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In a partnership-taxation case involving Marriott, United States Court of Federal Claims’ grant of summary judgment in favor of the government is affirmed in its determination that in 1994 the obligation to close a short sale qualified as a liability under I.R.C. section 753 and that the IRS properly adjusted the outside basis of the Marriott partners for the 1994 tax year to account for the partnership’s assumption of the obligation to close certain short sales....

When it comes to criminal convictions, society has a real need for those convictions to be just. As the saying goes, it’s better to let however many guilty people free than to let one innocent person be incarcerated. However, as the California Supreme Court recently explained, in People v. Rodas, questions of a defendant’s competency to stand trial need to be handled with the utmost scrutiny. In short, simply having questions or well-founded concerns should be enough to put a stop to the proceedings until those are resolved....

It’s not hard to find prestigious legal work when you’ve graduated from a top law school. While the rest of the world’s law school grads may struggle to find employment in a slumping legal market, it seems like every Harvard alum is given an honorary Supreme Court clerkship. We’re pretty sure a Yale diploma comes with an entry level professorship somewhere in the Midwest. But not everyone is impressed with grads from top-ranked schools....

For three lucky students, Wyoming College of Law has cut its tuition to $16,000 a year. Wait, that’s the same as all Wyoming residents pay. So what’s the big deal, you may ask? The big deal is, the law school is digging deep to attract out-of-state students by offering them 50 percent off on their tuition. Otherwise, non-residents have to pay $32,590 per year. “Mindful of both the university’s goal to increase enrollment and the state’s goal to diversify its economy and reverse the brain-drain crisis in Wyoming, it’s important to understand the economic stimulus effect and the capturing effect of getting nonresident students to come to Wyoming,” said Klinton Alexander, dean of the law school....

Was it wrong for a sheriff’s deputy to force jail inmates to dance to Usher? “Yeah!,” an internal investigation has found. R&B artist Usher’s song “Yeah!” hit the top of the charts in 2004. But it wasn’t a hit at an Ohio jail, where a deputy allegedly forced inmates to dance to “Yeah!” in order to use the jail’s microwave. Another inmate was forced to “do the robot” in order to use the phone after he learned a family member had died, an internal investigation found, according to the Akron Beacon Journal....

Defendant’s sentence for second degree robbery and the substantive offense of gang participation is affirmed, but modified to bring the judgment into compliance as Penal Code section 654 precludes multiple punishment for both: 1) gang participation, one element of which requires that the defendant have willfully promoted, furthered, or assisted in any felonious criminal conduct by members of the gang; and 2) the underlying felony that is used to satisfy this element of gang participation....

The majority of stadium deals are boondoggles at best and scams at worst – franchises hold cities hostage, extorting public funds to pay for stadiums in return for the promise to stay and play in that stadium, at least for a few years until the team threatens to leave again, if the city or county don’t pony up for improvements or a brand new stadium. Back in 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks played their first game in Chase Field, a stadium that cost Maricopa County over $250 million in taxpayer funds....

If you’ve ever driven through a high-rent district and laughed at the cops patrolling the area, since about eight blocks to the east there’s a crime committed every minute, this story is for you. Savannah police are on high alert for the vandal who placed googly eyes on the town statue of Nathanael Greene, a local Revolutionary War hero. Police insist that the perpetrator be brought to justice, lest a string of copy-cat crimes ensues....

Savannah, Georgia, known for its wonderful Southern charm and its equally wonderful liberal open container laws, may also be the site of the Great Segway Wars of 2015. While many of us (hand raised) hoped that the monstrous vehicles would be banned in a great city like Savannah, it turns out that there are several Segway tour companies doing business in town. Well, two such Segway tour companies are locked in battle....

Audrey Lee is not just stepping into the lead role as general counsel for Starz, the entertainment network. Lee moved over from Lionsgate, the company’s corporate parent where she served as deputy general counsel. In accepting the new assignment, she said she looks “forward to helping chart the course for business during a time of rapid change for our industry.” But just as soon as she walked into her office, Starz promptly filed for emergency injunctive relief against a cable company that turned off its programs....

