6th Circuit Court

Ex-Prosecutor Seeks Contempt for Reporter Shielding Sources

Former federal prosecutor Richard Convertino is seeking a contempt order and fines between $500 and $5,000 a day for a Detroit Free Press reporter who has declined to reveal his sources in a Justice Department investigation into Convertino’s handling of a now-discredited terrorism case. David Ashenfelter, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist,…

Dec 24, 2008 12:15 PM CST

Appeals Court Allows Vatican Suit for Alleged Abuse Cover-Up

A federal appeals court has held that the Vatican may be liable for a policy that could have led to a cover-up of child sexual abuse by clergy in the United States. The ruling by the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the first to hold that the…

Nov 25, 2008 5:21 PM CST

US Supreme Court Axes TRO in Ohio GOP Suit Over Newly Registered Voters

Ending, at least for now, a challenge by the Ohio Republican Party to the Ohio’s secretary of state’s plan for handling new voter registrations, the U.S. Supreme Court today vacated a temporary restraining order won by the GOP in lower court rulings. A trial court had ordered Secretary of State…

Oct 17, 2008 6:44 PM CDT

Detroit Text Messages Reviewed in Tort Case Over Exotic Dancer’s Death

Text messages sent and received by Detroit police and other city employees on the day that an exotic dancer was murdered in a drive-by shooting were delivered today to the federal courthouse. If they are found to be relevant to the killing of Tamara Greene, they are likely to become…

Sep 19, 2008 8:33 PM CDT

45 Years after King’s ‘Dream,’ Obama’s Nomination is a Reality

Yesterday, attorney Barack Obama made history by becoming the first African-American ever to be nominated by a major party as a candidate for president of the United States. It was almost exactly 45 years, to the day, after civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous “I Have…

Aug 28, 2008 4:57 PM CDT

1912 ‘Gold Coin’ Lease Payment Term is Enforceable, 6th Circuit Rules

A 1912 lease provision that requires payment in gold coin is enforceable, a federal appellate panel held yesterday, even though the U.S. withdrew the gold coin from circulation in 1933 and the building owner, for decades after that, didn’t attempt to enforce the payment term. Because the price of gold…

Aug 28, 2008 3:58 PM CDT

Ex-Prisoner Puts Tenn. Federal Judge Appointment on Hold

More than a year ago, President George W. Bush nominated Gustavus Puryear IV to be a federal district judge in Nashville, Tenn. His nomination is supported by Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker of Tennessee, which ordinarily would put him on a fast track to confirmation. But a former…

Aug 14, 2008 3:51 PM CDT

Acquitting Time

After Apprendi, new challenges to sentencing enhancements emerge

Aug 1, 2008 1:05 PM CDT

Lawyer Seeks Cert for Football Players Booted Off Team for Petition Drive

High school football players booted off a team for a petition drive against their coach are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their First Amendment case. Three of the students on the Jefferson County, Tenn., football team were not allowed to play after they circulated a petition criticizing coach…

Jun 18, 2008 5:18 PM CDT

Judge Bernice Donald Wins Liberty Award from ABA’s TIPS Section

A federal district court judge in Tennessee has been named a recipient of an inaugural ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Liberty Achievement Award. Judge Bernice Donald is being honored for actively promoting diversity within the legal community, according to the Memphis Business Journal and an ABA press release.…

Jun 13, 2008 11:30 PM CDT

Detroit v. Detroit: Law Prof Represents City as Council Seeks to Fire Mayor

As a battle between the mayor of Detroit and the Detroit city council heats up after a scandal over an apparent affair and claimed perjury allegedly revealed by text messages in an $8.4 million police whistle-blower case, each side has hired special counsel. The latest to weigh in is Wayne…

Jun 11, 2008 10:15 PM CDT

Law Grad Who Dissed Courts Loses Appeal Over Denied Law License

Updated: A federal appeals court has tossed a civil rights and First Amendment claim filed by a law graduate who claims he was denied a law license because of his disdain for the Michigan justice system and his complaints about members of a bar and fitness committee who mentioned his…

Jun 4, 2008 2:03 PM CDT

Woman’s Suit Against Judge Who Asked Her to Remove Veil Gets Tossed

A federal judge in Detroit has dismissed a woman’s lawsuit against a small claims judge who asked her to remove her veil. The woman, Ginnnah Muhammad, had claimed Judge Paul Paruk of Hamtramck unconstitutionally interfered with her right to practice religion and violated a civil rights law requiring access to…

May 13, 2008 4:53 PM CDT

Appeals Court Tosses Fieger Suit Against State AG

Lawyer Geoffrey Fieger’s vindictive-prosecution lawsuit against Michigan Attorney General Michael Cox won’t be heard in federal court. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed the lawsuit and affirmed a federal trial court’s order requiring Fieger to pay attorney fees as a sanction for making unsupported allegations against another…

May 6, 2008 4:20 PM CDT

$7.4 M Legal Bill Stuns Officials in Mich. Girls Sports Season Case

Officials at the Michigan High School Athletic Association are still reeling, weeks after a federal judge awarded $7.4 million in legal fees to the prevailing plaintiff in a 10-year-old case contending that Michigan’s sports seasons discriminated against girls. Now, saying that an award of prejudgment interest, in particular, came as…

Apr 22, 2008 7:53 PM CDT