Losing litigant who threw chair at defendant cop after verdict gets 5 years

A Chicago man who has a history of issues with a suburban police officer had hoped for a jury award in his favor after filing a federal civil rights suit. But when the jury ruled in the defendant’s favor last yea,r Lavelle Watts Jr. lost it. He threw a courtroom…

Aug 21, 2014 10:20 PM CDT

Man beat murder charge in detective’s death, but feds seek life term in drug case, citing slaying

State prosecutors dropped a murder case against Justin “J-Rock” Austin in the 2008 slaying of a Chicago police officer, alleging the defendant and others intimidated witnesses from testifying. However, federal prosecutors are now seeking a life sentence for Austin in an unrelated Chicago drug case in which he has been…

Aug 21, 2014 7:50 PM CDT

Posner opinion takes aim at denial of disability benefits; is it a 7th Circuit trend?

In a published opinion issued two weeks after oral argument, the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned the denial of disability benefits to a woman who claimed severe pain because of a herniated disc. The two-week turnaround by the author of the opinion (PDF), Judge Richard Posner,…

Aug 21, 2014 10:45 AM CDT

Hacking software in Batman movie doesn’t infringe on real-life product, says 7th Circuit

Corrected: Saying that moviegoers aren’t likely to confuse fictional hacking software coveted by Catwoman in a recent Batman movie with a similar-sounding real-life product that has a legitimate purpose, a federal appeals court has affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a trademark infringement suit. Although Fortres Grand Corp. argued that…

Aug 18, 2014 10:45 PM CDT

Website that facilitated sale of gun used in fatal shooting has no tort liability, 7th Circuit says

Corrected: A website that facilitated the illegal sale of a gun used to kill a woman has no liability in her death, a federal appeals court has ruled. The Chicago-based 7th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for Armslist.com on Tuesday in a suit filed by the brother of…

Aug 13, 2014 7:12 PM CDT

Law grads sue over ‘Barmageddon,’ seek refund of software fee and punitive damages

Law graduates in at least two states have filed suit over a so-called Barmageddon software glitch that reportedly made it impossible for a number of test-takers to submit their answers on time last month on the first day of the bar exam. Although the deadline was extended in all affected…

Aug 7, 2014 3:45 PM CDT

Lead-paint liability without proof of specific maker doesn’t violate due process, 7th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has upheld a legal theory that holds lead-paint manufacturers liable for neurological problems in children who lived in homes with the product, even without proof of the specific maker of the paint that caused the harm. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that…

Jul 25, 2014 12:18 PM CDT

Northwestern sues ex-employee, says author took book she was paid to write on infamous murder case

A former part-time employee and published author has been sued by Northwestern University for copyright infringement. Northwestern contends in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday that Nina Barrett was paid, while working on a library fellowship, to write about a notorious 1924 murder by University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold and…

Jul 24, 2014 8:25 PM CDT

Secular humanists must be allowed to officiate marriages in Indiana, 7th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has struck down an Indiana law that allows clergy of religious groups to solemnize marriages, but not officials from groups of secular humanists. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that the law violated the equal protection clause and the First Amendment. Judge…

Jul 15, 2014 2:56 PM CDT

Blagojevich appeal considers political horse-trading and criminality

A federal appeals court is considering whether former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich committed a crime when he sought to trade an appointment to a U.S. Senate seat for political favors. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to rule “any day now,” Politico reports in a story…

Jul 3, 2014 5:19 PM CDT

An interview with Judge Richard A. Posner

Jul 1, 2014 10:20 AM CDT

Federal judge grants rare TRO banning city’s ‘fraudulent’ bond sale; SEC sought the emergency order

Following an emergency hearing Wednesday, a federal judge in Chicago OK’d a temporary restraining order sought by federal regulators to prevent a suburban town from proceeding with a planned bond sale called “fraudulent” by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The order imposed on Harvey and its comptroller concerns a hotel…

Jun 26, 2014 8:20 PM CDT

10th Circuit rules Utah gay-marriage ban is unconstitutional

A divided federal appeals court panel in Denver on Wednesday upheld a decision by a federal judge in Utah that a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment. “Courts do not sit in judgment of the hearts and minds of the citizenry,” said the Denver-based 10th…

Jun 25, 2014 5:45 PM CDT

Woman convicted of filing fake $100B liens against former US attorney and others

“I don’t owe anyone $100 billion,” former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald testified in federal court in Chicago this week, and a jury apparently believed him. After testimony from Fitzgerald, a sitting federal judge and a current and former magistrate judge concerning $100 billion maritime liens allegedly filed by Cherron Phillips…

Jun 18, 2014 10:30 PM CDT

7th Circuit rejects ‘quixotic’ copyright appeal on Sherlock Holmes stories

Sherlock Holmes lives again—in derivative works—in a decision (PDF) from the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The character, companion John Watson and other elements of Sherlock Holmes stories were the subject of a copyright law appeal by the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, their creator. The estate…

Jun 17, 2014 7:52 PM CDT