Appellate Practice

6th Circuit Reinstates Ex-Inmate’s Pro Se Suit Over Lack of Toothpaste

Jerry Flanory doesn’t have a lawyer—yet. But after scoring a pro se civil rights victory in federal appellate court in Detroit yesterday that could soon change. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Flanory’s constitutional case against officials of the Michigan prison at which he formerly served time for…

May 7, 2010 9:39 PM CDT

2 Weeks from JD, Law Student Notches 4th Circuit Appellate Win

Dean Razavi hasn’t yet received his juris doctor degree, let alone started practice at Katten Muchin Rosenman. But the soon-to-be graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law has already scored his first major litigation victory, winning an ineffective assistance of counsel case in which he made the oral…

May 5, 2010 11:29 PM CDT

Lawyer Argues It’s OK and Common to Seek Campaign Cash for Vote

A Baltimore lawyer has crafted an unusual defense for a county lawmaker accused in a civil suit of shaking down an office developer for campaign contributions: The practice isn’t that unusual, and it isn’t unlawful, the lawyer argues. The argument by lawyer Daniel Karp has raised some eyebrows, the Washington…

May 4, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Famed Seinfeld Name Helps Win Copycat Cookbook Claim

Jessica Seinfeld is the wife of celebrity Jerry Seinfeld. So readers of her cookbook, Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets To Get Your Kids Eating Good Food, are particularly unlikely to confuse it with Missy Chase Lapine’s The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals, the New…

Apr 28, 2010 9:05 PM CDT

McDermott Wins Appeal of $4.4M Trial Court Sanction in Medtronic Patent Case

A federal appeals court today reversed an award of nearly $4.4 million against McDermott Will & Emery and its clients for what a lower court had earlier termed “abuse of advocacy.” Contrary to the trial court’s finding that the law firm’s attorneys proceeded “cavalierly” and “with full awareness that their…

Apr 26, 2010 10:58 PM CDT

Divided 9th Cir. Green Lights Massive Wal-Mart Sex Discrimination Suit

In a 6-5 ruling today, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave a green light to a massive 2001 class action suit by female workers of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. that is reportedly the biggest class action suit ever. The plaintiffs can now proceed to trial; Wal-Mart, which…

Apr 26, 2010 7:33 PM CDT

Gardner to Face Firing Squad for Murdering Lawyer During Botched Utah Courthouse Escape

After nearly 25 years of appeals, a Utah prison inmate is now scheduled to face a firing squad in June for murdering an attorney during a botched 1985 escape from a Salt Lake City courthouse, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Ronnie Lee Gardner, who is now 49, was found…

Apr 23, 2010 9:16 PM CDT

Judge Resigns, Avoiding Ethics Probe re Alleged Relationship with Prosecutor

A South Florida judge accused of failing to disclose a close relationship with a prosecutor who was trying a first-degree murder case in her courtroom has resigned her seat on the bench, thus avoiding the need to answer an ethics complaint brought against her by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission.…

Apr 22, 2010 9:05 PM CDT

Breyer Tells Cruise Line Operator that Everyone Makes Mistakes, His Wife Excepted

Justice Stephen G. Breyer challenged a lawyer for a cruise line operator during oral arguments Wednesday with a hypothetical that involved his wife’s driving instructions. The justices were considering whether a plaintiff who slipped and fell on a cruise ship should be allowed to sue, despite naming the wrong party,…

Apr 22, 2010 3:41 PM CDT

Retired Lawyer Must Serve Time for Holding $30M in Art Stolen By Client, 1st Circuit Says

It was reportedly the biggest art theft in Massachusetts state history, and Robert Mardirosian’s client committed it. When David Colvin brought the paintings—including a Cezanne still life which eventually sold at auction years later for nearly $30 million—to Mardirosian shortly after the 1978 heist, the lawyer initially held them for…

Apr 16, 2010 12:28 AM CDT

Science Writer Wins Libel Case After Fair Comment Right Is Recognized

In a blow against United Kingdom libel laws that some observers see as too heavily weighted in favor of plaintiffs, a science writer has essentially won a libel case in which he was sued by chiropractors for questioning the accuracy of treatment claims. The British Chiropractic Association today dropped its…

Apr 15, 2010 9:49 PM CDT

Lawyer Defending Mom Convicted in Microwave Murder Faints During Appellate Arguments

Television cameras were recording on Tuesday when an Ohio lawyer passed out during appellate arguments. Dayton lawyer Jon Paul Rion was unconscious for only a few seconds and said he wanted to continue, the Dayton Daily News reports. He was arguing on behalf of China Arnold, who was convicted of…

Apr 15, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Paralegal Gets Probation in Manslaughter Resulting from Law Office Fray

A Florida paralegal who said he acted in self defense when he killed a man who had threatened his wife, who is an attorney, near her law office, was sentenced to 42 months of probation yesterday under a plea agreement. James Behanna, 40, of Tampa originally was sentenced to a…

Apr 9, 2010 7:44 PM CDT

Must Criminal Contempt Occur in Court? 7th Cir. Mulls Judge’s Reaction to E-Mail Flood

As lawyers today debated before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals whether a federal district judge should have sentenced an informercial pitchman to 30 days for flooding his in-box with e-mail, the three-judge panel honed in on whether criminal contempt can occur outside the physical boundaries of a courtroom.…

Apr 8, 2010 9:35 PM CDT

Chief Justice Says Court Is Collegial, But Compromise Can Be Difficult

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. says strident language in Supreme Court decisions reflects strong positions rather than personal animosity. Answering questions after a speech at the Indiana University School of Law, Roberts said, “It is a very, very collegial court,” the Associated Press reports. Roberts acknowledged that consensus can…

Apr 8, 2010 1:11 PM CDT