The defendants allegedly engaged in a scheme to sell more than $100 million worth of fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts from accredited Florida-based nursing schools. People seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs) would then purchase the diplomas....

Whew. Even when you know a dangerous and terrible precedent is likely to be overturned, it’s never over until it’s over, right? Well, it’s over, barring en banc or U.S. Supreme Court review. Both of those seem like long shots, considering the Sixth Circuit’s opinion falls in line with every other circuit to consider Communications Decency Act (Section 230) immunity. Sarah Jones, a Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader and teacher who slept with a student, took umbrage at user-submitted gossip on TheDirty....

In US v. Corrales, No. 09-3259, the Tenth Circuit affirmed defendant’s convictions for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, holding that 1) defendant did not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support a jury finding that he had actual knowledge of the presence of cocaine; 2) defendant did not argue that the district court erred on the two occasions on which it sustained objections to defendant’s cross-examination of a witness and 3) defendant failed to show that this cross-examination was otherwise limited....

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held this week that an Arkansas retailer is subject to personal jurisdiction in Washington state when its only relevant contact with the state is a claim that it willfully violated a copyright held by a Washington corporation. Move over, International Shoe, because Washington Shoe is about to get up in your personal jurisdiction. Between 2007 and 2009, A-Z purchased a number of items from Washington Shoe....

In a dispute involving long term disability benefits, district court judgment is affirmed where defendant was not arbitrary and capricious in its decision to deny long term disability benefits to plaintiff under an employee welfare benefit plan, as plaintiff sought advice for his Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis during the lookback period and was thus ineligible for the benefits under the pre-existing condition plan exclusion. Read Doroshow v. Hartford Life and Accident Ins....

As expected, the family of Michael Brown filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Ferguson, Missouri, its former police chief, and former police officer Darren Wilson. Brown was killed by Wilson in an altercation last year, which began the most recent national conversation about young black men being shot by white police officers. A grand jury declined to indict Wilson for Brown’s death, leading to accusations that the prosecution stacked the evidence in Wilson’s favor, and then to protests in Ferguson and elsewhere....

After several weeks of recess, the Supreme Court was bustling this morning. The Court issued four opinions and granted certiorari in a highly-hyped case today. There were two grants today for the October 2012 term: Fisher v. University of Texas, the college affirmative action case, and Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Florida, which will resolve the question of what qualifies as a “vessel” to trigger maritime jurisdiction. We’ll discuss the granted cases later; today, we’re talking about the decisions....

Just spent an hour explaining to a client why you do, in fact, have to charge for your services? Did your client forcefully accuse you of “not being on their side” because you insist on telling the truth? Did you maintain professionalism while a client hurled an insult or two derived straight from a lawyer joke? Problem clients can be a real burden — both on a law practice and on a lawyer’s psyche....

Back in March, a federal district court held that because the National Voter Registration Act did not explicitly preempt states from passing voter registration requirement laws (specifically, proof-of-citizenship laws), the United States Election Assistance Commission could not deny requests from Arizona and Kansas to include proof-of-citizenship requirements on the federal form. By law, the states have to accept the lenient federal form, which at present, only requires one to attest to citizenship....

The Tenth Circuit issued an opinion today in United States v. Henderson that demonstrates the importance of polling the jury when you get a verdict against you. The court decided no. Henderson attached an affidavit from the juror, but the court did not consider it, citing Rule 606(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence, which provides: (1) Prohibited Testimony or Other Evidence. During an inquiry into the validity of a verdict or indictment, a juror may not testify about any statement made or incident that occurred during the jury’s deliberations; the effect of anything on that juror’s or another juror’s vote; or any juror’s mental processes concerning the verdict or indictment....

The past couple years have certainly been politically tumultuous. Much of the political turmoil has been a direct result of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. The investigation is now done, and the report is in. Read on to get some highlights and to see the full 448-page report. Mueller Highlights If you simply don’t have the time to read through the full report, several reputable news media agencies have been working hard to digest the most important parts....

