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A jury will determine whether five African American prison guards endured a hostile work environment, an Eighth Circuit panel ruled. The appeals court ruled that the lower court erroneously granted summary judgment to all of the defendants. The appeals panel affirmed most of the dismissals, but reinstated claims against three of the supervisors, demonstrating how crucial it is to differentiate between supervisors. The takeaway: even in employment settings conducive to mob mentalities (such as prisons and law enforcement), always present evidence of individual acts of discriminatory behavior....

Although Jay Z was rumored to show up in court this week, he didn’t, disappointing many, including the SEC. He filed an affidavit with the federal district court explaining that he was too busy preparing for an upcoming tour to appear. However, after being ordered by the court to appear at an SEC interview, his attorney stated that Jay Z would appear on May 15. The SEC has been wanting to speak with Jay Z for several months now related to some dealings with brand Iconix....

In an unorthodox move, a federal judge has ordered a new trial for an Iowa state prisoner convicted in the brutal 1995 murder of a northwestern Iowa teenager. While state prosecutors appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the decision by U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett resurrects a case that ignited tensions between whites and Hispanics and led to crackdowns on illegal immigration, reports The Associated Press. The Crime Guillermo Escobedo, now 38, and Cesar Herrarte were convicted in the stabbing death of 19-year-old Justin Younie at a party in Hawarden and are serving life prison sentences....

The Trump Administration fired two shots across the bow of the LGBT community, aiming to set back Obama-era rulings that protected soldiers and workers. The same day Trump announced that the U.S. military would not allow transgender people in the armed forces, the Justice Department told a federal court that anti-discrimination laws should not protect people at work based on their sexual orientation. In Zarda v. Altitude Express, Inc., the Justice Department says that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects workers based on their sex – not their sexual orientation....

Landing a job as a federal judge’s law clerk is a big deal. Unfortunately for many law students, the path to getting hired by any judge is often mired in high level networking, which is beyond the scope of most lawyers, let alone 1Ls, 2Ls, or even 3Ls. To combat that barrier to entry, a new two-year pilot program was proposed last year and many judges across the country are participating in it....

It’s rough being a third party in America. When was the last time a third party was truly relevant? Was it Teddy Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party in the early 20th century? Our country has been a dual-party system by default for so long that it is nearly impossible for a third party to break into the popular conscience, or into office for that matter. To get on the ballot, candidates in California have to gather signatures to attach to their paperwork....

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action claiming that a city ordinance under which Plaintiff’s vehicle was towed was invalid under state law, summary judgment for Plaintiff is reversed, where Plaintiff’s claim that the ordinance contravened state law failed to raise a colorable federal question. Read Lone Star Security & Video, Inc. v. Los Angeles, No. 07-56521 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted May 7, 2009 Filed July 10, 2009 Judges...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals may catch a lot of flack as the “most liberal court” in the land, but at least the court is trying to make the circuit and its federal feeder courts more pleasant for attorneys and jurors. The Ninth Circuit announced two initiatives this week that may be of interest to appellate practitioners: a new jury video and a new group of Appellate Lawyer Representatives....

Whether or not you agree with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United, you have to appreciate that the case continues to generate work for lawyers. There’s a job shortage out there, friends. If you can direct your practice to campaign finance law, you can stay employed during election cycles. This week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Montana can limit campaign contributions to candidates for state office, reports The New York Times....

In a qui tam action involving allegations of fraudulent student loan debt collection practices, grant of defendants’ motion to dismiss is affirmed as the district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the suit with prejudice as a sanction for the willful leaks of a document where: 1) the district court did not clearly err in finding that the “attorneys’ eyes only” agreement encompassed the Guarantee Services Agreement; 2) district court did not clearly err in finding that plaintiff’s attorney had willfully violated the “attorneys’ eyes only” agreement by leaking the Guarantee Services Agreement to unauthorized third parties; and 3) plaintiff’s attorney had been given a final warning after pattern of misconduct and had been warned that further misconduct was likely to result in more drastic sanctions....

