Posts

Sentence and conviction of defendant for felony murder is reversed and remanded in part where: 1) conviction on the charge of murder during commission of burglary is modified to reflect defendant was convicted of murder with true findings on the special circumstances that the murder was committed during the commission or attempted commission of a robbery and a burglary, plus true findings that defendant personally used a firearm in the commission of the offense, and that a principal was armed with a firearm in the commission of the offense; and 2) the portion of the sentence imposed by the trial court that imposed a triple indeterminate term of life without the probability of parole (LWOP) for the murder during the commission of burglary conviction is reversed and vacated, and instead impose a single indeterminate LWOP; and 3) defendant’s convictions for murder during commission of robbery and second degree murder are reversed and vacated....

President Trump campaigned on reducing government regulations and he didn’t wait long to start moving in that direction. On January 30th, Trump signed an executive order that would require federal agencies to identify two regulations for elimination for every one new regulation they promulgate. Consider it a “buy one, lose two” deal. Now, a coalition of consumer, labor, and environmental groups has filed the first suit challenging that order, claiming it oversteps the president’s authority and violates administrative law....

An Oakland Raiders cheerleader is suing the team for wage and hour violations related to minimum wage, overtime, expenses, and breaks. In stark contrast to team mascots, who are allegedly full-time employees with benefits, Raiders cheerleader Lacy T. alleges Raiderettes are effectively being paid less than $5 an hour. But is the law on her side(line)? Lacy T. alleges Raiderettes are paid below minimum wage. The Raiderettes’ contract reportedly promised $125 for an eight-hour shift per home game – $1,250 per season, paid at the end of the season....

Before the Daily Mail posted the suddenly famous owl kick video, they added “Warning: Contains animal cruelty.” It sort of reminded me of a warning from a package of cigarettes. “Warning: Cigarettes cause cancer.” For some reason, that struck me. The other thing of course that was striking was the video itself, of Pereira player Luis Moreno kicking an owl nearly ten feet across the field during a match in Colombia....

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition by hall of fame basketball player Scottie Pippen to continue his defamation case against media outlets. The Court declined to hear the case without comment, letting stand a lower court’s decision to dismiss Pippen’s case against NBC, CBS, and others, The Associated Press reports. What had Pippen, one of the NBA’s all-time defensive greats, calling foul against these companies? And why did his case air-ball at the Supreme Court?...

So you think you’re a gunner? It looks like you might have some competition in Sarah Ames, a Chicago Lawyer who recently managed to finish seven marathons in days despite having a full-time workload. So next time you’re thinking you’re feeling a little tired and lazy, keep Ames in mind. Ms. Ames now belongs to a small club of people who have successfully completed the second-ever World Marathon Challenge (WMC) – an event composed of seven marathons spread over seven continents over the course of seven days....

Almost every lawyer works hard, but there are a few lawyers that at least appear to work harder than others: family lawyers, civil rights attorneys, and public defenders. Over the last few weeks we’ve been noticing what seems to be an uptick in the number of listings for public defender jobs across the country. There’s a very real need for legal representation for those persons who can’t afford to pay. So if you’re feeling like you could use a job that will keep you busy with a wide variety of different (and virtuous) experiences, have we got a list for you....

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay soccer team may be in a whole lotta trouble these days, and I am talking way more than a red card. The Chicago Tribune reports that two UWGB soccer players have been accused of rape and suspended from the team. Although few details are known at this time, The Tribune fills in some specifics of the incident: an alleged victim contacted police and said she had been assaulted by two players at an on-campus apartment … she told investigators she couldn’t remember all the details because she was apparently drugged....

A woman accused of cheating on the New York bar exam has lost the battle to overturn her misconduct charges. Rose DeWitt sat for the bar exam in July 2009. The New York State Board of Law Examiners charged her with misconduct. They claimed she tried to copy other student’s answers on the multiple choice portion of the test. Specifically, a proctor saw her “craning her neck,” according to Thomson Reuters News & Insight....

