1st Circuit Court

Afternoon Briefs: Trump faces suit over rape denial; Biden opposes SCOTUS term limits

Trump can be personally sued over rape denial A federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday refused to substitute the federal government as the defendant in a defamation suit filed against President Donald Trump by a woman who accused him of rape. The plaintiff, journalist E. Jean Carroll, had alleged that…

Oct 27, 2020 3:58 PM CDT

1st Circuit lifts ban on immigration arrests at state courthouses in Massachusetts

A federal appeals court on Tuesday vacated a federal judge’s preliminary injunction that blocked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from making civil arrests of people in the country illegally at state courthouses in Massachusetts.

Sep 2, 2020 11:37 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Boston Marathon bomber wins death penalty appeal; what’s in the GOP coronavirus bill?

Appeals court overturns Boston Marathon bomber’s death sentence A federal appeals court has overturned the death sentence for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Boston ruled Friday that the trial judge did not adequately screen jurors for potential bias. The judge “fell…

Jul 31, 2020 4:40 PM CDT

What will change when SCOTUS hears oral arguments by phone?

The U.S. Supreme Court has a message for the nation: Please listen carefully, as our telephone options have recently changed. The high court announced that it will hold arguments by telephone conference in 10 cases in early May because of the novel coronavirus.

Apr 21, 2020 2:02 PM CDT

Why scraping publicly available information online isn’t a crime

To criminalize public website scraping castrates an open internet by curtailing access to information, says ABA Journal Legal Affairs Writer Jason Tashea. This isn’t just an issue for internet startups and academic researchers but also the legal community.

Sep 23, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

As federal anti-hacking law turns 35, its meaning, reach and effectiveness are still murky

What had started as a pre-internet computer crime law affecting national security and finance has become a statute that prosecutors, plaintiff attorneys and defense counsels agree isn’t right for its time, and maybe never was. Even with broad agreement on the problem, however, the solution is less clear.

Aug 19, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Oxford comma issue benefits drivers in overtime case

Ambiguity caused by lack of a comma in a law on overtime pay has benefited Maine dairy delivery drivers. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pointed out the issue in the first sentence of its March 13 decision (PDF). “For want of a comma, we have this case,”…

Mar 15, 2017 2:53 PM CDT

Jerk.com misrepresented the source of its content and benefits of membership, 1st Circuit says

A federal appeals court has upheld a summary decision by the Federal Trade Commission finding the founder of Jerk.com was personally liable for misrepresentations about the source of the website’s content and the benefits of membership. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday in an appeal…

May 12, 2016 5:45 AM CDT

Circuits split on privacy rights for video views and third-party data sharing

Sharing consumer data derived from their online video views could violate privacy rights, the Boston-based 1st Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday. The class action involves individuals who downloaded the USA Today app, Mediapost.com reports. The Gannett Co., which owns USA Today, shared users’ information with Adobe. A similar case…

May 2, 2016 11:45 AM CDT

1st Circuit urges discharge of former executive’s $246K in student loan debt

After years of pro se legal battle and the pro bono help of a Brown Rudnick lawyer who took his case while it was pending before a federal appeals court, Robert Murphy may be on the verge of seeing more than $246,000 in student loan debt discharged in bankruptcy on…

Apr 15, 2016 4:05 PM CDT

Attorney-client privilege doesn’t protect businessman’s communications with Mintz Levin, court rules

Documents prepared by a BigLaw firm aren’t protected by the attorney-client privilege because of a reasonable inference that its client intended to use the legal services to foster illegal conduct, a federal appeals court has ruled. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Dec. 9 in a…

Dec 14, 2015 6:15 AM CST

SCOTUS rejects FOIA case involving Planned Parenthood manual; two justices dissent

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to consider whether an exception to the Freedom of Information Act shields from disclosure Planned Parenthood’s Manual of Medical Standards and Guidelines. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented from the cert denial on Monday in an opinion (PDF) joined by Justice Antonin Scalia. New Hampshire Right…

Nov 16, 2015 9:27 AM CST

Former Ropes associate loses bias and retaliation appeal that cited information passed to blog

A former Ropes & Gray associate who claimed the law firm discriminated and retaliated against him has lost his federal appeal. In a decision (PDF) on Tuesday, the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against John Ray III, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. The court upheld…

Aug 27, 2015 9:19 AM CDT

Chicken sandwich can’t be copyrighted, federal appeals court rules

A ham sandwich, as popular lore has it, may well be indictable. But a chicken sandwich isn’t copyrightable, a federal appeals court has ruled. Agreeing with a trial court’s decision, the 1st U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday held (PDF) that a fast-food worker seeking a $10 million share of…

Aug 26, 2015 10:30 AM CDT

Attorney and law student indicted in boating accident that cost passenger an arm

A Massachusetts lawyer who specializes in defense of operating-under-the-influence cases was indicted Wednesday, along with a former law student intern, in a Boston Harbor boating accident in which alcohol allegedly played a role. However, the charges against attorney Benjamin Urbelis, 33, were reduced after it became clear that he apparently…

Jul 2, 2015 10:50 AM CDT