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The Second Circuit decided cases concerning banking law, prisoner litigation, sex discrimination and immigration. Vega v. Lantz, No. 08-4748, involved a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action claiming that plaintiff-inmate was improperly labeled as a sex offender in violation of the Due Process Clause. The Second Circuit reversed summary judgment for plaintiff, holding that: 1) while it may be the case that, in certain circumstances, misclassification as a sex offender results in “stigma plus,” this possibility was of no particular assistance to plaintiff because he did not establish a threshold requirement – the existence of a reputation-tarnishing statement that was false; and 2) because current regulations did not prohibit prison officials from considering acquitted conduct when assigning a needs score, they did not support the existence of a liberty interest....

On Tuesday, the California Assembly passed two education reform bills aimed at improving the state’s lowest performing schools and placing the state in line to receive a portion of the $4.3 billion in federal Race to the Top funds set aside for education. The two bills, SB 5X 4 and SB 5X 1, contain several controversial measures which have been opposed by the teachers unions and other critics. Under the new bills, school districts and parents will have several new tools at their disposal to fix a failing school....

The Court’s handed down Maryland v. Shatzer, No. 08-680, which concerned a sexual child abuse prosecution in which a state court of appeals reversed defendant’s conviction on Miranda grounds. The Supreme Court granted the state’s certiorari petition. As the Court wrote: “When, unlike what happened in these three cases, a suspect has been released from his pretrial custody and has returned to his normal life for some time before the later attempted interrogation, there is little reason to think that his change of heart regarding interrogation without counsel has been coerced....

The Electronic Frontier Foundation makes a living suing over privacy rights and other digital freedoms. That’s saying a lot for a non-profit organization. The EFF also lives through demands under the Freedom of Information Act. Anyone – including people who want to know what really was in Robert Mueller’s report – can make a demand for government records under the FOIA. Here is a primer, courtesy of the EFF, on how to make an FOIA demand....

In an action for employment discrimination based on plaintiff’s disability, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. section 794, extends to a claim of discrimination brought by an independent contractor because the Rehabilitation Act covers all individuals “subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Read Fleming v. Yuma Reg. Med. Ctr., No. 07-16427 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted February 12, 2009...

Clients of Tampa attorney José Angel Toledo claim he abandoned his law practice, without giving any notice that they should find new representation. After months of unanswered phone calls and visits to Toledo’s office where they met a locked door, 31 people filed complaints with the Florida Bar demanding his suspension. On October 23, the Florida Supreme Court obliged. Unfortunately, no one seems to know where he is. Show Me the Money It seems Toledo’s disappearing act might be tied to dubious finances, with Toledo on the hook for quite a few debts....

And then there were three. While the Ninth Circuit originally had challenges to four states’ gay marriage bans lined up for oral argument, Oregon’s case came to an unsurprising end last week, when the Ninth Circuit dismissed the National Organization for Marriage’s appeal of a denied motion to intervene. Since none of the actual parties to the case appealed, the court dismissed the case as well. That leaves us with three states: Hawaii, Nevada, and Idaho, all of which are set for marathon oral arguments on Monday at 1 p....

In Stewart v. Wolfenbarger, No. 08-2154, the court was faced with a habeas petition challenging a conviction for second-degree murder under the aiding and abetting theory. Specifically: “Stewart admitted that he provided a .38 handgun to Whitley with the knowledge that Whitley and Tate were going to use it to commit a robbery. A rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Pippins provided the .38; that Tate, Whitley, and Hadley used the ....

In a capital habeas matter, a denial of petitioner’s habeas petition is reversed where the state sought to retry petitioner and seek the death penalty following a mistrial, but there was no manifest necessity for the trial court to have declared a mistrial without first polling the jury in order to determine whether petitioner had been acquitted of the death penalty. Read Harrison v. Gillespie, No. 08-16602 Appellate Information Argued August 10, 2009...

The National Basketball Association enjoys a reputation as America’s most “woke” professional sports league. In contrast to the National Football League, where Colin Kaepernick has apparently been blackballed for kneeling during a National Anthem, NBA star players and coaches regularly speak out in favor of Black Lives Matter and gun control, for instance. But that reputation is teetering now that the league is weighing its idealism against the lure of billions of dollars from China....