The Steel Valley School District in Pennsylvania pays its teachers pursuant to a salary scale based on their education and years of experience. When the District hired Patrick Connelly, he had had nine years of teaching experience — in Maryland. But working in Maryland is practically the same as not working at all, according to Steel Valley policies: The District credited him with only one year when calculating his starting salary....

Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int’l. Corp., No. 08-1198, involved an antitrust class action in which the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s order vacating an arbitration panel’s order allowing for class arbitration of the dispute. As the court wrote: “We granted certiorari in this case to decide whether imposing class arbitration on parties whose arbitration clauses are “silent” on that issue is consistent with the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U....

Russell Bucklew was on death row and his execution was scheduled for Wednesday, but because of last minute legal maneuvers, was put off. After a stay was granted, lifted and put back into place, a full Supreme Court decided to grant a stay pending further appeals. Here’s a detailed look at the situation. Russell Bucklew was convicted of murdering a man in front of the victim’s children, and raping and murdering his ex-girlfriend, and was described once by a prosecutor as a “homicidal Energizer bunny,” reports NBC News....

If the legal profession had an Academy Awards, there would be a movie up for Best Gender Equity Firm. It would be about a law firm that had a perfect record for giving women equal pay, more partnerships, and leadership positions. It would be about a firm that ended the era of gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the profession. It would be nice, but of course no one has made that movie....

In a prosecution for transporting and knowingly transporting a person under the age of 18 in interstate commerce with the intent that the person transported engage in prostitution, the district court’s judgment is affirmed where: 1) the government need not prove for purposes of the section 2423(a)charge that defendant knew that the person he transported was under the age of 18 because knowledge of the victim’s minor status is not an element of the statute; and 2) the court did not abuse its discretion in admitting at trial evidence of defendant’s credit card fraud, where such prior act was an essential part of the overall crime....

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is simple: If you’re injured, you can take leave and your job is held for you while you recover. Except, the finer points can get a bit tricky. What if an employee can only come back with restrictions? Who makes the judgment call on whether an employee can fulfill her essential duties? That was the key to Vanessa Budhun’s case. She broke a finger, was told by HR that she had to take FMLA leave, and while she was gone, was replaced....

From the past to the present, there have been hundreds of laws that seek to “protect” women by denying them full rights: laws shielding women from the corrupting influence of politics, and voting; laws guarding women from hearing “sordid evidence,” by keeping them off juries; laws keeping women from dangerous work as high-paid pharmacists, but not low-paid janitors. And now, at least in Texas, those laws include protecting women from medical risks associated with abortion by virtually eliminating their access to it....

Note: This post was updated on January 29, 2021. February is Black History Month, and it’s the perfect time to reflect on the Black community’s impact on the nation’s legal landscape. It is a history that predates the founding of the nation and continues to shape our future. While there is no way to highlight every contribution to the American legal system, we will highlight some of the most prominent Black voices who have had an especially pronounced impact....

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held in a 2-1 decision that “gay conversion therapy” bans violate the First Amendment rights of therapists. In overturning the lower court, the Eleventh Circuit panel splits from the Third and Ninth Circuits. As a result, sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) therapy in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia cannot be prohibited. A Content-Based Restriction on Speech The two Trump-appointed judges to reverse the lower court, Judges Britt Grant and Barbara Lagoa, held that bans on sexual orientation change efforts in talk therapy are a form of content-based restrictions that deserve strict scrutiny, labeling it an “easy” decision....

Several employees at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco got an extra vacation day earlier this week because someone in the building was shipping his Best Buy orders to his work address. Yes, that may be a fairly light-hearted way of saying that many people left work early after a suspicious package caused a full-blown bomb scare at the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the bomb scare at the federal courthouse turned out to be nothing more than a package containing a “harmless electronic devices that an employee had delivered to the building....