Many solo and small firm lawyers notoriously play it fast-and-loose, and it’s not always a bad thing. They can be more mobile, flexible, and adaptable to changing circumstances. Moving an office, for example, can be as easy as picking up a laptop. But sometimes it pays to slow down and follow the large firm path, like creating employee manuals. Even if you have no employees, it’s a good thing to act like you do....
Wayne State University is not a ‘person’ for purposes of the False Claims Act, which imposes liability on individuals and businesses who defraud the federal government. Further, the school is entitled to sovereign immunity, and protected from FCA whistleblower lawsuits, as an “arm of the state” under the Eleventh Amendment. Those are the holdings of a recent Sixth Circuit opinion which adopted the “arm of the state” test for FCA claims – and tossed a Wayne State assistant professor’s whistleblower suit in the process....
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals shot down key provisions of Chicago’s embattled gun laws, striking down a 500-foot zoning restriction for shooting ranges and a ban on children from entering them. The decision marked another defeat for Chicago in its fight over gun use since the U.S. Supreme Court threw out its ban on handguns in 2010. The city responded by outlawing shooting ranges, but the Seventh Circuit invalidated that law....
The Eighth Circuit will consider reinstating Gage County as a defendant in a civil rights lawsuit over the wrongful conviction of six people, dubbed the “Beatrice Six,” for the 1985 murder of a Nebraska woman. U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf dismissed Gage County from the case. This week, he granted the plaintiffs’ motion to have the Eight Circuit review his dismissal of the county as a defendant, The Omaha World Herald reports....
The word “expungement” has such a tone of uncontestable finality to it. Or so Daryous Taha thought over the course of the 13 years since a Pennsylvania court ordered the expungement of his arrest record after he spent a night in jail on charges of disorderly conduct. Then one day a friend told Taha that he’d seen his photograph and arrest information on a website called Mugshots.com. Launching an investigation, Taha learned that Mugshots....
Last Friday’s death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg gave way to an outpouring of grief over the loss of a trailblazing feminist icon. But that has quickly given way to the impending battle over who will take her seat — and who will get to make that choice. President Donald Trump announced that he expects to name Ginsburg’s replacement by this weekend, and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said the Senate will take up that nomination....
In July, the United States District Court for the District of Kansas was presented with a question – the first of its kind in the 10th Circuit: Can Facebook be used as the sole method of substitute process pursuant to Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure? Interesting question since Facebook has over 1 billion users worldwide. From what we can see, only three opinions address this issue: two from the Southern District of New York and one from the District of Kansas....
We write a lot around here about the repercussions of Citizens United v. FEC, but we’ve never done a People magazine-style “where are they now?” about Citizens United. Has it become embroiled in drugs? A nasty divorce? Bankruptcy? Nope, Citizens United – the organization – is still alive and well, and churning out documentaries. This time, the documentary is called “Rocky Mountain Heist,” which “concerns various Colorado advocacy groups and their negative impact on Colorado government and public policy,” referring to elected officials and candidates by name....
If your big day is coming up, you’ve probably already been dizzied by an avalanche of unexpected paperwork. Who ever thought that getting married would involve signing a dozen or more service contracts in addition to the paperwork for a marriage license? Every wedding vendor you hire has their own contract, with their own terms, and more often than not, none of those terms are negotiable, unless you want to spend more money....
In Dorn v. Lafler, No. 08-1594, the Sixth Circuit faced a challenge to a district court’s denial of defendant’s request for habeas relief claiming ineffective assistance of counsel and denial of an appeal as of right in violation of his constitutional right to access the court. As stated in the decision: “Dorn gave prison officials his appeal papers seven days before they had to be received by the court. This gave the prison a reasonable amount of time within which to mail the papers such that they would be received before his filing deadline....
