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Andre Haymond got a break in his child pornography case, as the U.S. Supreme Court said his sentence for violating probation should be decided by a jury. In United States v. Haymond, the justices said the defendant’s sentence was “unconstitutional and unenforceable” because the punishment exceeded his original sentence and the judge added prison time without a jury finding. A jury must decide every fact that is “essential to an individual’s punishment,” the divided court said....

The Supreme Court granted certiorari in another death penalty appeal this week. Next fall, the Court will review the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Warren killer Sean Carter’s appeals must be postponed until he is competent to participate in the proceedings, reports TribToday.com. Carter was convicted in 1997 of raping and murdering his adoptive grandmother. In late 2007, he was transferred from death row at Chillicothe Correctional Institution to Oakwood Correctional Facility, a psychiatric prison, due to declining mental competency....

As we mentioned in our previous post in Social Media 101, it is crucial to monitor your small business’ online presence. But what can you do about what is being said about your business? What can you do to boost online reputation and traffic? Well we have your primer on exactly what to do: Managing Your Online Presence Now that you know what customers are saying about you on sites like Twitter, Facebook and Yelp, it is time for you to tweak what you can....

No one will ever accuse the Supreme Court of being too quick to embrace new technology. The Court didn’t start post oral argument recordings on its website until 2010 and its online slip opinions only go back to 2009. Just six years ago, Justice Kennedy and the late Justice Scalia let it slip during arguments that they didn’t really know how text messages worked – at all. And when it comes to one of the most ubiquitous forms of technology this side of electricity, the Court isn’t really caught up, either....

Is it “retaliation” to be fired from your job as a student teacher if another school employee sees you masturbating in your car in a parking lot? No, it’s not a rhetorical question. And this time, it’s not from Florida. Carlos Bassatt was a student teacher at a Denver high school, and another employee did catch him masturbating in his car in the high school parking lot. Bassatt died during the district court proceedings, but his estate pressed on....

You may be an extremely competent attorney. You may be one of the most ethical practitioners around. Unless you have a certain level of technological savvy, however, you will almost certainly run afoul of the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct when communicating electronically with clients. Online Security Is Part of the Practice of Law Attorneys have an obligation to take reasonable efforts to safeguard electronic communications to prevent unauthorized disclosure of confidential client information....

Jamaican citizen’s petition for review of BIA’s dismissal of appeal of an IJ’s removal order granted Thomas v. Attorney General, 08-4706, concerned a Jamaican citizen’s petition for review of BIA’s dismissal of his appeal of an IJ’s judgment finding him removable. In granting the petition, the court held that there exists jurisdiction over petitioner’s petition for review of the BIA’s original decision. The court also held that petitioner’s misdemeanor convictions for violating New York Law section 221....

District court’s conviction of defendants for mail fraud and order to pay a criminal forfeiture money judgment and restitution is affirmed as: 1) forfeiture is not limited solely to the amounts alleged in the count(s) of conviction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. section 981(a)(1)(C); 2) defendants waived their rights to forfeiture calculations review on appeal; and 3) imposing restitution and forfeiture for the same crime is not an improper double payment. Read US v....

Westboro Baptist Church protests can continue in Manchester, Missouri. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday that Manchester cannot enforce a local ordinance banning protests near funerals. Manchester adopted the ordinance in response to Westboro Baptist Church protests. The group, mainly comprised of members of the Phelps-Roper family, protests at soldiers’ funerals with signs containing messages like “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “Thank God for 9/11,” reports the AP....

Freedom of religion is one of the great hallmarks of American democracy. It’s right there in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” But these are extraordinary times. As the coronavirus continues its deadly spread, state and local decrees have banned public gatherings. Social distancing is now the norm nearly everywhere. Most churches have been doing their part to “flatten the curve,” some by holding virtual services that parishioners can take part in from home....

