Appellate Practice

SCOTUS Nixes Effort By ‘Birther’ Attorney Orly Taitz to Avoid $20K Fine

Fined $20,000 for pursuing what a federal judge in Georgia determined to be a frivolous claim that President Barack Obama is not a U.S. citizen and hence unqualified to serve in that office, so-called birther attorney Orly Taitz reportedly may have intended to seek a stay of the stunning financial…

Aug 16, 2010 9:28 PM CDT

Despite Support From Fellow Prosecutors, Asst. DA Loses License for 4 Years

The California Supreme Court has upheld a four-year law license suspension for a former assistant Santa Clara District Attorney found to have committed “inexcusable” violations of ethical rules requiring prosecutors to apprise defense lawyers of exculpatory evidence. Ben Field could still take his case to federal court on constitutional grounds,…

Aug 16, 2010 6:04 PM CDT

Business Brief Hits $30M ‘Civil Death Penalty’ for Goodyear Pretrial Foot-Dragging

Several business groups are asking the Nevada Supreme Court to reconsider a $30 million verdict against Goodyear issued after a judge struck its defenses in a rollover case because of pretrial foot-dragging. In the July1 ruling, the Nevada high court in a 6-1 vote upheld the discovery sanction, issued by…

Aug 16, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Threat to Post Ex-Lover’s Nude Photos Online Not Harassment, NJ Court Rules

A threat to post an ex-lover’s nude photos online may not be cool. But it doesn’t rise to the level of harassment under New Jersey’s domestic violence law, a state appeals court has held. Monday’s ruling (PDF), the New Jersey Law Journal reported, reversed a trial court judge’s issuance of…

Aug 13, 2010 6:11 PM CDT

Pregnant Woman’s Forced Bed Rest Order Reversed

A Florida appeals court has ruled 2-1 that a Tallahassee judge was wrong to forcibly hospitalize a pregnant woman. The 1st District Court of Appeal held that the ruling violated Samantha Burton’s right to refuse medical treatment, the Associated Press reports. Writing for the majority (PDF), District Judge Clark Nikki…

Aug 12, 2010 8:58 PM CDT

Scratch One SG Contender Off the List, and Move Another to the Top

A job move has some people speculating that acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal could stay in the spot permanently. But there is no need for pundits to consider the chances of Gov. Chris Gregoire. The Washington governor has informed the White House she’s not interested in the job, the Seattle…

Aug 11, 2010 1:45 PM CDT

DA Fights Potential Reprimand re Claimed Concealment of Plea Deal with Witness

A Wisconsin prosecutor is vowing to fight a disciplinary case in which she faces a potential public reprimand after being accused of concealing a plea deal with a witness in a robbery trial. The ethics case against Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider resulted from a campaign by a former…

Aug 10, 2010 5:31 PM CDT

Still Contesting $20K Sanction, ‘Birther’ Attorney Orly Taitz Takes On the Supreme Court

Sanctioned $20,000 by a federal district judge in Georgia for making “wild accusations” in a “frivolous” suit questioning whether President Barack Obama is an American citizen, so-called birther attorney Orly Taitz is now focusing her attention on the U.S. Supreme Court. Fighting the $20,000 penalty, she lost an appeal to…

Aug 6, 2010 5:41 PM CDT

Judge’s Gay-Marriage Ruling Could Box in Appeals Courts

A federal judge’s findings of fact in his opinion striking down California’s ban on gay marriage could box in appeals courts considering the issue. Judge Vaughn Walker’s 136-page opinion (PDF) is replete with references to expert testimony that undermines rationales offered in support of the Proposition 8 ban on gay…

Aug 5, 2010 12:16 PM CDT

Video Game CEO Balks at $1M Legal Bill, But Appeals Court Says He Has to Pay

When dealing with a sexual harassment suit, an executive of a video game giant allegedly said he wanted to spend to defend rather than settle with the plaintiff for $200,000 to $400,000. But when it came time to pay his attorney’s nearly seven-figure legal bill, Bobby Kotick of Activision Blizzard…

Aug 4, 2010 4:22 PM CDT

Roberts and Kagan Tangled in Oral Arguments. Will It Affect Court Relationship?

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. sometimes appeared exasperated with Elena Kagan during the six cases she argued before the Supreme Court as solicitor general, raising questions about potential friction if she wins confirmation this week and becomes the newest justice. Slate notes Kagan’s “sometimes uneasy” history at the court,…

Aug 4, 2010 2:26 PM CDT

Convicted Ex-Federal Judge Complains He’s Being Treated Like Sex Offender, Seeks New Sentence

A former federal judge in Texas who admitted to nonconsensual sexual contact with court employees, although he pleaded guilty last year only to a related federal obstruction of justice charge, is now challenging prison conditions and seeking a new sentence. Samuel Kent says he is being treated like a sex…

Aug 3, 2010 8:34 PM CDT

Video Mentors

7th Circuit bar puts courts’ wisdom online

Aug 1, 2010 5:05 AM CDT

7th Circuit Cites ‘Unreasonable Fury’ of Chief District Judge as Reason for His Mid-Trial Removal

Putting an end to speculation about why a chief federal district judge was suddenly removed from an ongoing criminal trial in Chicago, the federal appeals court that axed him earlier this week explained today in a written opinion that it acted because of the jurist’s “unreasonable fury” against prosecutors. Responding…

Jul 30, 2010 7:30 PM CDT

7th Circuit Removes Chief District Judge Mid-Trial After Evidence Dispute with US Attorney

Updated: Ruling on an interlocutory appeal by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, a federal appeals court in Chicago not only agreed with the prosecutor that the chief district court judge had erred by excluding fingerprint evidence in a drug case but removed the jurist from the ongoing trial. “The case shall…

Jul 29, 2010 2:43 AM CDT