Law school grads have watched job opportunities dry up while their law school debt piles up. One such law school graduate is Michael Wallerstein. Michael Wallerstein has a staggering $250,000 in law school debt and can’t afford to pay it down, according to the New York Times. He now dodges calls from creditors in order to keep his sanity intact. While there are plenty of law school graduates warning future law students about this dismal job market, it seems that few are heeding the warning....

A store can never reject you. After all, what kind of business would reject a customer willing to fork over money? Well, apparently Abercrombie & Fitch is one of those businesses. It’s strange to think that you could get punished with a shop ban by exhibiting too much customer loyalty. She wasn’t banned entirely from shopping at the retailer. According to Abercrombie & Fitch, Kim Navarra was only banned from making online orders, though she could go to a physical store to shop, reports KGO-TV....

Four suspects in an Amish beard-cutting attack were arrested in Ohio this week. The four men are from the small community of Bergholz. Authorities say the attacks were perpetrated by a rival Amish group. The victims were held down against their will and given unwanted cuts to their beard and to their hair. Why is beard-cutting a crime in the first place? It can be assault and battery. Assault and battery occur when someone physically strikes another or puts someone in a fear of an immediate harm....

A strange result to have come from the recent Apple Samsung lawsuit has nothing to do with patents. Instead, it’s been the debate over attorney fees. After Apple successfully defended its patents in federal court, news and rumors started to trickle out as to how much Apple paid its attorneys to litigate its case. Guesses ranged from Apple paying its attorneys as little as $30 million to as much as $500 million....

Federal authorities have decided to drop their criminal investigation into the Bernie Fine sex abuse case. In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, several men claimed that Fine, Syracuse University’s former assistant basketball coach, similarly molested them when they were children, reports CBS News. However, after a nearly year-long investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s office found that there was not enough evidence to support the claims, and so they dropped the case....

The First Church of Cannabis in Indiana saw their lawsuit go up in smoke. The church, which claims that their congregation uses marijuana in a sacramental manner to grow closer in love to one another, sought to get a religious exemption to the state’s marijuana laws under Indiana’s Religious Freedom and Reformation Act (RFRA). Religious Freedom or Reefer-dom The state’s RFRA, which is based on the federal RFRA, was signed into law by then Governor Mike Pence....

When a coach tells you what to do during a game, you tend to do it. Especially when you’re rounding second on a ball lined into the outfield and your third base coach tells you to slide. But when that slide turns into a rolled ankle and permanent injury, is the coach to blame? A former JV baseball player is suing his coach for exactly that, claiming the game in which he was injured was “negligently” and “carelessly” supervised....

From the “What Were You Thinking?” file, here’s a story that left seasoned prosecutors and a judge scratching their heads. Francis Griffin, a Kennebec County prosecutor, was minding his own business when a photo popped up on his phone. It was embarrassing, but thankfully not the personally embarrassing kind of photo. It was a photo of the defense attorney’s notes, apparently sent by a courtroom security officer. Sgt. Joel Eldridge allegedly took the photo in the courtroom while the attorneys were in chambers with the judge....

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has published a lengthy response to being banned for life from the NBA. The response comes as NBA owners are preparing to meet on June 3rd to vote on whether to force Sterling to sell the Clippers. Legally, Sterling’s answer seems to raise even more questions about the circumstances surrounding his potential ouster. Does Sterling Still Own the Team? Although he has been officially suspended for life from taking part in any team business or even attending games, Sterling still legally owns the Clippers franchise pending the June 3rd vote....

With golf season in full swing, business golf outings can be a potential moneymaker for savvy rainmakers. So what are the best ways for attorneys to tee up and “close the deal” after a round on the so-called 19th hole? It helps to think of golf as “a looking glass into how people think,” a professional golfer told Inc. magazine. Games typically last four or five hours – ample time to figure out if your fellow players are client-worthy, and if so, how best to win them over....

In a petition for review of an SEC order barring Petitioner from associating with a broker or dealer in a supervisory capacity based on his failure to adequately supervise two of his employees, the petition is denied where the SEC’s order was reasonable and supported by substantial evidence. Read Horning v. SEC, No. 08-1038 Appellate Information Argued November 13, 2008 Decided June 26, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Williams Counsel...