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Hurricane Irene may be in New York City as early as Sunday evening. New Yorkers, already shaken by this week’s earthquake, are nervously facing another natural disaster. In the path of one more of nature’s little challenges, please note that if you need to contact the Second Circuit, they provide emergency information on the court’s website and remind practitioners that they can get updated information on the operating status of the court by tuning into 1010 WINS on the AM dial and on WCBS (2), WNBC (4), WABC (7) and WNEW (5)....

In a securities fraud action against Steve Jobs, Apple corporation, and others concerning the issuance of an allegedly false and misleading proxy solicitation for a stock option plan, with allegations based on the backdating of stock options by Apple, dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act did not differentiate between plaintiffs seeking legal and equitable remedies, and thus, without an allegation of economic loss, no remedy, equitable or otherwise, was available....

Marty Madkins III appealed his drug convictions, saying he was denied a speedy trial. But the big problem was Madkins had been convicted of drug violations twice before. Even though his third case took two years to get to trial, a federal appeals court said justice was speedy enough. But sometimes it’s better when the wheels of justice grind slowly. According to the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in United States of America v....

If you want to win a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) compensation dispute, you have to prove that an employer knew or should have known that it owed your client for her work. If your client – like today’s Sixth Circuit appellant – failed to comply with internal reporting protocols, she may be out of luck. Under the terms of the employee handbook, Baptist automatically deducted meal breaks from White’s pay checks....

Will Field Trip Fridays be the latest trend in federal appeals? On October 12, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals will end a second consecutive week with oral arguments outside its usual home inside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse on Pearl Street. This Friday, Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs, Judge Robert Katzmann, and Judge Debra Livingston will be hearing oral arguments in the following cases at New York Law School: Miraj Bhuyan v....

A recently filed pair of proposed class action lawsuits in the New York District Court seek to hold Sony and UMG liable for ignoring the copyright termination notices they have received from countless musicians, including John Waite, Joe Ely, David Johansen, John Lyon, and Paul Collins. The plaintiffs assert that these two music giants have rejected the copyright termination notices the artists sent citing various reasons, but primarily that the copyrights in question are works made for hire and thus don’t qualify for termination....

What do Johnny Knoxville and Justice Antonin Scalia have in common? One’s a Jackass, and the other’s a … distinguished jurist. But they share a birthday! And since we were playing kickball yesterday while Justice Scalia was celebrating his 76th birthday, we’re celebrating Nino a day late with our favorite Justice Scalia quotes from concurring and dissenting opinions. (Though Justice Scalia is known for his colorful writing, his majority opinions must reflect the Court’s official position....

The Supreme Court is looking to keep controversial, potentially divisive issues off its docket this term, the conventional wisdom goes – at least until it has a ninth justice on the bench. Today’s oral arguments, for example, deal with service dogs and administrative exhaustion, for one, and cheerleader uniforms, in the other. Hardly the kind of issues that grab headlines or split the Court. But the idea that the Court was playing it safe was upended on Friday, when the Court granted cert in five new cases, including a dispute over transgender students’ ability to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity....

Sentencing challenge in a conviction for traveling interstate commerce to engage in sexual conduct with a minor US. v. Bradley, 10-1080, concerned a challenge to the district court’s imposition of a 240 months’ imprisonment, in a prosecution of defendant for traveling in interstate commerce to engage in sexual conduct with a minor. The court vacated the sentence and remanded for resentencing as the district court unreasonably based defendant’s sentence on its speculation about prior criminal conduct and potential for recidivism....

Convictions and sentences of defendants, members of the Earth Liberation Front which has been identified by the FBI as domestic eco-terrorist group, for destroying government property is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err in holding that defendants’ conduct caused the Forest Service to suffer a loss in its loss-amount calculation; and 2) defendant’s argument that he’s not the sort of person who should be labeled a terrorist and that the terrorism enhancement does not apply unless his crime transcended national boundaries is without merit....