The true crime documentary machine continues churning out content, with two new Netflix documentaries highlighting what it means to act in self-defense. “Killer Sally” and “State of Alabama vs. Brittany Smith” dive into the harrowing stories of two women who seemingly acted in self-defense but were still convicted of murder. Sally McNeil Professional bodybuilder Sally McNeil admitted to shooting her husband, Ray, on Valentine’s Day, 1995. Sally said that Ray, also a professional bodybuilder, abused her throughout their relationship....

Anti-transgender lawmakers across the U.S. are on the march. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, some 60 anti-trans bills are now being considering in 28 states. The primary targets of these bills, the ACLU says, are restricting the ability of trans girls to participate in girls’ sports and young trans people’s access to gender-affirming health care. Many of these bills won’t pass, of course, but three have become law as of March 30:...

The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision concerning “The Hurt Locker” film is important for those defendants who author screenplays or make film’s based on real people and real events. Such stories, the Ninth Circuit concluded, are “fully protected speech.” It’s been several years since Mstr. Sgt. Jeffrey S. Sarver brought his suit. Who knew that what once started as a Playboy article would one day eventually turn into a civil rights debate?...

Here at FindLaw, we understand the pressures of being a legal professional - most of us are recovering lawyers - so we want to help by tossing you that preferred life preserver of the legal profession, the short list. First Monday — the day that we have anxiously awaited since the caffeine buzz from our healthcare case coverage wore off — is finally here. There was a lot going on at the Court today, so let’s discuss the five things you should know about the first day of the 2012 term....

For all the emotions it evokes – both pro and con – Section 8 is sometimes the only avenue by which the impoverished can get affordable housing in a region. For most recipients, any change in a government subsidy is a matter of daily livelihood and may result in homelessness. A Section 8 subsidy is a property right. As such, the Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court decision in favor of defendants who had administered a local voucher program and instead entered judgment for plaintiffs, who argued they weren’t given proper notice before their subsidies were reduced....

This is one of those decisions that gives you warm and fuzzy feelings about hope for the quietest voices of our legal system. Kennard Lee Davis is a pro se inmate with schizoaffective disorder. Needless to say, assisting in his representation, or hearing his claims, isn’t easy. And he seems to have at least a handful of claims, as he now alleges that he was punished for filing prisoners’ rights litigation against the State of California....

RU-486. Expect this to be the “next big thing” in abortion-related litigation. We’ve already seen restrictions on the drug, and on medical (drug-based, as opposed to surgical) abortions nearly reach the Supreme Court, before the case was dismissed as improvidently granted after a state court nixed Oklahoma’s RU-486 law, then clarified its reasoning. A similar battle is being fought in Arizona, where the state passed HR 2036, a law that requires providers to abide by the FDA’s strict protocol for delivering the drug, including the notable requirement of having a doctor present, requiring two visits to the clinic, and limiting the time for treatment to seven weeks....

When a court battle over the release of a judge’s personal collection of videotapes stirs a national debate, you expect the story to involve an entirely different kind of videotape. But today, we’re not talking about an NSFW video; we’re discussing court recordings from last year’s California Prop 8 trial. The Prop 8 video debate is heading back to court. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments regarding the release of trial videotapes on December 5....

The Seventh Circuit just affirmed a lower district court decision that could inflame the passions of many civil rights groups. The issue: Can criminal convictions stand against defendants if another criminal conviction on which the other convictions depended was dismissed? To most people, the reasonable answer is no. But the Seventh Circuit turned to past presidential case law and said, “Yes, that sounds about right.” Rondell Freeman and a gang of cohorts were indicted and later convicted in criminal court on numerous counts including conspiracy to traffic narcotics, using a telephone to advance a conspiracy, and several others....

A federal appeals court ruled that county doctors should not have examined children without parental consent. In Mann v. County of San Diego, the parents sued after the County of San Diego took their kids and medically examined them. The parents soon won a decision against the county for not having sufficient evidence to take custody from them. And then the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, saying the county violated the parents’ and the kids’ rights by doing gynecological and rectal exams on the children....