6th Circuit Court

Some internet customers may lose service as a result of 6th Circuit decision; FCC won’t appeal

Cities seeking to expand their own broadband networks to provide internet service for more customers fear a federal appeals court decision will embolden states to pass new laws that curb municipal efforts and eliminate competition. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals ruled earlier this month that the Federal…

Aug 30, 2016 11:39 AM CDT

Some Kentucky restrictions on judicial-campaign speech violate First Amendment, 6th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has struck down some restrictions on what Kentucky judicial candidates can say while running for political office. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday in a unanimous panel opinion (PDF) by Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton. How Appealing notes the decision. The opinion…

Aug 24, 2016 3:30 PM CDT

In ‘huge blow’ for FCC, appeals court rules for states limiting municipal broadband

A federal appeals court has ruled against the Federal Communications Commission in its bid to stop states from limiting the expansion of internet service provided by cities. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals ruled (PDF) against the FCC on Wednesday, report Ars Techica, the Hill, the Memphis Business…

Aug 10, 2016 4:19 PM CDT

Citing internet impact, 6th Circuit says federal law doesn’t require automatic release of mug shots

The Freedom of Information Act doesn’t require automatic release of a federal suspect’s mug shot to the media, a federal appeals court has ruled in an en banc decision. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 9-7 on Thursday that suspects have a privacy interest in preventing disclosure…

Jul 15, 2016 8:30 AM CDT

6th Circuit upholds minimum child-porn sentence imposed after judge asks jurors for their opinion

A federal judge didn’t err when he took jurors’ views into account and sentenced a child-porn defendant to five years in prison, the minimum allowable sentence, a federal appeals court has ruled. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the sentence for defendant Ryan Collins, who was convicted…

Jun 30, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

Federal judge orders arrest of New Jersey lawyer for not complying with Ohio appearance demands

A federal judge in Cleveland and a longtime New Jersey lawyer are at war over a civil case involving the attorney’s brother. As of Thursday, U.S. District Judge Dan Polster had ordered the arrest of attorney John McDermott, for failing to comply with orders to appear in Ohio on Wednesday…

Jun 10, 2016 11:45 AM CDT

Coffeemaker win lacks perk for lawyer who asked for $180K in fees but got $6,800

Plaintiff Pamella Montgomery still gets the $250 settlement she was promised after a more than two-year legal battle with Kraft Foods Global Inc. and Starbucks Corp. over her purchase of a single-serve coffee maker. But the Michigan woman’s lawyer is receiving $6,800 in attorney fees and costs rather than the…

May 16, 2016 5:02 PM CDT

Defendant alleges he used drugs with federal judge’s relatives; 6th Circuit tosses judge from case

A defendant who alleged he used drugs with two of a federal judge’s relatives has succeeded in getting the judge kicked off his case. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals removed U.S. District Judge John Adams of Akron, Ohio, from the case in a May 9 order (PDF),…

May 12, 2016 8:27 AM CDT

SCOTUS takes cheerleader uniform case that would also affect ‘cosplayers’ at comic conventions

Nominally, a federal appeals court decision that the nation’s top court agreed Monday to review is about whether the design elements and color blocks in a cheerleading uniform can be copyrighted. But a U.S. Supreme Court decision could affect a broad array of costumes, including those made and worn by…

May 3, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

ABA urges 6th Circuit to forbid private probation company’s jail-or-pay scheme

The American Bar Association filed an amicus brief Tuesday condemning a private probation system that jails defendants who are unable to pay their fines. In Rodriguez v. Providence Community Corrections Inc., the ABA is urging the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the lower court’s injunction against…

Apr 26, 2016 5:10 PM CDT

Bullied student’s suit against school fails for lack of ‘deliberate indifference,’ 6th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has upheld dismissal of a lawsuit filed on behalf of a bullied middle-school student in Tennessee. The case was among a handful of suits filed in 2013 that sought to hold schools accountable for failing to stop bullying, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. With the March…

Apr 15, 2016 5:45 AM CDT

FBI’s use of cell-site data didn’t violate the Fourth Amendment, 6th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has found no Fourth Amendment violation in the government’s use of cell-site records to establish that two suspects used their cell phones close to the locations of armed robberies in the Detroit area. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld use of the evidence…

Apr 13, 2016 12:08 PM CDT

6th Circuit tells IRS lawyers it expects them to do better, orders disclosure of ‘lookout’ lists

A federal appeals court is showing impatience with the Internal Revenue Service in an opinion refusing to interfere with a federal judge’s order that the agency disclose lists of groups allegedly targeted because of their political beliefs. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) on Tuesday in…

Mar 23, 2016 12:14 PM CDT

10 weeks of video evidence from utility-pole camera didn’t require warrant, 6th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has upheld a firearms conviction based on video evidence collected without a warrant from a camera perched on top of a utility pole. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that even though much of the evidence was collected without a warrant, the video…

Feb 16, 2016 5:45 AM CST

SCOTUS tells appeals court deferential standards of review ‘apply with equal force’ in capital cases

The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated a death sentence imposed after a federal trial judge excused a juror who waffled on whether he could impose the death penalty. The U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death sentence for Roger Wheeler on Monday in a per curiam opinion (PDF) summarily reversing a…

Dec 14, 2015 11:45 AM CST