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More and more lawyers are unhappy with the profession, but why? Is the work often boring? Yes. Is the adversarial conflict unending? Yes. As you think about it, are you getting more depressed? If yes, you are not alone. According to a new survey, nearly 60 percent of young lawyers are so discouraged they are thinking about changing careers. Time to Change Careers? The Florida State Bar conducted a survey to learn “what mental health issues are affecting our constituents,” said Christian George, president of the Young Lawyers Division....

Fraud Conviction Affirmed In US v. Flonnory, No. 10-6037, the court affirmed defendant’s conviction for obtaining money through false pretenses, holding that 1) the government presented enough evidence at trial for a rational juror to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the transfer of the check at issue occurred on U.S. land; 2) the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to give the jury an additional instruction on speculation; and 3) any error in the calculation of defendant’s Guidelines range was harmless....

District court’s conviction and imposition of a 92 months’ sentence on a defendant for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is affirmed where: 1) the district court was correct in finding that defendant could not avail himself of a justification defense, given the uncontested facts that he had possession of a loaded weapon for over an hour, failed to exhaust all legal avenues open to him and carried the gun outside the apartment; and 2) the within-Guidelines sentence imposed by the court was reasonable....

Trial court’s conviction of a defendant for accidentally killing a co-participant while speeding away from a bank robbery is affirmed but the imposition of a mandatory life sentence pursuant to the federal bank robbery statute 18 U.S.C. section 2113(e) is vacated and remanded as the district court believed that US v. Poindexter, 44 F.3d 406 (6th Cir. 1995), controlled the outcome of this case and required a mandatory life sentence for even an accidental killing, but Poindexter interpreted an earlier version of the statute which said nothing about life imprisonment....

District court order revoking defendant’s release and sentencing him to serve the remainder of his supervised-release term in prison is affirmed where the court did not err in finding defendant had violated the terms of his supervised release, as the evidence was sufficient to show he had violated the conditions of his release by having a minor in his residence. Read US v. Smith, No. 08-3157 Appellate InformationAppeal from the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota....

This Valentine’s Day, law students in the Eighth Circuit should rekindle their flame with humanity. Go ahead, take a break from fretting about your classes and job prospects, and show some love to your community. Plus, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. You may not realize it, but doing pro bono work can improve your job prospects. How’s that for a socially acceptable love affair? Life in the legal world is like being in a long-term relationship....

Some of us respond skeptically when we hear the word “craze” attached to any new and popular human activity. Remember the sourdough craze? Flash mobs? Ice bucket challenges? So do we. For many of us, the “pickleball craze” supposedly sweeping the nation has a familiar ring. Time will tell whether it is a passing fancy, but right now it is a big deal in many parts of the country. It is also somewhat controversial, and that’s why we are writing about it here....

You’d have to be living under a rock not to have heard of the recent scandal at ABC’s “GMA3: What You Need to Know," the third hour of its popular morning show, “Good Morning America." ABC News recently took co-anchors T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach off the air after photos came out of the two of them demonstrating a little too much PDA around New York City. Turns out they have been having an affair....

The law doesn’t always have to be so serious. That’s why the law created banana lawsuits. In Silvertop Associates v. Kangaroo Manufacturing, the parties are bananas. Actually, it’s about banana costumes, but you can’t have a banana costume without copying a banana. That is the legal issue in the case: can you copyright a banana costume? So yeah, it’s a banana suit. Banana Copyright Notwithstanding a bunch of banana jokes, the parties are serious about the case....

In another blow to Planned Parenthood, a federal appeals court ruled that Ohio lawfully cut off funds to the organization because it performs abortions. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said Ohio’s law barring state funds for Planned Parenthood “does not violate the Constitution because the affiliates do not have a due process right to perform abortions.” The state stripped about $1.5 million from the clinics. The ruling in Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio v....

