6th Circuit Court

6th Circuit OKs Warrantless Tracking of Cellphones

Tracking a user’s cellphone location without a warrant using GPS technology is different than putting a GPS tracking device on a motorist’s vehicle without a warrant, a federal appeals court says. Hence, the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the drug conviction of a man found with…

Aug 15, 2012 8:31 PM CDT

Fired as Asst. Mich. AG, Andrew Shirvell Now Faces Privacy Suit Trial re Former U of Michigan Leader

Jury selection has begun in the Detroit federal civil trial of a former assistant Michigan attorney general who lost his job because of his treatment of a gay man who was then a student government president at the University of Michigan. If Andrew Shirvell would apologize, says a lawyer for…

Aug 8, 2012 3:55 PM CDT

6th Circuit Says Ky. Bar Chilled Lawyer’s Free Speech; He Had a Right to Criticize Public Agency

A federal appeals court has sided with a Kentucky lawyer who challenged, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, a threatened legal ethics case concerning his criticism of the state Legislative Ethics Commission ruling dismissing a case against a prominent politician. The comments made by attorney John M.…

Jul 27, 2012 8:40 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: ALM’s New Marketing Arm; Hastings Dean Explains 20% Cut in Enrollment

ALM’s Latest Moves Last week, American Lawyer Media announced that it’s forming a “Marketing Services team that will work with clients to plan, execute and measure a comprehensive legal marketing campaign to better achieve their business goals.” “Our clients in the legal services industry are moving away from ad hoc…

Jun 1, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Please Plea Me: Court Expands Effective Assistance of Counsel

The headlines seem like they were ripped out of the era of Chief Justice Earl Warren. “Supreme Court decision expands defendants’ rights,” said the Washington Post. “Justices expand right of accused,” said the New York Times. Of course, these weren’t from the Warren court’s pro-defendant heyday but from the current…

Jun 1, 2012 8:20 AM CDT

Husband-and-Wife Attorneys Get Reciprocal Sentences in Tax Case

As part of a plea deal, a former Michigan attorney is serving a 15-month federal prison term in a tax evasion case, now that his attorney wife has completed her own eight-month stint in the slammer on a misdemeanor conviction for failing to file a tax return. Charles Rominger Jr.…

May 11, 2012 4:31 PM CDT

Disbarred Civil Rights Lawyer Once Won 2005 SCOTUS Ban on Ten Commandments in Ky. Courthouses

One of Kentucky’s most prominent civil rights lawyers has been disbarred after failing to remit to three clients over $150,000 to which they were entitled. David Friedman had been suspended in August 2010 after complaints concerning two clients, one of whom was a Jefferson Family Court judge, reports the Courier-Journal.…

Apr 26, 2012 4:45 PM CDT

Federal Jury Convicts Attorney and His Mom of Lying in Law Office Tax Case Launched By His Ex-Wife

After a five-week trial and two days of deliberation, a federal jury in Columbus has found an Ohio attorney and his mother guilty of lying to a grand jury in a law office tax case launched by his now ex-wife during a bitter divorce. Aristotle R. Matsa, 55, also was…

Apr 20, 2012 6:11 PM CDT

A Smokin’ Body: Cancer Images Are Lighting up a First Amendment Blaze

It’s a burning controversy that continues to smolder—and use any other smoking puns you prefer—as the dispute over requiring graphic anti-cancer images on cigarette packs lights up a First Amendment fire. The battle over the constitutionality of new warnings mandated by the Food and Drug Administration to appear on cigarette…

Apr 1, 2012 8:50 AM CDT

Be Nice: More States Are Treating Incivility as a Possible Ethics Violation

Incivility among lawyers is not a new concern. But as the general tone of public discourse in the United States becomes more heated, the issue of civility—or lack thereof—within the legal profession appears to be moving to the front burner. “Civility used to be inherent in public discourse. Where did…

Apr 1, 2012 8:20 AM CDT

Attorney Witness in Obstruction Case Testifies He Pretended Friend’s Law Firm Was His Own

Although he had worked for his friend, Aristotle R. Matsa, in the past, George Pappas now admits he didn’t even have a key to the Matsa law office until 2004. But, to protect Matsa from losing the law in a divorce from his second wife, Pappas told the feds he…

Mar 29, 2012 8:00 PM CDT

Federal Court Dismisses Former Cooley Law Student’s Suit Over Being Kicked Out of School

After being accused of changing an exam answer during an appeal of his grade, a student at Thomas M. Cooley Law School refused to accept a one-term suspension. Amit Ghoshal’s internal appeal resulted in a three-member review board’s determination that he had violated the school’s honor code and a recommendation…

Mar 10, 2012 12:45 AM CST

Supreme Court: Miranda Warning Not Required for Inmate Questioned About Second Crime in Prison

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a Michigan inmate who contended he should have received a Miranda warning before being interrogated in a prison conference room about sexual conduct with a 12-year-old boy. The court ruled in a 6-3 opinion (PDF) against inmate Randall Lee Fields, who confessed to…

Feb 21, 2012 4:16 PM CST

Federal Judge OKs Suit by Ex-Associate and Counterclaim by Mayer Brown

A federal judge has given a green light both to a race discrimination suit filed against Mayer Brown by a fired former associate and a counterclaim in which the law firm accuses her of improperly accessing documents while her termination was pending. Finding that it is a question of fact…

Jan 31, 2012 9:38 PM CST

Employee Locked in Restroom in Office Prank Loses False Imprisonment Appeal

An employee locked in a cruise boat restroom as part of an office prank has failed to persuade an appeals court that he deserved a new trial after jurors ruled against his false imprisonment claim. Plaintiff Steven Slasinski claimed the trial court erred when it denied a motion for a…

Jan 26, 2012 3:58 PM CST