The National Pulse

Fast-Forward: Federal Circuit Makes It Easier to Enforce Injunctions in Patent Cases

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has changed the equation in patent enforcement by making it easier to bring contempt proceedings against a defendant for violating an injunction. In its April en banc decision in TiVo Inc. v. EchoStar Corp., the Federal Circuit also said courts should…

Aug 1, 2011 7:30 AM CDT

Friendlier State Legislatures Lead to a Rise in Anti-Abortion Legislation

South Dakota may be one of the least populous states in the union, but at 77,000 square miles, it’s the 17th-largest. In that vast expanse, there is only one abortion provider—a doctor who flies in once a week from Minnesota to the Planned Parenthood clinic in Sioux Falls. Time and…

Aug 1, 2011 7:20 AM CDT

Alien Resurrection: Justices Open the Door for States to Control Immigration Status

Photo of Michael Hethmon by Gary Landsman. In one respect, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion so narrow it squeaked when it upheld an Arizona state law that can harshly punish employers who hire illegal immigrants. Indeed, Arizona business leaders say they expect little change in their state as…

Aug 1, 2011 7:10 AM CDT

A Painful Case: Do Parents Need Lawyers for School Disciplinary Hearings?

At 15, Nick Stuban was by all accounts a good kid. He was a Boy Scout and played on the football team at his Fairfax, Va., high school. Nick did well in school. He had never been in any significant trouble. He also helped out at home by caring for…

Jul 1, 2011 8:10 AM CDT

Rumors of War Medals: The First Amendment May Protect Lying About Military Awards

At a 2007 meeting of a municipal California water board, member Xavier Alvarez of Pomona was asked to say a few words about himself. “I’m a retired Marine of 25 years,” he reportedly told the Three Valleys board. “I retired in the year 2001. Back in 1987, I was awarded…

Jul 1, 2011 8:00 AM CDT

Killer Buzz: Caffeine Intoxication Is Now Evidence for an Insanity Plea

On the morning of Dec. 7, 2009, Daniel Noble went to his usual Starbucks coffee shop in Moscow, Idaho, wearing only pajamas and flip-flops, without his wallet or cellphone, and ordered two 16-ounce double-shot drinks. After downing them, the 31-year-old financial consultant drove to meet his wife, who worked across…

Jun 1, 2011 7:20 AM CDT

North Carolina’s Death Row Inmates Let Statistics Back Up Bias Claims

In North Carolina, statistics don’t just tell a story; they can let a death row inmate challenge his conviction. A 2009 state statute allows death row inmates to claim that racial bias unduly influenced the outcome of their trials. The Racial Justice Act specifically allows defendants to use statistics to support their claims. There are more than 150 death row inmates seeking relief under the law.

May 1, 2011 8:00 AM CDT

‘Sext’ Education: States Look for Ways to Chastise Teens for Bawdy Cellphone Shots

When school authorities in Wyoming County in northeastern Pennsylvania learned three years ago that high school students were sending nude or scantily clad images of each other via cellphones, they were confronted with one of the country’s first major “sexting” scandals. Among the photos was one of two girls in…

May 1, 2011 7:50 AM CDT

States Split Over Warrantless Searches of Cellphone Data

What do a cellphone and a cigarette package have in common? Both can be found on someone during an arrest, and law enforcement may open them up without a warrant and see what’s inside, says the California Supreme Court. The January opinion involves a Motorola Razr phone found in the…

Apr 1, 2011 7:49 AM CDT

Exxon Mobil’s Dispute with Venezuela Has Global Implications

Exxon Mobil Corp. has been involved in some pretty big lawsuits. The oil giant has been regularly painted as the bad guy in connection with events like the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the Alaskan coast and states’ claims that it has stolen billions of dollars in mineral rights…

Apr 1, 2011 7:40 AM CDT

SEC Is Giving Whistle-Blower Protection One Last Lick

The Wall Street financial meltdown left the markets in turmoil. It also led to the most expansive legislative overhaul of financial supervision since the 1930s New Deal: the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Part of the law, passed by Congress last July, juices the ability of the…

Mar 1, 2011 10:20 AM CST

With the High Court in Mind, Challenges to the Health Bill Move Ahead

The ink from president Barack Obama’s pen hadn’t dried on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act when the statute’s opponents filed suit. “As soon as the pen hit the paper, we [electronically] filed our complaint,” says Robert Muise, senior trial counsel with the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Thomas More Law…

Feb 1, 2011 8:50 AM CST

Law School? Bag It, Bloggers Say

More disgruntled grads are ‘scamblogging’ their job frustrations

Feb 1, 2011 8:40 AM CST

Shell Gets a Pass on Nigerian Claims, But Tort Law’s Future Still Unclear

Federal appeals Judge Pierre N. Leval recognizes the perquisites that befall businesses when they incorporate—not the least of which is confining liability to the organization to protect shareholders’ personal assets. But as a member of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Leval was downright ticked in September when his…

Jan 1, 2011 9:00 AM CST

For Federal Plaintiffs, Twombly and Iqbal Still Present a Catch-22

Fred Isquith, a New York City-based business litigator representing plaintiffs, recently had a client approach him with an “extremely powerful file—a banker’s box full of materials—and an insider.” Despite that mound of evidence, Isquith’s client felt compelled to hire a special investigator to gather even more facts before filing suit.…

Jan 1, 2011 8:50 AM CST