Posts

An Indiana man arrested for being “drunk and annoying” scored a victory on Thursday when a state appellate court overturned his public intoxication conviction. The Indiana Court of Appeals found that Rodregus Morgan was arrested under a state law that was unconstitutionally vague about just how “annoying” a drunk person could be, Indianapolis’ WRTV reported. What about Indiana’s public intoxication law was so annoying to the appellate court? Morgan was arrested at a bus stop in 2012 under Indiana’s public intoxication law....

In petitioner’s claim that it was not obligated to pay tax on its investment income because it had spent that income on member benefits during the year, judgment of the United States Court of Federal Claims holding that a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association (VEBA) may not avoid the limitation on exempt function income in 26 U.S.C. section 512(a)(3)(E)(i) by allocating investment income to the payment of member benefits is affirmed as, the language of the statute is clear and unambiguous in that CNG’s investment income caused its total fund balances to exceed the statutory account limit, and as such, that investment income cannot be classified as exempt function income....

No one wants to lose a furry friend. Especially not 231 furry friends all at one time. And not all based on a “bogus warrant.” But that’s what Faye and Dave Spencer are alleging happened to them, and the 200-plus cats in their care. They are suing the Houston SPCA and several individuals – including a deputy sheriff, assistant county attorney, and a justice of the peace – claiming a conspiracy to deprive them of the cats and their constitutional rights....

“For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic.” - Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi Either way, a true Jedi Master would never attack an innocent person. But Pennsylvania resident Milan Marinkovic is not a Jedi Knight, though he apparently thought that he was. Police recently arrived at a parking lot and found Milan Marinkovic, 36, standing over a bloodied and beaten body....

In an odd case of becoming the thing you hate, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has been assigned to serve as defense counsel on a criminal case by the state’s public defender office. This is the same public defender’s office whose budget he’s been slashing for the past seven years. In response to these budget cuts, Director of the Missouri State Public Defender Michael Barrett invoked a previously unused state statute that gives his office authority to assign cases to private attorneys....

A Trump presidency won’t be the only major change to emerge from last Tuesday’s election. In California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and possibly Maine, a majority of voters pulled the lever for legalized, recreational marijuana. Now, more than 20 percent of the country lives in a state that allows, or will soon allow, recreational marijuana. (This probably isn’t what Michelle Obama meant when she declared “When they go low, we go high.”)...

It’s not every day that we get to read a Federal Circuit opinion deciding what tariff classification a product should be given. It’s your lucky day, as the Federal Circuit recently opined on the nature of paper hole punches used for scrapbooking. The Federal Circuit had to determine, “[w]hat’s in a name?,” and found in this case, the answer was “everything.” Wilton Industries manufactured a line of 39 paper punches in Taiwan as part of the “Stampin’ Up!...

Former NBA star Jayson Williams has begun his sentence in connection to fatally shooting a hired limo driver in 2002, but still faces trial over allegedly shooting his dog, Zeus. Last month, Jayson Williams was sentenced to five years in prison, ending an 8 year legal saga, the Associated Press reported. Now that the manslaughter charge has been dealt with, the charge against Williams over the death of his Rottweiler may proceed....

A recent lawsuit filed by PayPal against Pandora alleges that the music streaming company has infringed upon the payment processor’s double ‘P’ logo. Although Pandora’s P is only a single P and PayPal uses a double P, the trademark infringement lawsuit claims Pandora’s logo confuses mobile app users. PayPal’s lawsuit seeks a court order forcing Pandora to stop using the infringing logo, as well as pay damages, and attorneys’ fees, to PayPal....

Trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion to compel arbitration of a wrongful death action brought by the survivors of one of its clients who died on a Mount Kilimanjaro hiking expedition is affirmed where: 1) plaintiffs made a sufficient showing to establish at least a minimal level of oppression to justify a finding of procedural unconscionability; 2) the arbitration clause was so one-sided as to be substantively unconscionable; and 3) it was within the court’s discretion to conclude the agreement was so permeated by unconscionability that the interests of justice would not be furthered by severing the damages limitations clause and enforcing the remainder....

