Federal Circuit Court

Weekly Briefs: Hunter Biden prosecutor elevated to special counsel; Charles Ogletree dies

Hunter Biden prosecutor given special counsel status U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that he has appointed the U.S. attorney investigating Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, as a special counsel. The prosecutor, David C. Weiss, is a holdover from the Trump administration. Weiss had already been…

Aug 11, 2023 1:43 PM CDT

Federal appeals judge should be suspended for failing to cooperate in mental fitness probe, report says

A special committee appointed to investigate the competence of a 96-year-old federal appeals judge is recommending that she be suspended from hearing all cases for a year for failing to cooperate in the probe.

Aug 4, 2023 1:04 PM CDT

Weekly Briefs: 96-year-old judge must mediate suit to keep job; DOJ reverses stance on Trump shield

Mediation ordered in judge’s bid to keep job A 96-year-old judge on the Federal U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Pauline Newman, must mediate her lawsuit seeking to stay on the bench, a federal judge said in a July 11 order. A special court committee investigating Newman is focusing on the…

Jul 14, 2023 2:15 PM CDT

Lawyer for federal appeals judge barred from new cases finds orders ‘incredible’ and ‘stunning’

A lawyer representing a 95-year-old federal appeals judge is criticizing a judicial council’s refusal to assign her new cases and an investigating committee’s new focus on her failure to cooperate.

Jun 8, 2023 8:58 AM CDT

SCOTUS will consider First Amendment right to trademark ‘Trump too small’ without Trump’s consent

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the First Amendment was violated when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refused to register a trademark for the slogan “Trump too small.”

Jun 6, 2023 8:46 AM CDT

Federal circuit judge, 95, flunked security training, displayed hacking paranoia, exam order alleges

Judge Pauline Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has until May 23 to decide whether she will submit to a medical examination for competency with two specialists, according to a May 16 order by a three-judge investigative committee that details the reasons for its concerns.

May 18, 2023 8:43 AM CDT

Competency concerns lead to investigation of 95-year-old appeals judge

A 95-year-old judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is being investigated by the court’s judicial council after concerns were raised about her competency. The judge has refused to accept service of orders issued in the case.

Apr 17, 2023 9:51 AM CDT

Meet the lawyer representing Trump in his lawsuit against journalist Bob Woodward

The new lawyer representing former President Donald Trump in his lawsuit against journalist Bob Woodward initially practiced law as a barrister in Great Britain.

Feb 2, 2023 9:41 AM CST

Judge’s failure to conduct ‘lodestar cross-check’ dooms Quinn Emanuel’s $185M fee award

A trial judge should not have awarded $185 million in fees to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan without conducting a “lodestar cross-check” that considers hours worked and billing rates, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Tuesday.

Feb 1, 2023 10:53 AM CST

Meet Robert Hur, the former Trump-era prosecutor who is special counsel in Biden documents probe

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday that he is appointing a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as the special counsel to investigate whether any person or entity violated the law in connection with classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s home and office.

Jan 12, 2023 2:01 PM CST

Weekly Briefs: Same-sex marriage bill sent to Biden; lawyer pleads guilty after swinging belt caught on video

Bill protecting gay marriage is sent to Biden The U.S. House of Representatives approved a marriage equality bill Thursday that requires states and the federal government to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages that were legal in the states where they were performed. The Respect for Marriage Act, as the bill…

Dec 9, 2022 2:42 PM CST

Corporate owners knew little about patents they got free of charge and the litigation that followed, judge finds

A federal judge in Delaware is explaining why he ordered patent holding company Nimitz Technologies to produce records showing how it came to own a patent at issue in four cases before him.

Dec 5, 2022 2:53 PM CST

Past PACER users would each get at least $350 in refunds under lawsuit settlement

The U.S. government has agreed to pay $125 million to settle a class action lawsuit claiming that the judiciary overcharged users of PACER, its electronic system of court records.

Oct 12, 2022 10:08 AM CDT

ABA supports use of ‘Kessler doctrine’ to discourage patent trolls

In 1907, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Kessler v. Eldred that after Eldred unsuccessfully sued Kessler for infringing his patent for an electrical cigar lighter, he couldn’t sue Kessler’s customers or Kessler, who intervened on their behalf, for infringing his patent on the same product.

Aug 8, 2022 6:42 PM CDT

AI system can’t be an inventor under US patent law, Federal Circuit rules

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that an artificial intelligence system can’t get a patent for two of its new inventions—a food container and a light beacon.

Aug 8, 2022 11:00 AM CDT