The Washington Redskins have faced criticism for decades about their team name and logo being offensive to Native Americans, as the term “Redskins” carries a pejorative meaning and tone. The US Patent and Trademark Office allowed the trademark to be registered half a dozen times in the past. However, in 2014, the USPTO cancelled the prior trademarks and refused to register it again, citing that the name is disparaging to Native Americans....

Flying in the face of new Texas legislation allowing citizens to openly carry handguns in the state, Whataburger has said it won’t allow the open carrying of firearms in any of its locations. Predictably, gun activists reacted with hysteria, promising to boycott the restaurant. Not everyone was on the boycott bandwagon, however. For example, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America supported the move and has been successful in getting other restaurant chains to follow suit....

A hot-pink toy Barbie Jeep got a bright orange reminder from police to stop leaving the molded plastic vehicle in the street. According to Salt Lake City’s KUTV, an officer spotted the iconic Mattel mini jeep blocking a driveway in Cedar Hills, Utah, last week. The officer decided to leave an “abandoned vehicle” ticket as a lesson about proper parking – or about how little crime there is in the sleepy neighborhood....

Welcome folks to the inaugural edition of #DearFindLaw, an advice column for young attorneys, law students, and pre-lawyers. Every Friday, you ask the questions (tweet us @FindLawLP, or hit us up on Facebook), and one of our writers will respond. It’s like Loveline, but less funny, and with less sexually transmitted diseases (at least for now – the questions are up to you). What’s on today’s docket? A reader writes in from abroad, asking about whether he, along with a fellow young colleague, should start a law firm....

You’re a smart, tech-savvy associate with a pocket full of dreams and a Twitter account, and heck, you might even #changethelegalworld one day kiddo! But while the U.S.S. Good Times is moving full steam ahead, the last thing you need as a budding, potential-filled lawyer is to end up like ‘Carlos Danger’ (aka NYC mayoral sorta-hopeful Anthony Weiner). A promising legal career can be brought down just as easily as a mayoral campaign....

Many cases settle on the courthouse steps, but not many of those settle for $850 million. Even fewer pay up in two weeks. And who pays it all in one lump sum? That would be 3M in a settlement with the State of Minnesota. The settlement is reportedly the largest in the state’s environmental case history. And it all started with drops of water. PFC Pollution After finding traces of perfluorinated chemicals in groundwater, the state sued 3M in 2010....

In plaintiffs’ case against county alleging dangerous condition of public property, nuisance and inverse condemnation arising from a massive landslide after heavy rains in La Conchita in 2005, summary judgment on all causes of action except inverse condemnation in favor of county is affirmed where: 1) plaintiffs’ expert’s declaration contained statements that conflict with statements he made in a previous report on a material issue and because the conflict was unexplained, the declaration does not establish a triable issue of fact; and 2) the public entity approved a design that contemplated the possibility of a specific change of condition that occurred in this case, and thus, the public entity retains its immunity....

Fortunes have reversed again in the long, long, long-running patent litigation between Apple and Samsung. The Federal Circuit, in its third appellate ruling in the dispute, held that two Apple touch-screen patents were invalid because of obviousness, including the iPhone’s famous slide-to-unlock and autocorrect features. The Federal Circuit ruling overturns a jury verdict awarding Apple $120 million. In this case, the third appeal in Apple v. Samsung to reach the Federal Circuit, the court addressed the patentability and infringement of three Apple touch-screen features: slide-to-unlock, autocorrect, and data-structure detection....

In a high profile demonstration of artificial intelligence, IBM’s Watson outsmarted human contestants on “Jeopardy.” Six years and a $1 million prize later, the company is unleashing Watson on another class of players: rogue traders at large financial institutions. Watson Financial Services is looking for patterns in traders’ chats and emails while also analyzing numerical trading data. “I think about it like a detective that can do problem solving, rather than just a search,” said Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president of IBM Industry Platforms....

Two former Auburn football players, Ladarious Phillips and Ed Christian, both 20 years of age, were killed in a shooting at an apartment near campus. Police are actively looking for the suspect in the Auburn shooting, 22-year-old Desmonte Leonard of Montgomery, Ala., reports ESPN. Another Auburn football player, Erick Mack, was also shot, but he has already been released from the hospital, reports ESPN. A warrant for three counts of capital murder has been issued for Desmonte Leonard....