In a dispute involving a denial of Social Security disability insurance benefits, district court judgment is vacated and remanded where the ALJ acknowledged plaintiff’s severe obesity as an impairment, but failed to consider its impact in combination with her other impairments on her workplace performance. title=“Diaz v. Comm’r of Social Security - full decision"Read Diaz v. Comm’r of Social Security, No. 08-4067 Appellate InformationAppeal from the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey....
In the #metoo era we’re living in, it can be utterly mind-boggling that a top ranking executive, during a company party, would single out the few women employees in the room to serve everyone cake. But, as reality would have it, a recent lawsuit filed by the former head of legal of EXL Service Holdings alleges that she was not only singled out to cut the cake because she is a woman, she alleges that nearly immediately after complaining about the incident, she was terminated....
Terry Albury, a former FBI agent, said he wanted to make a difference. After he made that statement, Judge Wilhelmina Wright sentenced him to four years in prison. The judge said his good intentions were no excuse for leaking confidential documents. Even though Albury confessed to his crime, it was a difficult case for the government. Prosecutors said it is never easy to go after their own. Racial Profiling Defense attorneys had asked for probation, arguing that Albury acted patriotically and out of a moral conflict....
We’re sorry to have to do this. We’ll try to minimize your agony. But be warned: These are the two least interesting cases currently on the Supreme Court’s docket, and the only two cases to come out of the Tenth Circuit (so far). What are talking about? Sufficient fact pleading for removal of massive class action lawsuits to federal court and some barely comprehensible case involving the federal Tax Injunction Act and the ability of federal courts to hear non-taxpayers’ complaints about a state reporting law that is a “secondary aspect of state tax administration....
In an action by prisoners alleging that the prison failed to address a contagious skin disease, the dismissal of the complaint is reversed, where the Prisoner Litigation Reform Act did not remove prisoners from the definition of “Persons” permitted to join claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20. Read Hagan v. Rogers, No. 07-1412. Appellate Information On Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey(D....
US v. Holmes, No. 09-2846, concerned a challenge to an inmate’s conviction for possessing a weapon in a prison, including a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence for the jury to conclude that the utility knife blade was a weapon within themeaning of section 1791. In affirming the conviction, the court held that the defendant’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence at trial is rejected as a rational jury cold have concluded that the blade found was a weapon....
From the Eighth Circuit comes another in the increasingly lengthy list of lessons that courts do not like it when employers creatively classify employees in order to circumvent labor laws. ActionLink, a marketing company, partners with electronics and appliance companies, like LG, to provide “brand advocates” who go into stores to convince employees to push their clients’ products. For years, ActionLink treated these brand advocates as outside sales, which exempted them from overtime, even though many of them worked 50 to 75 hours per week....
In the criminal defense world, a 10-2 deadlock is a pretty big win. A complete acquittal would be like a home run, but jurors voted 10-2 and sent a big message to the prosecutors in United States of America v. Menendez. Don’t try it again. U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, whose bribery case ended in a mistrial, hopes the Department of Justice doesn’t refile charges against him. But for Senate Democrats, the mistrial was a ticket to the big game where they need every vote....
Senior Judge Robert Beezer passed on Friday, March 30 at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. He was 83. If you’re familiar with the Anna Nicole Smith bankruptcy case, the early aughts Napster litigation, or the “reasonable woman” standard in sexual harassment litigation, then you know a bit about Judge Beezer’s work. Judge Beezer was known both for his famous opinions and his sound appellate reasoning; he had one of the highest Supreme Court affirmation rates on the Ninth Circuit, according to The Seattle Times....
Ohio requires provisional ballots to be cast in the correct precinct and with a completed voter affirmation. Some Ohio polling places serve voters from several precincts, but the law does not make an exception wrong-precinct and deficient-affirmation ballots caused by poll-worker error. According to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the state can’t do that. In 2006, the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and the Service Employees International Union Local 1199 (collectively NEOCH plaintiffs), sued Ohio’s Secretary of State challenging numerous aspects of Ohio’s new voter-identification laws....