The Ninth Circuit giveth, and the Ninth Circuit taketh away. On Wednesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals backtracked from its September ruling in the Porsche arbitration dispute. The court struck down a mandatory arbitration requirement last year, allowing car owners with warranty claims to take manufacturers to court. The plaintiff in the case, Diana Kolev sued Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) and the dealership where she purchased her pre-owned Porsche 911 Turbo....

The latest dose of viral cuteness comes from this week’s virtual Democratic National Convention. In the video, delegates from every state and territory happily and awkwardly make a pitch for their state and cast their state’s nominating votes “for our next president,” Joe Biden. The video was a great showcase of people from all walks of life. It’d be easy to miss among some more, uh, corny, videos from other states, but the American Samoa delegation’s video segment is now attracting the wrong kind of scrutiny....

As a political storm swirls around refugees in America, a federal appeals court gave comfort to refugee students at a Pennsylvania high school. The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals said that the students – some who had fled war and violence in Burma, Mozambique, Somalia, Sudan and Tanzania – have a right to attend a high school that provides a better education for them. Citing the Equal Educational Opportunities Act, the court said the students do not have to go to an alternative school that did not help them overcome language barriers to their education....

In US v. Reyes-Bosque, No. 08-50253, the Ninth Circuit affirmed defendants’ convictions for aiding aggravated felon aliens to enter the U.S. and related offenses. The court of appeals held that 1) defendant did not present sufficient evidence to prove that he was an overnight guest in an apartment searched by police, and did not argue that he had standing to challenge the search on any other grounds; 2) the fact that defendant physically gave the landlord the rent payment was insufficient to establish that he had a legitimate expectation of privacy in another apartment; and 3) the agents who performed the search had an objectively reasonable basis for believing that there was an immediate need to protect the individuals in the apartment....

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, is not without its detractors – the Republican-controlled House has voted to repeal it 37 times, reports The Washington Post. But what is not achieved through the legislative process, people are hoping to achieve with the help of the judiciary. Conestoga Wood Specialties Corporation, is a secular, for-profit, closely-held, family-owned company (say that fast three times). The Hahns, the family that owns Conestoga, are Mennonites who had a problem with two drugs they had to provide through their group health plans: the morning-after pill and the week-after pill....

The Supreme Court will not reconvene this term to hear oral arguments in person. On April 13, the nation’s highest court announced it will hear remote oral arguments in select cases in May. The 10 remaining cases will be pushed to next term. Live Streaming Oral Arguments Notably, the oral arguments will be live streamed, according to the press release. While the court will occasionally post oral arguments on the same day, and transcripts are routinely available within hours, Chief Justice John Roberts has been reluctant to allow live feeds, saying that “it has the potential to hurt the court" by having counsel and justices “play to the audience....

Do law enforcement agents need to obtain a warrant based on probable cause to track a vehicle’s movements? Didn’t we get an answer to this question last year in U.S. v. Jones? Are we stuck in a time warp? Not quite. Tuesday, lawyers for a trio of brothers accused of robbing Philadelphia-area pharmacies asked the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to decide whether warrantless GPS tracking constitutes an unreasonable search....

In an action for breach of contract and fraud, district court’s grant of summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff is not entitled to payment under its agreement with defendant as no reasonable juror could find that plaintiff secured the contract in question on defendant’s behalf; 2) plaintiff’s claim that defendant breached their agreement by failing to complete an RFI for the Northwest account fails as defendant did not secure the contract in question; and 3) plaintiff’s fraud claim fails as there is no evidence that defendant did not intend to perform its obligations at the time it signed the agreement....

Defendants’ drug conspiracy convictions are affirmed where the district court correctly refused to suppress illicit drugs discovered in their car during a traffic stop because: 1) the district court’s finding that a state trooper had reasonable suspicion to pull defendant over for unsafely passing another vehicle was not clearly erroneous; 2) defendant waived his right to assert certain arguments on appeal in his plea agreement; 3) the officer had reasonable suspicion of defendants’ drug activity based on a) defendants’ unusual nervousness; b) their improbable travel plans; c) one defendant’s criminal history; and d) Las Vegas’s reputation as a narcotics source city and Indianapolis’s reputation as a drug distribution hub....