Kentucky is still going to defend its gay marriage ban before the Sixth Circuit, but not with the help of anyone employed by the state. After Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway refused to defend the same-sex marriage prohibition, citing his refusal to “defend[] discrimination,” the governor announced that outside counsel will be hired to represent the state’s interests in the appeal, reports The Associated Press. With Kentucky taxpayer money set to pay for private attorneys, this battle over same-sex unions just got hotter....

Petition for Review of Removal Order Granted In Li v. Holder, No. 06-73365, a petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals decision affirming an immigration judge’s denial of petitioner’s application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture, the court granted the petition where 1) there was a lack of substantial evidence to base adverse credibility on the finding that petitioner was not a Christian; and 2) there was a lack of substantial evidence to base adverse credibility on the finding that petitioner was evasive or inconsistent....

Don’t worry: If you only work in Greenwich, Connecticut, you can maybe still wear flip-flops to work. But if you happen to work for Greenwich, Connecticut, we have some uncool news, dude. Town employees may no longer wear flip-flops or “slide sandals " to work this summer. Or ever, for that matter. “You don’t want people to get hurt,” town HR director Mary Pepe told the Greenwich Time. “One of the things that this is trying to do is prevent slips and falls or trips and falls....

An Iowa woman won’t be allowed to withdraw a plea agreement she says she was pressured to accept, the Eighth Circuit ruled yesterday. After a heroin user overdosed and died, a police investigation identified Lacresia White as the decedent’s supplier. Following a series of undercover buys, which may have involved White’s six year old daughter, police arrested White and charged her with conspiracy to distribute heroin that lead to death....

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals questioned a New Jersey township’s redevelopment plan last week, ordering a federal district court to reconsider low-income residents’ claim that the redevelopment project violates anti-discrimination laws. Mount Holly Township (Township) proposed a redevelopment plan that would eliminate the existing homes in a neighborhood occupied predominantly by low-income residents, and replace them with significantly more expensive housing units. Appellants, an association of Gardens residents organized under the name Mt....

In a breach of contract action alleging that defendant failed to implement a required interest rate reduction pursuant to the parties’ mortgage agreement, plaintiff’s appeal is dismissed where defendant purchased the right to pursue plaintiff’s cause of action at a public execution sale. Read RMA Ventures Cal. v. SunAmerica Life Ins. Co., No. 08-4035 Appellate Information Filed August 11, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Baldock Counsel For Appellant: Ronald W. Ady, Salt Lake City, UT...

One of the Supreme Court’s most anticipated cases of the term just got a last minute cancellation. That case, Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., involved the rights of transgender students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. Oral arguments were scheduled for later this month, but the case was upended just two weeks ago, when the Trump administration rescinded federal protections for those students. Now, the Supreme Court has taken a last minute pass on the dispute....

The Food and Drug Administration oversees everything from testing new prescription medication to getting contaminated food products off the shelves. And you might be surprised to learn that the FDA’s purview includes the percentage of cherries necessary in a frozen cherry pie, and how many of them can be “blemished.” But those days may soon be over. Recently released emails indicating President Donald Trump’s push for deregulation will include cuts to food standards, including minimum requirements for apple pie and “French” dressing....

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that TripAdvisor can’t be held liable for defamation for crowning Tennessee’s Grand Resort Hotel and Convention Center as the Dirtiest Hotel in America. In the $10 million lawsuit, the owner of the unlucky winner claimed TripAdvisor used a flawed rating system based on unreliable rumors. The court’s decision reminds business owners and their lawyers alike that hyperbolic scathing reviews typically won’t be considered defamatory....

District court’s conviction of defendants charged with conspiracy to rob and sell the stolen drugs as a result of a setup by the government and an informant, is affirmed where: 1)there was sufficient evidence for a rational jury to conclude that the defendants agreed, amongst themselves, to the robbery plan; and 2) the district court did not commit clear error in denying the safety valve to one of the defendants as he did not meet his burden of proving eligibility for the safety valve....