11th Circuit Court

SCOTUS will decide whether computer fraud law applies to cop’s unauthorized database search

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act applies to a police officer’s unauthorized search of a license place database.

Apr 20, 2020 12:55 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: First black female Harvard Law grad dies from COVID-19; food delivery apps face antitrust suit

First black female Harvard Law grad dies from novel coronavirus The first black woman to graduate from Harvard Law School has died after contracting COVID-19. Lila Fenwick graduated from the school in 1956. She died April 4 at age 87. Fenwick was a human rights official at the United Nations,…

Apr 15, 2020 5:03 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Seyfarth withdraws after controversial filing; law firm scammer seeks release

Seyfarth Shaw withdraws from suit after controversial argument Seyfarth Shaw is seeking to withdraw from representing the U.S. Soccer Federation in an equal-pay case after a controversial court filing. The law firm had argued players on the U.S. Women’s National Team had less “skill” than male players. The argument has…

Apr 2, 2020 5:01 PM CDT

Ex-felons in Florida who can’t afford fees and fines are entitled to vote, 11th Circuit says

Ex-felons in Florida who can’t afford to pay outstanding fees and fines are entitled to vote under a state constitutional amendment restoring voting rights, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Feb 19, 2020 12:32 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: SCOTUS lacks State of the Union majority; judge reverses No More Deaths convictions

Which Supreme Court justices attended the State of the Union? Only four justices attended the State of the Union on Tuesday. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was there, even though he presided over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Justices Elena Kagan, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Neil M. Gorsuch also…

Feb 5, 2020 3:55 PM CST

11th Circuit upholds dismissal of juror who said Holy Spirit told him to acquit former congresswoman

A federal judge didn’t err when he dismissed a juror who declared that the Holy Spirit told him a former congresswoman was innocent in an alleged charity scam, a federal appeals court has ruled in a 2-1 decision.

Jan 16, 2020 10:39 AM CST

Tech company accused of bar-exam grading glitch has no liability in test-takers’ suit, 11th Circuit says

Law grads who were wrongly told that they failed the Georgia bar exam can’t recover damages against the software company they accused of producing the incorrect scores, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Jan 9, 2020 3:12 PM CST

Chemerinsky: 2019 was all about setting up the blockbuster year 2020 promises to be

The past year was unusual in the U.S. Supreme Court because the justices handed down only a few blockbuster decisions but then filled their docket with a stunning number of cases of potentially great significance to be decided in spring 2020. Interestingly, the court could have taken many of these cases in the October 2018 term for decisions in June 2019, but it did not do so.

Dec 23, 2019 9:34 AM CST

Judge’s clerk performs behind-the-back cellphone dial to test plaintiff’s claim

Was it possible for a suspect handcuffed with his hands behind him in a patrol car to reach his cellphone and make a call to his aunt? That’s one of the facts in dispute in the case of Omar Alston, who contends that he made the call shortly before a sheriff’s deputy pulled him out of a police vehicle in June 2011 and exposed Alston’s genitals during a search.

Dec 16, 2019 4:01 PM CST

SCOTUS refuses to interfere with temporary halt to federal executions

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Friday to lift a preliminary injunction blocking four federal executions during a review of the lethal injection procedure adopted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Dec 9, 2019 11:00 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: DC Circuit doesn’t disturb blocked executions; polite bank robber entitled to lower sentence

DC Circuit declines to stay or vacate injunction stopping federal executions The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has declined to stay or vacate a judge’s injunction delaying the executions of four federal inmates. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan had ruled that the inmates were likely…

Dec 2, 2019 3:57 PM CST

11th Circuit tosses suit claiming DNC unfairly disfavored Bernie Sanders in 2016 primaries

A federal appeals court has tossed a proposed class action that claimed the Democratic National Committee showed bias against U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primaries.

Oct 29, 2019 1:38 PM CDT

Lawyer urges full 11th Circuit to release grand jury records of unsolved 1946 lynching

A historian who researched the 1946 lynching of two black couples in Georgia is no longer alive to pursue his quest for grand jury records in the case. But a lawyer for his widow continued the fight in arguments before an en banc federal appeals court Tuesday.

Oct 24, 2019 10:36 AM CDT

Why scraping publicly available information online isn’t a crime

To criminalize public website scraping castrates an open internet by curtailing access to information, says ABA Journal Legal Affairs Writer Jason Tashea. This isn’t just an issue for internet startups and academic researchers but also the legal community.

Sep 23, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

As federal anti-hacking law turns 35, its meaning, reach and effectiveness are still murky

What had started as a pre-internet computer crime law affecting national security and finance has become a statute that prosecutors, plaintiff attorneys and defense counsels agree isn’t right for its time, and maybe never was. Even with broad agreement on the problem, however, the solution is less clear.

Aug 19, 2019 6:00 AM CDT