The California Supreme Court ruled last week that a court can impose multiple sentence enhancements to a single crime when the statute governing that crime allows for each of the enhancements. While California law provides that an act or omission that is punishable in different ways by different provisions of the law cannot be punished under more than one provision, the Supreme Court ruled that a court can apply multiple sentence enhancements under California Penal Code §1170....

With first round of the 2014 NFL Draft now complete, the big news is that Johnny Football is officially a Cleveland Brown. But behind the scenes, the teams and players are both already moving on to next phase in their budding relationships: contract negotiation. Even if you’re not an NFL owner or a blue-chip draft pick, these five legal tips could help prevent you from getting involved in an employment contract dispute:...

After rumors swirling about inappropriate drafting practices in February, the NFL has made their official policy about discrimination based on sexual orientation available to coaches, managers, and players. The memo sent out Monday outlines a number of activities and questions which are not permitted, including asking potential draft picks if they like girls or have a girlfriend, reports NFL.com. How does this NFL policy square with reports that some players have been asked these very same questions?...

Thai I-Mei Frozen Foods Co., Ltd. v. US, 09-1516, concerned a challenge to the Court of International Trade’s decision reversing and remanding Commerce’s first remand determination, in an anti-dumping duty case, involving frozen and canned warmwater shrimp from Thailand. In reversing, the court held that the Commerce’s statement of a general preference for exclusion of sales outside the ordinary course of trade where, as here, the date are for like products sold by other respondents, is reasonable....

Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner is one of the few appellate judges to have become a household name – if your household includes a legal professional or two, that is. And part of what makes Judge Posner so well-known is that he is rarely shy about expressing his opinions. His condemnation of the Bluebook, for example, has made many a law student’s heart sing. And the Bluebook isn’t the only thing Posner has a problem with....

An Arizona bill that would make it legal to shoot snakes, rats, and other pests again within city limits passed the state house and is headed to the state senate for approval. The bill, which still has not become law, would provide a limited, permissible reason to fire off a gun within city limits, which is currently prohibited except in very limited circumstances. The current prohibition is the result of a surprising tragedy that happened nearly two decades ago....

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued a split decision in the ongoing GE-Mitsubishi litigation this week. The appellate court affirmed an earlier finding by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that Mitsubishi Heavy didn’t infringe upon a GE patent for technology used in variable-speed wind turbines, but it reversed and remanded an ITC ruling on another GE turbine technology patent. GE will now argue again to the ITC that Mitsubishi Heavy infringed on the remanded patent, reports The Wall Street Journal....

A Pennsylvania man is suing the Penthouse Club near Philadelphia claiming that a stripper ruptured his bladder. Patrick Gallagher was celebrating his impending marriage at the club. As part of the Penthouse Club’s “Bachelor’s Package,” Gallagher was invited onstage and told to lie down for some personal attention by the strippers. But one stripper allegedly gave a bit too much attention to Gallagher when she slid down a stripper pole onto Gallagher’s abdomen....

The past few years the entire legal market has been suffering, but a new study that will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, shows us that the hardest legal nut to crack may be that of law professor. Granted, most people who attend law school don’t want to go on to become law professors, but for those who do, the paper’s findings are disturbing....

Defendant’s sentence for transporting child pornography is affirmed in part where: 1) the district court based its application of the U.S.S.G. section 2G2.2 sentencing enhancement on defendant’s distribution of child pornography, and thus committed no error; 2) nothing in the Guidelines supported defendant’s argument that section 2G2.2(b)(3)(E) applied only to distribution of child pornography “directly” to a minor; and 3) because the district court made treatment a mandatory condition of defendant’s supervised release, there was no vagueness in the order regarding who was to decide whether treatment is necessary....