After a recent ruling by the Eighth Circuit, police can access the information on the back of your credit/debit/gift card without having to obtain a search warrant first. Why? Because it’s not a search under the Fourth Amendment, the circuit ruled. If this doesn’t scare you, perhaps it should, because it has the potential to undermine the digital privacy law as recently laid out by Riley v. California. Here, there seems to be a colorable argument to be made that the Eighth Circuit’s opinion cuts against a reasonable application of Riley as it might apply to credit cards....

Summary Judgment for Defendants in Equal Protection Matter Affirmed In Analytical Diagnostic Labs, Inc. v. Kusel, No. 08-6297, a class-of-one equal protection claim alleging that defendants, employees of the New York State Department of Health, intentionally and maliciously subjected plaintiff-clinical testing laboratory to an intense and unwarranted degree of regulatory scrutiny, the court affirmed summary judgment for defendants where there was no record evidence raising a question of fact as to whether: 1) other labs were similarly situated; or 2) even assuming other labs were similarly situated, that the same decisionmakers were aware of the similarity and treated plaintiff differently....

When the weather starts getting nice, unless you’re in a bad weather business (like snow removal or ski rentals), business can often be expected to pick up. And when business picks up, businesses can face additional liability issues. So while you may know enough to contact your liability insurer if your exposure changes, you might want to be a bit more proactive about avoiding legal trouble. Below you can read about some simple ways to help minimize summertime small business liability....

The short answer is, yes, the government can and is prohibiting social gatherings in many areas of the United States right now in response to the global coronavirus pandemic. But the government’s powers are not absolute, and some areas of the country are beginning to ease up restrictions on certain types of gatherings. Is Summer 2020 #Canceled? If you are wondering if summer 2020 is #canceled, you are not alone. With graduation around the corner as well as wedding season, Father’s Day, festivals, sports, Fourth of July, boating, and other summer recreation, Americans want to know how limited their summer plans will be thanks to COVID-19 restrictions....

As we continue to battle COVID-19, many charities and non-profits are feeling economic pain caused by the loss of revenue from fundraising events and other usual sources. Many of us are aware that charities – and the people they serve – need help now more than ever. Thankfully, those with the resources to do so are opening their wallets, even more dramatically than they did after the 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2008 recession....

A couple may proceed in their class action lawsuit against Aaron’s, a furniture and office rental store, and many of its franchisees, the Third Circuit ruled yesterday. Clarifying the Circuit’s standards on class ascertainability, the Circuit held that the ascertainability test should be a simple, narrow examination of the proposed class. The decision marks an important clarification in a rule that had been used by defendants to defeat class actions before the class is even formed....

A federal appeals court upheld a $15 million judgment against a medical diagnostics company in Indiana, even though the state has a $1.25 million cap on medical malpractice awards. In Webster v. CDI Indiana, LLC, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said the defendant had not registered with the state as a qualified health care provider. That made all the difference. The company had used an independent contractor, who was registered, but the appeals panel said health care facilities cannot escape liability by using independent contractors....

In an action for tuition reimbursement under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, district court judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) plaintiffs are not entitled to tuition reimbursement for plaintiff’s placement at a long term psychiatric residential treatment center as the center cannot be considered an appropriate placement for tuition reimbursement purposes; and 2) plaintiff is not entitled to compensatory education for the period during which she was in the center’s acute care ward as the failure to reevaluate her educational needs and develop a new IEP was attributable to the acute nature of plaintiff’s medical condition....

The First Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with Harvard College in a recent decision on affirmative action in college admissions. The lawsuit, filed by Students For Fair Admissions in 2014, alleged that Harvard’s “race-conscious” admissions process discriminates against Asian students. In addition to traditional recruiting and application processes, Harvard employs a system of “tips” for applicants. These tips are extra factors that can help “tip” an applicant into that year’s admitted class....

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sex. That includes discrimination against employees who fail to conform to gender stereotypes. But the Civil Rights Act offers no explicit protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and many courts have refused to allow suits alleging discrimination because of anti-gay bias, even if that bias was born out of gender stereotypical views. But the Second Circuit opened the door to just such a challenge on Monday, ruling that a gay employee who suffered homophobic harassment could pursue a Title VII lawsuit against his employer....