11th Circuit Court

11th Circuit reinstates suit claiming grandmother was sent to male jail because of menopause drugs

A grandmother who is a lawyer and elected official in the Dominican Republic may sue over her placement in a male jail “in the face of considerable information that she was a woman,” a federal appeals court has ruled. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Atlanta reinstated the…

Dec 4, 2018 7:00 AM CST

Fastcase can bring copyright suit against Casemaker, 11th Circuit rules

Legal research company Fastcase can bring a suit against rival company Casemaker regarding the latter’s claims of control over Georgia’s administrative regulations, ruled the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Atlanta. The appeal, decided Monday, stemmed from two previously unsuccessful lawsuits brought by Fastcase against Casemaker, which is owned…

Oct 30, 2018 2:20 PM CDT

Appeals court rules that Georgia annotated code cannot be copyrighted

Georgia’s official annotated state code is not copyrightable and belongs in the public domain.

Oct 23, 2018 12:46 PM CDT

Outdoor food sharing is expressive conduct and ‘more than a picnic in the park,’ appeals court says

Sharing food with the homeless in a public park by a group with a political message is expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment, a federal appeals court has ruled. Last Wednesday’s decision by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the first federal appellate opinion on the…

Aug 27, 2018 6:00 AM CDT

11th Circuit upholds cash bail system in Georgia town

A federal appeals court has upheld a revised cash bail system in Calhoun, Georgia, that required a hearing within 48 hours of arrest to determine whether a person can be released because he or she can’t afford to pay the amount on a bail schedule. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit…

Aug 24, 2018 1:51 PM CDT

E-recycling advocate loses appeal, must spend 15 months in prison

E-recycling advocate Eric Lundgren has lost his appeal and will have to serve 15 months in prison.

Apr 25, 2018 3:12 PM CDT

Inmate, 83, is executed in death of federal appeals judge

An 83-year-old inmate executed Thursday for a 1989 mail bombing that killed a federal appeals judge is the oldest person put to death in the modern era of capital punishment, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Walter Leroy Moody Jr. was executed in Alabama for the death of Judge…

Apr 20, 2018 12:48 PM CDT

Computer refurbisher appeals for freedom after trying to prolong lives of PCs

Updated and corrected: Eric Lundgren, an electronics recycling advocate and computer refurbisher from California, faces more than a year in prison for creating tens of thousands of discs meant to prolong the life of a computer. What landed Lundgren in legal trouble was the creation and planned sale of 28,000…

Feb 28, 2018 3:00 PM CST

Title VII protects workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation, en banc 2nd Circuit says

An en banc federal appeals court has ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Feb 26, 2018 10:56 AM CST

2 judicial nominees rated as ‘not qualified’ among group of 17 to advance to the Senate

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced to the Senate 17 judicial nominees—including two who received “not qualified” ratings from the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. U.S. News & World Report described the 17 as an “abnormally large group.” Liberal interest groups have charged that Republicans grouped together…

Jan 19, 2018 9:45 AM CST

ABA opposes fixed bail schedules in new amicus brief filed with 11th Circuit

The ABA has filed an amicus brief with the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that opposes fixed bail schedules in Calhoun, Georgia. Money-bail systems that don’t include individualized determinations violate the 14th Amendment’s due process and equal protection clauses, the ABA argues in the brief (PDF) filed on…

Nov 21, 2017 1:35 PM CST

Supreme Court allows execution of inmate who can’t remember his crime

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared an impediment to the execution of an Alabama inmate who can’t remember the crime he committed after suffering several strokes. In a summary reversal, the high court found that precedent on mental capacity does not prevent the execution of Vernon Madison in the…

Nov 6, 2017 12:48 PM CST

Lawyer accused of taking sneaky photos of technical manual loses bid for rehearing on sanctions

A federal appeals court won’t reconsider sanctions imposed against a Georgia lawyer who refused to address allegations that she snuck into the office of a deposition witness and took photos of a technical manual. Last week, the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a rehearing en banc for…

Sep 20, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Trump nominates White House lawyer, a former Jones Day partner, to DC Circuit

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the nomination of 16 people to federal judgeships, including the nomination of deputy White House counsel Gregory Katsas to a federal appeals court. Katsas is a former Jones Day partner and a former Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration. He was…

Sep 7, 2017 11:15 AM CDT

Trump wins more judges’ confirmations at this point than Obama, GW Bush combined

A little more than six months into his presidency, President Donald Trump has won confirmation of a Supreme Court justice, three federal appeals judges and one district judge, outpacing his two most recent predecessors combined, the Washington Times reports.

Aug 4, 2017 7:00 AM CDT