Sentence for conspiracy to commit bank robberies and other crimes is affirmed and counsel’s motion to withdraw is granted where: 1) although the Anders brief filed by defendant’s counsel was deficient, there are no nonfrivolous issues for review on appeal; and 2) the district court properly re-sentenced defendant following the remand in his first appeal for re-sentencing in light of Booker. Read US v. Coleman, No. 08-3155 Appellate InformationAppeal from the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey....

In a kidnapping prosecution, the denial of defendant’s motion to dismiss the indictment is affirmed where 1) the jury in a prior felony murder trial did not need to find that defendant did not kidnap the victim in order to acquit defendant; 2) defendant’s acquittal on the charge of carrying a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence did not require the jury to determine that defendant did not commit kidnapping; and 3) in acquitting defendant’s co-defendant on all counts, the jury did not necessarily find that defendant did not commit kidnapping....

Defendants’ child pornography convictions and sentences are affirmed, where: 1) any Sixth Amendment error due to the introduction of Defendant’s redacted confession was harmless; and 2) the District Court applied an unwarranted sentencing enhancement for using a computer to solicit sexual activity with a minor, but the District Court stated that it would have imposed the same below-Guidelines sentence in any event. Read the full decision in US v. Jass, No....

In a murder prosecution, a denial of defendant’s motion for DNA testing brought pursuant to the Innocence Protection Act is affirmed where the presence of another prisoner’s DNA on the murder weapon or other items would not undermine the strength of the government’s case in any meaningful way. Moreover, an appeal from a denial of defendant’s motion to preserve trial evidence is dismissed as moot where the current trial court had already entered an order requiring the government to preserve the evidence....

Defendant’s conviction and sentence for engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property are affirmed where: 1) “proceeds obtained from a criminal offense” in 18 U.S.C. section 1957(f)(2) refers to gross receipts rather than profits, except where an 18 U.S.C. section 1956 predicate offense creates a merger problem that leads to a radical increase in the statutory maximum sentence and only when nothing in the legislative history suggests that Congress intended such an increase; and 2) the restitution order was proper because the victim’s loss stemmed directly and proximately from defendant’s bank fraud and false statements....

Statistics show the majority of shoplifting is done by teens. It may seem like shoplifting is a minor infraction and no big deal. After all, stores have too much stuff, so taking “merch" from a big business isn’t really hurting anyone. No one will even notice, right? The crime of shoplifting, whether from a giant department store or a small local shop, can sometimes lead to serious criminal charges. Even if you’re a minor, criminal laws for shoplifting apply....

The Florida Supreme Court is poised to let “harmless error” kill death row inmates, says a leading newspaper there. The Sun Sentinel has criticized the “harmless error” rule in death penalty cases before, but now the issue is back before a reconstituted state supreme court. The editors think the conservative court will pile on “one of the most grotesque compromises in legal history.” They say it’s macabre that “harmless error” could send people to death row and, predict the Florida court will do it 173 times....

It should come as no surprise that the members of the Wisconsin State Bar are a litigious bunch, but did you know that members of the bar have been challenging the First Amendment implications of their dues for over fifty years? To practice law in the State of Wisconsin, lawyers must join the Wisconsin State Bar. To join the State Bar, lawyers must pay State Bar dues. In 2007, the State Bar used a portion of members’ dues to conduct a public image campaign with the goal of improving the public’s perception of Wisconsin lawyers....

In 2013, a 12-year-old girl from Polk County, Florida took her life by jumping off a tower at an abandoned factory. During the investigation, the sheriff learned that a former friend (K.C.R.) had bullied the teen repeatedly. Approximately a month later, the sheriff arrested K.C.R. in her home for aggravated stalking. He made a warrantless arrest. The sheriff stated publicly and repeatedly that K.C.R. was in part responsible for the suicide of her former friend....

Inside traders can breathe a sigh of relief today. The Second Circuit has refused to revisit a ruling which federal prosecutors had said would severely limit their ability to pursue insider trading cases. Prosecutors had asked the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear the case of hedge fund managers Todd Newman and Anthony Chiasson. The court had reversed the pair’s convictions on insider trading charges last December. The Second Circuit refused the Department of Justice’s request to reconsider its ruling in United States v....