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Reedy v. Evanson, 09-2210, concerned a plaintiff’s 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action against a detective and others, claiming unlawful seizure and unlawful search under the Fourth Amendment and related state law violations arising from a criminal complaint against plaintiff for falsely reporting a crime of sexual assault and robbery while working as a cashier at a convenience store (these were later dropped after a serial rapist was captured and confessed to the crimes)....

The Sixth Circuit decided two criminal cases involving challenges to the Speedy Trial Act violation and an order requiring a defendant released on parole to provide DNA samples. In US v. Turner, No. 07-3481, the court faced a challenge to a defendant’s convictions for seven drug and gun-related crimes. Defendant argued that his indictment on two of seven counts took longer than allowed under the Speedy Trial Act, as he was arrested on June 1, 2005 but not indicted until January 18, 2006....

Ever have one of those days when everything seems to go wrong? From the moment you roll out of bed and stub your toe, you know it’s going to be one of those days. That’s how it must have felt for Joan Mullin, only much worse. She sued prison officials for contributing to her son’s suicide. Then her lawyer misfiled some key evidence, and her case was dismissed. Fortunately, Murphy’s law is not a real law....

Back in May, the Eighth Circuit case Burrage v. United States was one of the fortunate few to fill a spot in the U.S. Supreme Court’s docket for the 2013 Term. The Court will decide whether the crime of distribution of drugs causing death under 21 U.S.C. § 841 is a strict liability crime, without a foreseeability or proximate cause requirement. After a man went on a tragic drug binge – involving heroin, clonazepam, alprazolam, hydrocodone, oxycodone, and even some weed to boot – he died....

The U.S. Supreme court has ordered the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the appeal of a one-time juvenile sex offender, writes Courthouse News. The dismissal was ordered largely due to the fact that the case, when it reached the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, was moot. The juvenile male was charged in 2005 for allegedly abusing a younger boy, then aged ten. The accused, who was thirteen at the time of the offense, was charged with sexual abuse at the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana....

A dear relative of mine is an esteemed and well-respected professor at a prestigious university that shall remain anonymous. Of course, as nearly every professor and teacher is required to do, she has to grade student papers. One of her favorites was a student who submitted a series of quotes from studies without any original analysis or commentary. The Ninth Circuit issued an opinion reviewing the applicability of sovereign immunity in a case alleging negligence on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s part in the Madoff debacle....

Law firms across the country are observing Juneteenth, a day for celebration and reflection on the end of slavery in the U.S. Firms encouraging their workforce to take the day off include Skadden, Paul Weiss, Morrison & Foerster, Ogletree Deakins, and others. Large companies and organizations, including Nike, Twitter, Target, and Thomson Reuters (FindLaw is a part of Thomson Reuters) are also observing the holiday by giving workers time off....

Banuelos-Ayon v. Holder, No. 07-71667, concerned a petition for review of the denial of petitioner’s application for cancellation of removal, on the ground that petitioner’s prior conviction under California Penal Code section 273.5(a) was categorically a crime of domestic violence. The court of appeals denied the petition on the ground that the BIA’s conclusion regarding petitioner’s prior conviction was correct. Hernandez-Velasquez v. Holder, No. 06-75728, involved a petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’(“BIA”) denial of petitioner’s motion to reopen and reinstate proceedings, which the BIA construed as a motion to reissue its decision denying her administrative appeal....

It was a defense that does not exist anywhere in copyright statutes. It also inspired a passionately dissenting concurrence (hates the law, bound to apply it). Now, the Ninth Circuit’s invocation of “laches” as a defense to ongoing copyright infringement has attracted the review of the U.S. Supreme Court. Other commentators, who claim that the Ninth Circuit is Hollywood-biased, hope that a possible reversal will stem the tide of studio-friendly holdings by the court once dubbed by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski as “court of appeals for the Hollywood circuit,” reports Variety....

Many employers think they can easily get away with robbing their own workers. It’s called “wage theft,” it’s pervasive, and several states have recently decided to make offenders’ lives more miserable. Those workers who have been victimized by wage thieves are familiar with the tactics used by these employers to keep more money for themselves: They don’t pay overtime, avoid providing benefits by classifying workers as independent contractors, pay less than minimum wage, or fail to reimburse workers for necessary expenses....

US v. Flemming, 09-2726, concerned a challenge to the district court’s denial of defendant’s motion for a reduction of his 175-month sentence for his federal firearm and crack cocaine offenses, concluding that it lacked authority to reduce defendant’s sentence because he was a career offender under U.S.S.G. section 4B1.1. In vacating the judgment, the court remanded for the district court to exercise its discretion to determine whether, and to what extent, a reduction in defendant’s sentence is warranted as, under a pre-2003 edition of the Sentencing Guidelines, a career offender who is granted a section 4A1....

Workers in the gig economy enjoy certain benefits: Freedom. Flexibility. Independence. But as the April 15 tax deadline looms, the advantages of gig work give way to one of its drawbacks: the headaches caused by Internal Revenue Service income reporting obligations. Even though gig workers are technically freelancers, there’s a difference that makes them distinct: While traditional freelancers run their own businesses, gig workers often operate on specialized apps or platforms run by companies....

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision siding with aircraft manufacturer Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) this week, finding that a fired employee’s discrimination and retaliation claims lacked merit to proceed to trial. The employee, Denice Twigg, was employed by HBC from April 2, 1997, to April 7, 2008, where she worked in HBC’s Technical Manual Distribution Center (TMDC) as a Media Production Specialist. Cindy Ealey was Twigg’s immediate supervisor....

It looks like some of former President Donald Trump’s claims about voter fraud are finally being taken seriously — only perhaps not in the way he expected. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Linda Parker held a hearing in which she condemned the “bad faith” voter fraud suits supported by Sidney Powell, a former Trump attorney, among other lawyers. The Case As a former part of the Trump campaign, Powell is one of many attorneys facing possible sanctions for their roles in bringing forth lawsuits incorrectly accusing the 2020 presidential election of being “stolen....

Even before Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, he claimed that rampant voter fraud contributed to swaying elections across the country. As his campaign for reelection heats up, Trump is continuing to slam vote-by-mail, especially with COVID-19 providing motivation for many to avoid casting their ballots in person. Matching his verbal broadsides, Trump’s reelection campaign filed a lawsuit challenging Nevada’s new policy of sending mail-in ballots to every registered voter....

Defendant’s bank and securities fraud sentence is vacated where, although the Dura Pharmaceuticals loss causation standard did not apply to criminal securities fraud, the district court applied an erroneous standard of proof in determining total loss for sentencing enhancement purposes. Read US v. Berger, No. 08-50171 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted June 1, 2009 Filed November 30, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Smith Counsel For Appellant: Paul J. Watford, Jacob S....

In an appeal from a juvenile defendant’s sentence for violating the terms of his supervised release, the district court’s requirement that defendant register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) is reversed where the retroactive application of SORNA’s provision covering individuals who were adjudicated juvenile delinquents because of the commission of certain sex offenses before SORNA’s passage violated the Ex Post Facto Clause. Read US v....

Conviction for drug possession is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err in denying defendant’s motion to suppress and finding that defendant voluntarily consented to the officers’ search; and 2) the merits of defendant’s challenge to his sentencing classification cannot be reached as defendant’s plea agreement included an unambiguous waiver of his right to challenge the district court’s sentencing determinations. Read US v. McGraw, No. 08-2705 Appellate InformationAppeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Fort Wayne Division....

Defendant’s conviction for assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian country is affirmed where: 1) the district court properly submitted the issue of defendant’s Indian status to the jury as an element of 18 U.S.C. section 1153(a); 2) the district court’s instructions on defendant’s Indian status were not an abuse of discretion; 3) sufficient evidence supported the jury’s finding that defendant was an Indian for purposes of the section 1153(a) offense; 4) the instructions as a whole did not constructively amend the indictment by permitting the jury to convict defendant of an uncharged offense; and 5) the district court properly enhanced defendant’s sentence as a career offender....

We’ve pulled together a few of the more interesting verdicts and settlements in the legal world from last week. These cases include a Confederate statue without a home, a bank that didn’t keep its employees safe from a harassing rich customer, and an agreement that will make it easier for Native Americans in North Dakota to vote. An ‘honest mistake’ at Mar-a-Lago A jury in West Palm Beach, Fla. found that Chinese national Jing Lu committed an “honest mistake,” and not a crime, when she walked onto President Donald Trump’s part-time residence late last year and began snapping photos....